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mh370 netflix 1© Photo: Netflix

MH370: Viewers angered after this detail 'overlooked' in controversial new documentary

MH370: The Plane that Disappeared is on Netflix now

Francesca Shillcock
Senior Features Writer
March 20, 2023
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Netflix's new three-part series, MH370: The Plane that Disappeared, has sparked some mixed reactions from viewers with many branding it a glorification of conspiracies and others finding it fascinating – but one detail in particular left some audience members "livid."

Taking to social media, many were perplexed when the documentary mentioned how some family members had received phone calls from those on board the flight. 

If you're yet to tune in, check out the video below to get a glimpse of the series...

WATCH: The official trailer for MH370: The Plane that Disappeared

One scene in the documentary showed a young girl claiming she was receiving a phone call from her father who was on board the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, but the phone stopped ringing as soon as she went to answer it.

Others also reported receiving calls from loved ones but no connection was established. However, little attention was paid to these calls and many were told by authorities that there was insufficient technology to trace them. 

One person tweeted: "Just finished watching the #MH370 Netflix documentary, and I'm livid! How can the authorities dismiss crucial evidence like the strange phone calls that could've solved the mystery? They just let it go claiming they did not have the technology to trace the signal."

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MH370 investigators take on debris hunt© Photo: Netflix

The three-part series is on Netflix now

A second agreed, writing: "The #Netflix documentary about #MH370 is truly frustrating. Why did she not pick up the damn phone?! Why did they not immediately trace the damn call?! WHY?!" A third added: "I expected to know more about the father's sudden phone call @netflix #MH370."

Meanwhile, as mentioned, the documentary has prompted some upset among viewers for offering three major theories put forward by investigative journalists but no real answers or evidence as to what truly happened when the Malaysian Airlines flight "disappeared" from the radar on 8 March 2014.

MH370 netflix documentary   cockpit recreation© Photo: Netflix

MH370: The Plane that Disappeared is out now

Another fan summed it up on Twitter: "Finally watched #Mh370 on Netflix and all I can say is that: 1. Only God knows what happened for sure. 2. Why did no one follow up on the phone calls? 3. Lines between facts and inference are blurry. 4. Does it qualify as a documentary? Nope just a bunch of conspiracy theories."

The creator of the series Harry Hewland defended the three-episode project, explaining in a statement: "More than anything, we want to pull the hidden truths about MH370 out from the carpet under which they've been swept, and remind people that this is still a story with no ending, a mystery that hasn't been solved, that somebody out there knows more than the world has been told."

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