A SIMPLE new theory for MH370’s disappearance points the finger directly at the 221kg of lithium ion batteries on board.

US pilot and aviation engineer Bruce Robertson has outlined the theory on his website, based on known facts about the Malaysia Airlines flight and what it was carrying.

He suggests the lithium ion batteries caught fire sending a cloud of deadly carbon monoxide into the cabin.

Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah succumbed to the fumes, but co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid survived long enough to turn the plane around and place it into a descent.

It then flew on in autopilot mode before crashing into the Southern Indian Ocean.

“There you have it — no conspiracies, no evil intent, no fuzzy pictures, just a simple industrial accident that took a while to play out due to automation trying to save the situation,” said Mr Robertson.

“The wounded bird did its best to survive but it was not to be.”

Mr Robertson believes the Boeing 777 came down west of Exmouth in Western Australia, much further north of the site where searchers are currently working.

“Too much time and money has been wasted on a fruitless search in an area much further southwest, due west of Perth,” he said.

MH370 REPORT: Questions raised about lithium-ion batteries on board

The theory is the latest in a string of explanations put forward by “experts” to explain how a sophisticated aircraft carrying 239 people could simply disappear in the 21st century.

Others include pilot sabotage, hijacking, rapid cabin decompression and alien abduction.

The carriage of lithium-ion batteries has now been banned by a number of airlines in the wake of research finding they can quite easily overheat and start fires.

BATTERIES BANNED: Airlines take action over potentially flammable cargo

But Mr Robertson’s simple theory has failed to convince other experts an industrial accident was to blame for MH370’s demise.

Former pilot and author Peter Lee, who has written his own analysis “MH370 by Accident or Design” said it was unlikely the aircraft disappeared without deliberate human intervention.

“If mechanical, electrical or electronic problems were encountered that were sufficient to sever all communication between the aircraft and ground control, it is extremely unlikely that the aircraft would have been in a fit state to remain in the air for as long as we know that it did,” said Mr Lee.

“The Boeing 777 has proven to be one of the world’s most reliable and trouble-free aircraft, and in order for there to be a sensible explanation involving system failures, an enormous number of different and duplicated components would have to fail almost simultaneously.”