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Zaharie Ahmad Shah Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 21, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth31 July 1961

Age52 Years (at time of disappearance)

BirthplacePenang, Malaysia

ProfessionPilot

NationalityMalaysian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseFaizah Khanum Mustafa Khan

FamilyTwo sons (Ahmad Seth Zaharie, Ahmad Idris Zaharie) and one daughter (Aishah Zaharie)

Zaharie Ahmad Shah Biography

Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a Malaysian career pilot who served with Malaysia Airlines from 1981 until 2014. He was the pilot-in-command of Malaysia Airlines MH

Early life and background

Zaharie Ahmad Shah was born on 31 July 1961 in Penang, Malaysia. He attended Penang Free School. He was a Muslim and lived in a residential complex in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur.

Career

Zaharie embarked on a long career in civil aviation after joining Malaysia Airlines on 15 June 1981 as a cadet pilot sponsored by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA). He completed ab-initio flight training in Manila where he earned his Commercial Pilot Licence with an instrument rating.

He began airline flying in 1983 as a second officer on the F27. Over the following decade and beyond he progressed through the airline ranks: by 1985 he was a first officer on the Boeing 737-400, later promoted to captain on that type, and he subsequently flew the A330-300. He became captain of the Boeing 777-200 and in November 2007 was appointed a Type Rated Instructor and Type Rated Examiner for the 777-200. At the time of the aircraft’s disappearance in 2014 he had accumulated more than 18,400 hours of flying experience and had served with Malaysia Airlines for over three decades (1981–2014).

MH370 timeline (selected events)

On 7 March 2014 Zaharie signed in for duty at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He was the pilot-in-command of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on 8 March 2014, a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The flight took off at 00:42 local time and climbed to flight level 350, a level Zaharie confirmed during routine radio exchanges.

Shortly after 01:19 local time the crew’s final routine voice contact — ‘‘Good night. Malaysian three seven zero’’ — was made. Around 01:21 the aircraft’s transponder disappeared from Kuala Lumpur Area Control Centre radar. Military radar tracked the aircraft after that point and recorded it turning and heading in a different direction. Between just after 01:07 and 02:03 the aircraft’s satellite communication link experienced a loss of data transmission. Multiple attempts were made through air traffic control and the airline to re-establish contact, including ground-to-air ACARS requests and attempts to reach the aircraft via its satellite link, but no successful voice replies were received.

Throughout the morning automated hourly satellite handshakes continued between the aircraft and the Inmarsat network for several hours. Investigators recorded a final partial satellite communication late that morning. Malaysia Airlines declared the flight missing when it failed to arrive at its destination on the morning of 8 March 2014.

Public profile

Zaharie was known publicly as the pilot-in-command of MH370, the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared during the March 2014 sector between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing with 239 people on board including crew. The Government of Malaysia later declared all passengers and crew of MH370, including Zaharie Ahmad Shah, presumed dead on 29 January 2015. The exact location of the aircraft and the passengers has not been established.

Personal life

Zaharie was married to Faizah Khanum Mustafa Khan. He had three children: two sons, Ahmad Seth Zaharie and Ahmad Idris Zaharie, and a daughter, Aishah Zaharie. He had a brother and a sister listed in available records. His reported height was approximately 173 cm (5 ft 8 in). Eye colour was recorded as black and hair described as bald.

Latest updates

Official timelines and investigative records remain the primary public sources of information about Zaharie’s final flight. The disappearance of MH370 continues to be the defining event in his public biography.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Zaharie Ahmad Shah, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

Pilot-in-Command, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

Served as the pilot-in-command on the scheduled Kuala Lumpur–Beijing passenger flight MH370 that disappeared on 8 March 2014.

2014
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Career Highlights

  1. Joined Malaysia Airlines as a cadet pilot in 1981
  2. Progressed from second officer on F27 to captain on B737-400, A330-300 and B777-200
  3. Appointed Type Rated Instructor and Examiner for the Boeing 777-200 in 2007
  4. Accumulated over 18,423 hours of flying experience
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Zaharie Ahmad Shah born?

Zaharie Ahmad Shah was born on 31 July 1961.

What is Zaharie Ahmad Shah known for?

Zaharie Ahmad Shah is known for pilot.

What is Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s marital status?

Zaharie Ahmad Shah's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Zaharie Ahmad Shah married to?

Zaharie Ahmad Shah is publicly listed as married to Faizah Khanum Mustafa Khan.