KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — The possibility of pilot suicide behind the disappearance of MH370 must be considered, the Associated Press reported today, pointing out such incidents have occurred in the past.

“While such incidents have happened before, the topic remains almost taboo, with investigators and officials reluctant to conclude that a pilot purposely crashed a plane in order to commit suicide even when the evidence appears compelling,” it said.

The agency cited a 2014 study by the Federal Aviation Administration in the US, which found that during the 10 years ending in 2012, just eight of 2,758 fatal aviation accidents in the US were caused by pilot suicide, a rate of 0.3 per cent

The report found that all eight suicides were men, with four of them testing positive for alcohol and two for antidepressants.

The cases ranged from a pilot celebrating his 21st birthday who realised a woman didn’t want a relationship with him, to a 69-year-old pilot with a history of drinking and threatening suicide by plane. Seven of the cases involved the death of only the pilot; in the eighth case, a passenger also died, AP reported

“Aircraft-assisted suicides are tragic, intentional events that are hard to predict and difficult to prevent,” the FAA’s report was quoted as saying, adding that such suicides “are most likely under-reported and under-recognised.”