The pilots were not able to do anything as the plane's vital systems stopped working

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Vital systems, including the reporting systems, went down on the Malaysia Airlines plane, the Australian Transport Bureau said in a shocking new report.

It then flew for hours until the aircraft ran out of fuel and eventually crashed into the ocean.

Pilots struggled in vain to save the desperate situation, flying in the face of previous claims alleging they may have gone rogue.

The scenario put forward in the report would involve the plane's last course of action as changing direction but this may be explained by the pilots attempting to divert back to land.