Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished without a trace because the pilot pulled off a perfect nose-dive into the ocean, a new theory suggests.

A team of mathematicians concluded that the Boeing 777 must have plunged into the water at a 90-degree angle after analysing a series of computer simulations.

They say it is the only scenario that would have kept the aircraft intact and explains why no wreckage or oil has been found since it disappeared in March last year with 239 people on board.

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Perfect nose-dive: Researchers believe the Malaysia Airlines plane must have been flown into the Indian Ocean at a 90-degree angle to keep it intact, explaining why no wreckage has been found

Mathematician Goong Chen, who led the research team, said: 'The true final moments of MH370 are likely to remain a mystery until someday when its black box is finally recovered and decoded.

'But forensics strongly supports that MH370 plunged into the ocean in a nosedive.'

The researchers used a supercomputer to test five different landing scenarios including a gliding water entry like the one performed by Captain Chesley Sullenberger when he landed a U.S. Airways flight safely on the Hudson River in what is known as 'the miracle of the Hudson'.

However, this was discounted with MH370 because 'ditching a large airplane on the open Indian Ocean generally would involve waves of height several meters or more, easily causing breakup and the leak of debris.'

Mystery: The search for the aircraft (above) and the 239 people on board was moved initially to the southern Indian Ocean after an analysis of satellite data after it disappeared in March last year

Vast : A detailed map of the current search zone. After tens of thousands of square miles being scoured with special sonar equipment and ships, it has been decided further searching will be futile without a credible lead

The team, from Texas A&M University at Qatar, said the most likely scenario was a vertical or very steep entry because it would have caused the least resistance – much like when a high diver enters the water with little splash.

This would have allowed it to remain completely intact before sinking to the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

The findings come a week after desperate families had their hopes dashed when officials announced they had virtually given up the search for the missing flight.

Salvage experts said the hunt would not be extended beyond the current search zone in the southern Indian Ocean despite earlier promises that it would be.

This image shows the extreme weather conditions which the GO Phoenix search ship is battling against in the hunt for missing flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Officials have announced that they will not be extending the search zone because there were no new credible leads

In April, the Australian-led Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre said if no clues to the aircraft's resting place were found in the current search area, the hunt would be doubled in size to cover 46,300 square miles.

But in a shock announcement, the agency said that governments involved in the search had agreed that in the absence of credible new information that leads to a specific location 'there will be no further expansion of the search area.'

Numerous false alarms have been raised since the aircraft vanished in March last year and those that have been followed up have proved to be worthless.