'Terribly upset' MH370 pilot was in 'no state of mind to fly' following marital troubles, reveals pal

The missing Malaysian Airlines plane's pilot was going through a number of relationship problems and felt that his life was crumbling at the time of the ill-fated flight on March 8.

A reporter from the New Zealand Herald spoke to one of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's friends, a fellow pilot, who said the 52-year-old was terribly upset by marriage break-up.

According to smh.com.au, the friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Shah was one of the finest pilots around, but with all that was happening in his life, Zaharie was probably in no state of mind to be flying.

His comments contrast with official statements from Malaysian authorities, who have said that the focus of the investigation was moving away from Captain Zaharie and his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.

The friend claimed that Zaharie was 'terribly upset' when his wife, Faizah Khan, told him she was leaving.

The couple has three children and, although they had separated, had been living in the same Kuala Lumpur house.

The friend also claimed that Zaharie was experiencing relationship problems with another woman he was seeing, the report added.