MH370 Likely Spiraled to Its Doom: Report

A new "end-of-flight scenario" paints a picture of how Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went down. Relying on satellite communications and an unanswered ground-to-air phone call placed 17 minutes after the last recorded radar data, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau arrived at the following scenario: The Boeing 777 ran out of fuel after leaving its flight course, the right engine quit before the left, and the plane spiraled into the Indian Ocean west of Australia, USA Today reports. "This scenario resulted in the aircraft entering a descending spiraling low bank angle left turn and the aircraft entering the water in a relatively short distance after the last engine flameout," the report states.

Flight 370's final resting place based on that scenario may not be too far from where investigators are searching for the plane, which vanished March 8. Per the report, it "may be located within relatively close proximity" to the current search area in the "7th arc." NBC News notes the report's assertion that "the next, underwater phase of the search should be prioritized further south within the wide search area." The report states that "ongoing refinement may result in changes to search asset deployment," though it isn't clear if any changes will be made based on the report's findings. (More Malaysia Airlines stories.)