His actions and motives are central in piecing together how the tragedy unfolded.
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 vanished in March, 2014, with veteran chief pilot Zaharie dying among the 238 passengers and crew, including six Australians, after it departed from Kuala Lumpur.Did Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately fly MH370 into the ocean? Picture: 60 Minutes
Since then Zaharie has been the subject of relentless scrutiny, with claims his behaviour while flying the plane was affected by extreme stress, deep financial problems or he was even involved in a plot to crash it and take his own life.But his family and many friends have vigorously defended him against theories he deliberately caused the disappearance of MH370 and insist he has become a scapegoat for the tragedy.
But some friends told other media outlets Zaharie was feeling depressed and lonely in the days leading up to the plane's disappearance after his wife told him she was leaving their marriage.Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his family in a photo shared in a tribute to the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 pilot. Theories that Zaharie was behind the plane's disappearance gained fresh momentum in mid-2016 when deleted files on his home flight simulator were recovered by the FBI.
The following year Godfrey and American MH370 wreckage hunter Blaine Gibson pointed to analysis of wreckage from the doomed jet that washed up off Madagascar that backed theories the aircraft was crashed deliberately.