Automated signals received from Flight MH370 show the Malaysia Airlines plane plunged into the Indian Ocean at a speed of up to 20,000 feet a minute in its final moments before crashing.

Scientists from the Ministry of Defence, analysing automated signals received from the plane, show that the Boeing 777 would have ran out of fuel, causing both engines to flame out, which would then cause the plane to slow and lose lift.

Initially, its nose would drop and the plane with 239 people aboard would have gone through a series of downward swoops. The movements would have continued until the plane achieved a steep dive creating a catastrophic impact.

The March 8, 2014 disappearance of the plane is one of the greatest aviation mysteries in modern history.