Originally published on March 10, 2014

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The sudden disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 on March 7 has led to speculation on the cause of the accident. Aviations experts however have agreed that whatever happened, was quick and left the pilots no time to issue a distress call.

The main indicator of what happened will be the size of the plane's debris field. If it is large and spread out over tens of miles, the plane likely broke apart at a high elevation.

This would indicate the break up was the result of a bomb or massive airframe failure.

"The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," a senior source involved in preliminary investigations was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying.

US and European security officials have said there is no proof yet of foul play, but two passengers, and possibly more, were traveling with stolen passports, which raises questions about the possibility of a terrorist attack.

"Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol's databases," Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said in a statement.

However, no group has claimed responsibility for a possible attack, and other explanations could be given for the use of stolen passports.

A massive airframe failure also has been considered unlikely. Malaysia Airlines has a good safety record and Boeing 777-200ER is said to be one of the safest, the BBC reported.

The plane could also have broken up on contact with the water, which would indicate either engine failure, an attempted hijacking or even pilot suicide.

Is it too early however to know the exact cause of the ac