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'He was naughty': MH370 pilot's sister speaks out about affair rumours

As the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 comes to an end, the sister of the doomed flight’s pilot has spoken out about rumours he was having an affair at the time.

Sakinab Shah has dismissed suggestions that her brother Zaharie Shah deliberately ditched the plane, killing himself and all 238 others on board, in a dramatic suicide mission.

The suicide theory has been attributed in part to allegations that the pilot was having an affair with a married staffer from Anwar Ibrahim’s People’s Justice Party, or PKR, but the relationship had ended just months before MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014.

Some aviation experts believe Zahadie Shah carefully planned a murder-suicide mission. Source: Huffpost UK
Some aviation experts believe Zahadie Shah carefully planned a murder-suicide mission. Source: Huffpost UK
The mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished in March 2014, remains.
The mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished in March 2014, remains.

Ms Shah told The Weekend Australian that her brother and his wife, Faizah, had “normal” marital problems and admitted her pilot brother, 56, was “naughty.”

“A lot of times I gave him a telling-off about this,” she said, referring to his many female friends.

“It was never anything serious. Being a pilot, life is a lot of fun.

“He was naughty, I admit that, but at the end of the day he always went home. He took care of his wife.”

Ms Shah’s comments came as the Malaysian government announced it was calling off the search after a 90-day search deal with US underwater search company Ocean Infinity failed to find the missing plane.

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been called off. Source: AAP
The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been called off. Source: AAP

Aviation experts have claimed that the only plausible cause for search teams not being able to find the plane’s wreckage is the result of a controlled “ditching” of the plane.

While Malaysian authorities have ruled out a deliberate hijacking of the plane, other aviation analysts believe the pilot depressurised the cabin to kill passengers on board before sinking the plane to minimise surface debris.

But Ms Shah claims such speculation is “preposterous”, saying: “He loved life, this guy.”

The search for MH370 has so far cost the Australian, Chinese and Malaysian governments more than $200 million.