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Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak has announced on the basis of new analysis it must be concluded that missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Najib Razak said: “It is with deep sadness and regret, that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”
Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak has announced on the basis of new analysis it must be concluded that missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean
The prime minister said Malaysia Airlines had informed the families of the 239 passengers and crew.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8.
The announcement came as the search effort in the southern Indian Ocean completed a fifth day of operations.
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According to new reports, an Australian plane has spotted two objects in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, and a ship has arrived in the area to find them.
The objects could be picked up in the southern Indian Ocean in a few hours, Malaysia’s transport minister said.
One object was circular and grey or green, and the other rectangular and orange, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
An Australian plane has spotted two objects in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet
Tony Abbott said it was not known whether the objects were from flight MH370, and could be flotsam.
The two objects were different, the prime minister said, from several white, square-shaped objects spotted earlier by Chinese military planes.
“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority [AMSA] has advised that objects have been located by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion. And I can advise the House that HMAS Success is on scene and is attempting to locate and recover these objects,” Tony Abbott told the Australian parliament.
Investigators could be closer to resolving “one of the great mysteries of our time”, the prime minister added.
Speaking at a daily news briefing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed the missing airliner had been carrying wooden pallets, but said there was no connection yet to a reported Australian sighting of pallets floating in the search zone.
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Suspicious objects have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean by a Chinese plane hunting for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet as more nations joined the search, China’s state media say.
Searchers saw two “relatively big” objects with “many white smaller ones scattered within a radius of several kilometres”, Xinhua news agency said.
Australia said it had been informed and would try to locate the objects.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Ten planes were scheduled to scour the southern Indian Ocean area on Monday for possible debris picked up earlier by radar echoes and satellite imagery.
Two Chinese military planes flew out to the search area, around 1,550 miles south-west of Australian city Perth, on Monday morning, while two Japanese P-3 Orion aircraft set off later in the day.
A Chinese plane hunting for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has spotted “suspicious” objects
They joined six other planes, including US and Australian military planes, in searching a 26,000 sq miles area in the ocean.
An Australian navy ship is already in the area, while several Chinese ships are also on their way.
“When two of our IL-76 planes were searching the relevant suspected sea area, one of the planes photographed white, square floating objects,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular press briefing.
“At present we are unable to confirm whether the floating objects are related to the missing passenger jet,” he said, adding that China was currently analyzing the photographs.
The IL-76 crew has given co-ordinates of the objects to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), as well as China’s ice-breaker Xue Long, which is heading to the area, Xinhua news agency says.
AMSA, which is co-ordinating search efforts, said in a statement it “was advised about the reported objects sighted by a Chinese aircraft.
“The reported objects are within today’s search area and attempts will be made to relocate them.”
However, the US Navy P8 Poseidon plane tasked with investigating the reported sightings was unable to relocate the objects, AMSA said later on its Twitter feed.
Earlier, the authority had warned that weather conditions in the search area were expected to deteriorate.
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A French satellite spotted potential debris from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, France’s foreign ministry says.
Radar echoes had picked up several objects about 1,430 miles from Perth, a statement added.
It is the third possible sighting in the area off western Australia that has become the focus of the search effort.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course.
Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors – one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west.
However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and the satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.
On Sunday, a statement published on the Malaysian ministry of transport’s Facebook page said: “This morning, Malaysia received new satellite images from the French authorities showing potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor.
French satellite spotted potential debris from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean
“Malaysia immediately relayed these images to the Australian rescue co-ordination centre.”
An unnamed Malaysian official told the Associated Press that the new satellite image was taken on Friday, and that one of the potential objects was estimated to be about the same size as one spotted by a Chinese satellite that appeared to be 72ft by 13m 43ft.
The possible debris was located about 575 miles north of where the objects reported by China and Australia over the past week, the official added.
A French foreign ministry statement said the objects were about 1,437 miles from Perth, but did not give a direction or say when the discovery was made.
It also clarified that the French authorities had passed on data in the form of “satellite-generated radar echoes” rather than images. Radar works by sending out radio waves or microwaves and listening for echoes that bounce back.
“France has decided to mobilize complementary satellite means to continue the search in the identified zone,” the ministry statement added.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) subsequently announced that that the search operation in the southern Indian Ocean had concluded for the day.
“There were no sightings of significance,” a statement said.
“The search area experienced early sea fog particularly in the western areas, however conditions improved during the day.”
AMSA said the four military and four civilian aircraft involved in Sunday’s search effort had covered a total of 22, 780 sq miles south-west of Perth. Chinese military Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft and Japanese P-3C Orion aircraft would join the search on Monday, it added.
HMAS Success, an Australian navy supply ship, also took part in Sunday’s operation.
A key focus on Sunday was the sighting on Saturday of a wooden cargo pallet, along with belts or straps.
Mike Barton, operations co-ordinator at AMSA, said: “Part of the description was a wooden pallet and a number of other items which were nondescript around it and some belts of some different colours around it as well, strapping belts of different lengths.”
He added: “We tried to re-find that yesterday, one of the New Zealand aircraft, and unfortunately they didn’t find it. That’s the nature of it – you only have to be off by a few hundred metres in a fast-travelling aircraft.”
Pallets are used for shipping as well as plane cargo and Mike Barton urged caution, saying the sighting “could be anything”.
Earlier, Australian PM Tony Abbott said the sightings of objects were encouraging signs.
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The international search of the south Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been increased with more planes.
Eight planes were sent out on Sunday over a wider search area after China released new images of possible debris.
Australia is leading the search and said it was investigating sightings of a wooden pallet and other items.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course.
Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors – one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west.
More planes have joined an increasingly international search of the south Indian Ocean for missing flight MH370
However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and two sets of satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.
The search is being co-ordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) from Perth in western Australia.
Eight search planes were involved in the search on Sunday, including four civil aircraft and a US P8 Poseidon.
Two Chinese IL-76 search planes have arrived in Perth but have not yet been deployed. Japan is sending two P3 Orions.
The Australian navy’s HMAS Success is the only ship in the area, though others, including from the US, UK and China are on the way.
A key focus on Sunday was the sighting on Saturday of a wooden cargo pallet, along with belts or straps.
Mike Barton, operations coordinator at AMSA, said: “Part of the description was a wooden pallet and a number of other items which were nondescript around it and some belts of some different colors around it as well, strapping belts of different lengths.”
He added: “We tried to re-find that yesterday, one of the New Zealand aircraft, and unfortunately they didn’t find it. That’s the nature of it – you only have to be off by a few hundred metres in a fast-travelling aircraft.”
Pallets are used for shipping as well as plane cargo and Mike Barton cautioned the sighting “could be anything”.
AMSA released a statement on Sunday’s search, detailing the aircraft involved and saying the area would cover about 22,800 square miles.
Mike Barton said the sun and haze at a low altitude made the task for searchers tough.
The weather on Sunday was initially cloudy but it was hoped it might clear later.
Earlier, Australian PM Tony Abbott said the sightings of objects were encouraging signs.
“Obviously we have now had a number of very credible leads and there is increasing hope – no more than hope, no more than hope – that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft,” he said.
China on Saturday released a satellite image showing an object floating in the southern Indian Ocean near to the area already being searched, some 1,550 miles south-west of Perth.
The grainy image was released by China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
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According to Malaysian officials, China is investigating new satellite images of debris in the southern Indian Ocean, potentially from missing flight MH370.
Malaysia’s Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein read out the news as he was handed it during at his daily briefing, saying one element of debris was 30m by 22m.
He said the Chinese government would give more details on Saturday.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 dropped out of contact an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8 carrying 239 people.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 dropped out of contact an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8 carrying 239 people
Hishammuddin Hussein broke off the question and answer segment of his briefing in Kuala Lumpur to say: “The news that I just received is that the Chinese ambassador received satellite image of floating objects in the southern corridor and they will be sending ships to verify.”
He added: “Beijing is expected to make an announcement in a few hours.”
China is one of 26 nations involved in the search for flight MH370. Most of those on board the plane were Chinese nationals.
Planes and vessels are already searching the southern Indian Ocean following earlier satellite images this week that detected possible debris 1,550 miles south-west of Perth in Australia.
No debris of missing Malaysia Airlines jet have been found in the southern Indian Ocean as the second day of an international search ended.
The operation is due to resume on Saturday with extra vessels joining the search, Australian officials say.
Five aircraft took part in Friday’s search for flight MH370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board.
Satellite images have revealed objects possibly related to the plane in waters far south-west of Western Australia.
Bad weather had initially hampered Thursday’s operation, but conditions improved on Friday.
Experts have warned that the searchers face extremely treacherous seas and that a recovery operation would be very dangerous.
Operations were halted on Friday at nightfall , the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed. It added that an Australian navy ship, the HMAS Success, was on its way to the search area.
In an earlier press conference, Malaysian authorities said the vessel was expected to “reach the vicinity of the objects tomorrow [Saturday]”.
Other countries deploying additional assets included China, Japan and the United Kingdom, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.
Five aircraft took part in Friday’s search for flight MH370
Hishammuddin Hussein added that a French delegation was also assisting “with their considerable experience and expertise”.
The team “includes a man who led the investigation into the Air France (Flight) 447 crash”, he said.
Australian PM Tony Abbott earlier described the search as “a gut-wrenching business for so many people, not least those who are charged with keeping their citizens safe”.
The prime minister said: “If there is anything down there, we will find it.”
“It’s about the most inaccessible spot that you can imagine on the face of the earth, but if there is anything down there, we will find it,” said Tony Abbott, who is currently visiting Papua New Guinea.
“We owe it to the families of those people (on board) to do no less.”
But he also cautioned that the objects spotted by the satellites could be unrelated to the plane.
Flight MH370 was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it lost contact with air traffic controllers and disappeared from radar.
Satellite data has led to a search in two corridors to the north and south of its last known location in the Malacca Straits – the opposite direction from its flight path.
Malaysian officials say they believe the plane was intentionally diverted. Authorities in many countries have scrutinized the backgrounds of both passengers and crew on board but say they have no substantive leads.
Other reports of debris to date have proved not to be linked to the missing plane.
Four military planes, including three Orions belonging to the Royal Australian Air Force, were taking part in the search, AMSA said. A civilian Bombardier Global Express is also involved.
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The international air search in the Indian Ocean for possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has ended for the day, officials have said.
As night fell, Australia, New Zealand and the US said bad weather hampered their efforts in the area 1,550 miles south-west of Perth.
Four planes were trying to check whether two objects seen on satellite images were debris from flight MH370.
The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing plane with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8.
It first lost contact with air traffic controllers and then disappeared from radar.
Footage shows an Australian Air Force P-3 Orion over the new search area.
Four planes were trying to check whether two objects seen on satellite images were debris from flight MH370 (photo EPA)
A statement by Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the four planes searched the vast area without success.
“The search will continue on Friday,” it said.
Two Australian Orion aircraft searching the area on Thursday were joined later by aircraft from the US and New Zealand.
AMSA said the aircraft had covered an area of 14,000 square miles.
The captain of the first Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane to return from the search area described the weather conditions as “extremely bad” with rough seas and high winds.
David Wright, an ABC News reporter who was on the P-8 Poseidon, said all the sophisticated plane had spotted was “a freighter and two pods of dolphins”.
A Norwegian merchant ship, the St Petersburg, has also arrived in the area after responding to a shipping broadcast issued by Australia’s rescue co-ordination centre.
It will be joined by an Australian naval vessel, HMAS Success and Britain’s HMS Echo coastal survey ship.
Earlier on Thursday, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein described the possible sighting of debris on satellite images taken on March 16 as a “credible lead”.
The largest object appeared to be 78ft in size, the Australian authorities said.
A number of sightings of possible debris have been investigated since the plane went missing but so far none have proved to be linked.
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Australia has announced it is investigating two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
Planes and ships from Australia, New Zealand and the US were heading to the area 1,550 miles south-west of Perth to search for the objects.
The largest appeared to be 24 m in size, maritime authorities said, but warned they could be unrelated to the plane.
Australia has been searching in the southern Indian Ocean for the aircraft.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 when it lost contact with air traffic controllers. A total of 239 people were on board.
Twenty-six nations have been involved in a major search for the missing plane, which Malaysia says was intentionally diverted.
Investigators have been scrutinizing the backgrounds of both the crew and the passengers, but have so far identified no evidence of terror or other potentially relevant links.
A number of sightings of possible debris have been investigated in the course of the search but so far none have proved to be linked.
Australian PM Tony Abbott announced the discovery of the objects in parliament.
Tony Abbott: “The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult.”
Australia is investigating two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority [AMSA] has received information based on satellite information of objects possibly related to the search,” he said.
“Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified.”
An Australian Orion aircraft is currently in the search area and three more planes, including US and New Zealand aircraft, are on their way. A merchant ship is due there later in the day and an Australian naval vessel, HMAS Success, is also on its way.
AMSA said the debris had been located in waters some 1,550 miles south-west of the Australian city of Perth.
The objects identified were of a “reasonable size”, AMSA’s general manager John Young said. The largest object appeared to be about 24m in size, he said.
“The objects are relatively indistinct. The indication to me is of objects that are of a reasonable size and probably awash with water and bobbing up and down over the surface,” he said.
“This is a lead, it is probably the best lead we have right now. But we need to get there, find them, see them, assess them, to know whether it’s really meaningful or not.”
John Young warned that poor visibility in the area could hamper the search.
Australia informed Malaysian authorities of the development on Thursday morning.
“We have been following every single lead and this time I just hope that this time it is a positive development,” Malaysia’s Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.
Earlier this week, Australia was asked by Malaysia to take responsibility for the “southern corridor” search.
Investigators had identified two corridors of territory – one to the north and one to the south – spanning the possible positions of the plane about seven hours after take-off.
This was based on its last faint signal to a satellite – an hourly “handshake” broadcast even when the main communication systems are switched off.
Flight MH370 lost contact with controllers over the South China Sea as it crossed from Malaysian to Vietnamese air space.
Malaysian officials say it then turned west and its last position – according to Malaysian military radar – was over the Malacca Straits, in the opposite direction to its planned flight path.
Attention has focused on the crew and on Wednesday multiple unidentified US officials said that the FBI was helping Malaysia analyze data from a flight simulator taken from the captain’s home.
Hishammuddin Hussein, at a press conference on Wednesday, stressed the captain should be considered innocent until proved otherwise and said that members of his family were co-operating with the investigation.
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The FBI is now helping the Malaysian government’s search for the missing flight MH370.
The agency is believed to be helping the Malaysian investigators examine a home flight simulator belonging to one of the Malaysia Airlines jet’s pilots for clues.
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah is said to have deleted some files from the computer simulator.
Teams from 26 countries are trying to find flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.
The flight was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The FBI, through its legal office in Kuala Lumpur, “continues to engage with appropriate Malaysian authorities and provide support where necessary to the Malaysian government in their investigation of the missing aircraft”, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
The agency would not comment on the specifics of its investigation, nor what had been communicated to its investigators by Malaysian authorities.
On Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Malaysia was also speaking to US aviation and transport accident investigation agencies.
The FBI is now helping the Malaysian government’s search for the missing flight MH370
“We are finding that the level of co-operation with the Malaysian government is solid, and we are working closely with the Malaysians as well as our other international partners in this effort to find out what happened to the plane and why it happened,” Jay Carney said.
A US law enforcement official told the Reuters news agency the Malaysian officials gave the FBI access to data generated by both pilots including from a hard drive attached to the captain’s flight simulator and electronic media used by a co-pilot.
But the official stressed there was no guarantee the FBI analysis would yield further clues.
Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu said some data was deleted on February 3 from the simulator found at Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s home and that investigators were trying to recover the deleted files.
The acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, stressed the captain should be considered innocent until proven guilty and that members of his family were co-operating with the investigation. Deleting files would not necessarily be suspicious, particularly if it were done to free up memory space.
The Malaysian authorities have said the evidence so far suggests the Boeing-777 was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca with its communications systems disabled. They are unsure what happened next.
Investigators have identified two giant arcs of territory spanning the possible positions of the plane about seven hours after take-off.
This is based on its last faint signal to a satellite – an hourly “handshake” broadcast even when communications are switched off. The arcs stretch up as far as Kazakhstan in central Asia and deep into the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia.
Investigators are considering the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board.
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Police in the Maldives have said they are looking into local reports that a low-flying plane was sighted above Kudahuvadhoo, south-west of the capital Male, around 06:15 local time on March 8 and that its colors matched those of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
The Maldives National Defense Force said that although nothing had been detected on its radar, it would provide any assistance needed for the search.
If the plane was indeed flight MH370, it would have flown far slower than normal, in order for the timings to be possible.
Police in the Maldives have said they are looking into local reports that a low-flying plane was sighted above Kudahuvadhoo
The main Maldives airport is one of those featured in the flight simulator discovered at the home of the captain.
The Malaysian authorities have said the evidence so far suggests the Boeing-777 was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca, with its communications systems disabled. They are unsure what happened next.
Investigators have identified two giant arcs of territory spanning the possible positions of the plane about seven hours after take-off.
This is based on its last faint signal to a satellite – an hourly “handshake” signal that continues even when communications are switched off. The arcs stretch up as far as Kazakhstan in central Asia and deep into the southern Indian Ocean.
Investigators are considering the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board.
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Chinese relatives of the missing flight MH370 passengers were dragged away from journalists during a news conference in Malaysia as frustration with the plane search boiled over.
They were attempting to speak to Chinese journalists outside the daily press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Teams from 26 countries are trying to find Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.
One of the relatives, a middle-aged woman, cried: “They give different messages every day! Where’s the flight now? Find our relatives! Find the aircraft!”
The Malaysian government said later it regretted the scenes and ordered an investigation, saying “one can only imagine the anguish they are going through”.
During the daily briefing, Malaysia’s acting transport minister rejected reports that emerged on Tuesday that the plane had been spotted in the Maldives.
A local councilor on the island of Kudahuvadhoo has said that about 10 people described seeing a large aeroplane some hours after it disappeared.
The missing jet relatives were prevented from entering the media centre in Kuala Lumpur, before being bundled away
The acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, also said the authorities had investigated almost all the passengers and crew of the plane, but had so far found no information of significance.
“We have received passengers’ background checks from all countries apart from Ukraine and Russia,” he told reporters. There were two Ukrainians and one Russian on the plane.
Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu also said some data had been deleted from the flight simulator found at Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s home on February 3, and that investigators were trying to recover the deleted files.
Hishammuddin Hussein stressed Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah should be considered innocent until proven guilty and that members of his family were co-operating with the investigation. Deleting files would not necessarily be suspicious, particularly if it were to free up memory space.
Chinese citizens made up the overwhelming majority of the passengers on the plane, which had been heading from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Responding to complaints among relatives of those on board that they are not being kept fully informed, the Malaysian authorities said they would send a team to Beijing to liaise with Chinese families waiting for news.
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Families of the Chinese passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have threatened a hunger strike if the Malaysian authorities fail to provide more accurate information.
Relatives vented their anger at a meeting with the airline in Beijing.
Officials in Malaysia say they are trying to narrow the search area, which now covers about 2.24 million square nautical miles (7.68 million sq km).
Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.
Some 25 countries are involved in looking for the plane.
A total of 153 Chinese nationals were on board the missing aircraft, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
China’s state media has been criticizing the Malaysian operation.
Some Chinese relatives have said they believe the Malaysian authorities are holding information back and have demanded more clarity.
After a meeting with officials from Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday, families held a vote on organizing a hunger strike.
Families of the Chinese passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have threatened a hunger strike if the Malaysian authorities fail to provide more accurate information
Ahmad Jauhari Yahy, chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, told a news conference on Monday that the airline was doing everything it could for the families.
Meanwhile, following speculation about the pilot’s links to Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has said: “The search for flight MH370 is bigger than politics.”
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a supporter of the jailed politician.
Hishammuddin Hussein praised the international response to the search efforts and said teams were continuing to search two vast air corridors north and south of the plane’s last known location.
He added that the Malaysian authorities still believed the disappearance was a result of “deliberate action” on the plane.
Malaysia says the plane was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position in the Malacca Straits.
China said earlier it had started searching its territory for the aircraft.
The Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, Huang Huikang, also said background checks had shown no evidence to suggest any of the Chinese passengers had terror links, Xinhua news agency reported.
China said it had also deployed 21 satellites to help with the search.
Thailand’s air force said on Tuesday a re-examination of its radar data found what may have been the plane travelling west towards the Straits of Malacca shortly after it lost contact with air traffic controllers.
The Thai military had previously said it had not detected any sign of the aircraft.
The Malaysia Airlines plane left Kuala Lumpur at 00:40 local time on March 8. The last transmission from the plane’s Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was received at 01:07.
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China has started searching its territory for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, while Australia has narrowed its search area in the south.
Efforts to find the aircraft are focusing on two vast air corridors north and south of the plane’s last known location.
China said no evidence of terror links had been found in Chinese passengers.
The Malaysia Airlines plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board. Some 26 countries are involved in search efforts.
Malaysia says the plane was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position in the Malacca Straits.
Search efforts are focused on two corridors – one stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and another from Indonesia to the Indian Ocean.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that the aircraft’s crew – or other individuals on the plane – were involved in its disappearance.
A total of 153 Chinese nationals were on board the missing aircraft, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
China has started searching its territory for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Huang Huikang, said that search and rescue operations in the Chinese territories of the northern corridor had begun, Xinhua news agency reported.
Based on background checks, there was no evidence to suggest that the mainland Chinese passengers on the plane were involved in hijacking or launching a terror attack, Mr Huang added.
China said it had also deployed 21 satellites to help with the search.
Meanwhile, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it had narrowed down its search area in the southern Indian Ocean based on satellite data and analysis of the aircraft’s possible movements.
However, AMSA said the search area was still vast.
“A needle in a haystack remains a good analogy,” AMSA Emergency Response General Manager John Young said, adding that there was a “difficult” task ahead.
“The sheer size of the search area poses a huge challenge – the search area is more than 600,000 square kilometres [230,000 sq miles],” he added.
Late on Monday, US officials said the US navy ship USS Kidd had been taken off the search because the enlarged search area meant that “long-range patrol aircraft” were “more suited” to the mission.
The move was made “in consultation with the Malaysian government”, officials said in a statement. USS Kidd had searched the Andaman Sea but found “no debris or wreckage associated with an aircraft”, they added.
The US says it is using patrol aircraft including the P-8A Poseidon and P-3C Orion to continue search efforts, with the P-8 taking part in search efforts in the south corridor.
The Malaysia Airlines plane left Kuala Lumpur at 00:40 local time on March 8. The last transmission from the plane’s Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was received at 01:07.
A transmission expected 30 minutes later did not come through, Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahy told reporters. Officials believe the communications systems were deliberately disabled.
Several countries have already rejected the suggestion that their airspace might have been breached.
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According to Malaysian officials, the co-pilot of missing flight MH370 spoke the last words to ground controllers before it vanished.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that Malaysia Airlines jet’s crew were involved in its disappearance.
The search for the plane has extended into two vast air corridors.
Twenty-six countries have been asked to help find the jet, which went missing over a week ago with 239 people on board.
Malaysia says the plane was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position.
Ahmad Jauhari Yahy, chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, told a press conference on Monday that initial investigations had indicated that co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid had calmly said: “All right, good night” shortly before the plane disappeared.
However, it is not clear whether the last words came before or after one of the plane’s tracking devices was switched off. Officials believe the communications systems were deliberately disabled.
Missing flight MH370’s co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid spoke the last words to ground controllers before the plane vanished
Police have searched the homes of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.
A flight simulator taken from Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s home was being reassembled and examined at police headquarters, officials said.
Investigators are also looking at passengers, engineers and other ground staff who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off.
The plane left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time on March 8.
Officials say the sign-off to air traffic controllers came at 01:19 as it left Malaysian airspace.
The last transmission from the plane’s Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was received at 01:07.
“We don’t know when the ACARS was switched off after that,” Ahmad Jauhari Yahy said.
“It was supposed to transmit 30 minutes from there, but that transmission did not come through.”
The plane disappeared off air traffic controllers’ screens at 01:21, when it was over the South China Sea.
Searches have started in two air corridors – one stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, and another from Indonesia to the Indian Ocean.
Two-thirds of flight MH370 passengers were from China and the country’s state media has been criticizing the Malaysian operation.
Chinese PM Li Keqiang in a phone call asked the Malaysian PM Najib Razak to provide more detailed information about the missing flight “in a timely, accurate and comprehensive manner”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.
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Australia is taking control of the “southern vector” search for the missing Malaysian Airlines jet, Australian PM Tony Abbott says.
According to Malaysian officials, flight MH370 was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position.
More than 20 nations have been asked to help search for the missing jet, and evaluate radar and satellite data.
There has also been scrutiny of the last communication from the plane.
Malaysian officials said on Sunday that the last words from the cockpit – “All right, good night” – came after the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which transmits key information about the plane to the ground, had been deliberately switched off.
On Saturday, Malaysian police searched the homes of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid. A flight simulator taken from the captain’s home was being re-assembled and examined at police headquarters, officials said.
Friends of both pilots – who investigators say did not ask to fly together – have expressed disbelief at the possibility of their involvement.
Australia is taking control of the “southern vector” search for the missing Malaysian Airlines jet
Investigators are also looking at passengers, engineers and other ground staff who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off in their search for clues.
Malaysia Airlines plane, carrying a total of 239 passengers and crew, left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time on March 8.
The plane disappeared off air traffic controllers’ screens at about 01:20, when it was over the South China Sea.
Malaysian officials said on Saturday that according to a military radar, the aircraft then turned and flew back over Malaysia before heading in a north-west direction.
A satellite was able to pick up a signal from the plane until 08:11 local time, although it was unable to give a precise location.
Investigators are now looking at two possible corridors – a northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through to northern Thailand, and a southern corridor stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
Australian PM Tony Abbott said he was adding more resources to the search in response to a request from Malaysia.
Tony Abbott told parliament on Monday that Malaysian PM Najib Razak asked Australia to “take responsibility for the search on the southern vector, which the Malaysian authorities now think was one possible flight path for this ill-fated aircraft”.
“I agreed that we would do so. I offered the Malaysian prime minister additional maritime surveillance resources which he gratefully accepted.”
Malaysia’s navy and air force were also deploying assets to the southern corridor on Monday, Malaysia’s transport ministry said.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Authority said it was not possible for the plane to have reached its airspace undetected.
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said it had checked its radar recordings but “found no clue” connected to the flight.
Aside from Australia, Malaysia has sent diplomatic notes requesting assistance to 25 countries.
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Twenty five countries are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that disappeared over a week ago, Malaysian officials say.
The search area – from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean – takes in large tracts of land and sea.
An already complex search operation has become even more difficult, Malaysia’s acting transport minister says.
Crew, passengers and ground staff are being investigated after it was confirmed the jet was commandeered.
Investigators are trying to obtain more radar and satellite data from any of the countries that flight MH370 may have passed over, with its 239 crew and passengers.
The leaders of several Asian countries have been briefed by the Malaysia government in what acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has described as a new phase of the search.
“From focusing mainly on shallow seas, we are now looking at large tracts of land, crossing 11 countries, as well as deep and remote oceans,” he said at a news conference.
Malaysian officials are contacting countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and France.
Twenty five countries are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
They are also asking countries to provide assistance in the search for the plane, including satellite data and analysis, ground-search capabilities, and maritime and air assets.
After checking their radar recordings, Pakistani civil aviation officials said they had found no sign of the missing jet.
Malaysian national police chief Gen Khalid Abu Bakar said background checks had been requested on all passengers aboard the plane, but that so far nothing suspicious had been reported – though some intelligence agencies still had to respond.
The police are also reportedly looking at the family life and psychological state of the plane’s pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, and searched their homes on Saturday.
Zaharie Shah and Fariq Abdul had not asked to fly together, Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed at the news conference.
Officers spoke to relatives of Zaharie Shah and experts are examining the pilot’s personal flight simulator. Police have visited his house for a second day.
Those who know Zaharie Shah, 53, insist he is a normal family man.
With 18,000 hours of flying experience, Zaharie Shah is a self-confessed “aviation geek” and proudly posted pictures online of the flight simulator he built at home.
Fariq Hamid was said to be engaged, and had just graduated to the cockpit of the Boeing 777. A local community leader described him as a “good boy, a good Muslim, humble and quiet”. The only known blot on his record is that he invited two female passengers into the cockpit of a 2011 flight from Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, in breach of regulations.
As well as the crew and passengers, police are investigating the engineers and other ground staff who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off.
A team from British telecommunications company Inmarsat team arrived on Saturday in Malaysia.
An Inmarsat satellite is said have continued receiving signals from flight MH370 at least five hours after the plane was reported lost.
A team of French investigators is to travel to Malaysia on Monday to help with the search, the French transport ministry has said in a statement. They will join members of the US National Transportation Safety Board already in Malaysia.
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The Kuala Lumpur homes of the two pilots of missing Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board are being searched by police.
Malaysian police are also reportedly looking at the family life and psychological state of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.
This comes after the authorities said the communications systems of the plane had been deliberately disabled.
The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight is believed to have then changed course.
According to satellite evidence, the Boeing 777 could have continued flying for a further seven hours after its last radar contact, Malaysian PM Najib Razak said.
He added that the plane could be anywhere from Kazakhstan to the Indian Ocean.
Najib Razak stopped short of saying it was a hijacking, saying only that they were investigating “all possibilities”.
In a separate development, India on Sunday suspended its search for the plane around the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also in the Bay of Bengal.
Delhi said it acted at the request of the Malaysian authorities.
China – which had 153 citizens on board flight MH370 – has urged Malaysia to continue providing it with “thorough and exact information” on the search.
The homes of Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid were searched on Saturday, a senior police officer familiar with the investigation was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“We are not ruling out any sort of motivation at the moment,” the official said.
Malaysian police are also investigating the family life and psychological state of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid
The authorities have so far released no new details on the pilots’ investigation.
However, nothing has been ruled in or out – so terrorism, piracy or even an elaborate suicide are all options now being considered.
Zaharie Ahmad Shah joined Malaysia Airlines more than 30 years ago, and was considered a very experience pilot.
Fariq Abdul Hamid recently graduated to the cockpit of a Boeing 777. It is believed that he was considering marriage.
It was also reported that Fariq Abdul Hamid had drawn scrutiny after he and another unnamed pilot invited two female passengers to sit in the cockpit during a flight in 2011, according to the Associated Press.
Flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time on March 8 and disappeared off air traffic controllers’ screens at about 01:20.
PM Najib Razak told a news conference on Saturday that new satellite evidence shows “with a high degree of certainty” that the one of the aircraft’s communications systems – the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) – was disabled just before it had reached the east coast of Malaysia.
ACARS is a service that allows computers aboard the plane to “talk” to computers on the ground, relaying in-flight information about the health of its systems.
Shortly afterwards, near the cross-over point between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic controllers, the plane’s transponder – which emits an identifying signal – was switched off, he said.
According to a military radar, the aircraft then turned and flew back over Malaysia before heading in a north-west direction.
A satellite was able to pick up a signal from the plane until 08:11 local time – more than seven hours after it lost radar contact – although it was unable to give a precise location, Najib Razak said.
The prime minister went on to say that based on this new data, investigators “have determined the plane’s last communication with a satellite was in one of two possible corridors”: a northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through to northern Thailand and a southern corridor stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean
Investigators will now focus on trying to obtain the radar data from any of the countries the Boeing 777 may have passed over.
This could include Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Pakistan.
Along with the Chinese passengers, there were 38 Malaysians and citizens of Iran, the US, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, India, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and the Netherlands on board.
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Radar coverage of the area where Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing is patchy and often not even switched on, according to aviation experts.
During the investigation it has emerged that civilian systems do not cover large swatches of the areas the plane could have gone, and that military systems are often left off to save money.
Air traffic control teams rely transponders signals to track planes – but investigators believe that the device was intentionally switched off on the missing aircraft.
Radar coverage of the area where Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing is patchy and often not even switched on
Military systems, meanwhile, are often limited, switched off, or routinely ignore aircraft they do not think are suspicious.
A Rear Admiral in the Indian armed forces, which are aiding search efforts over the Andaman Islands, said: “It’s possible that the military radars were switched off as we operate on an <<as required>> basis.”
However, experts have suggested that a disappearing transponder signal would be treated more seriously over Europe or America, and that a parallel situation would be unlikely to develop.
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According to officials, the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was hijacked, steered off-course and could have reached Pakistan.
It appears that people with significant flying experience could have turned off flight MH370’s communication devices.
A Malaysian government official said that hijacking theory was now “conclusive”, and, as a result, police have raided the luxury homes of both the captain and the co-pilot.
The search operation has now been focused on two “corridors”, one which extends from north west from Thailand to the Kazakstan-Turkmenistan border and the other which opens out into the southern Indian Ocean.
Countries in the plane’s potential flightpath have now joined a huge diplomatic effort to locate the missing passengers, but China described the revelation as “painfully belated”.
While Malaysian PM Najib Razak refused to confirm that flight MH370 was taken over, he admitted “deliberate action” on board the plane resulted in it changing course and losing connection with ground crews.
The missing Malaysia Airlines jet was hijacked, steered off-course and could have reached Pakistan
The plane’s communication system was switched off as it headed west over the Malaysian seaboard and could have flown for another seven hours on its fuel reserves.
It is not yet clear where the plane could have been taken, however PM Najib Razak said the most recent satellite data suggests the plane could have headed to one of two possible flight corridors.
The last radar contact was made at 8.11 a.m. on March 8 along one of the corridors, 7 hours and 31 minutes after takeoff, but the plane could have deviated further from these points.
US investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the passengers are being held at an unknown location and suggest that faint “pings” were being transmitted for several hours after the flight lost contact with the ground.
NASA has also joined the international search operation, analyzing satellite data and images that have already been gathered.
Malaysian authorities and others are investigating the two pilots and 10 crew members, along with the 227 passengers on board.
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Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak has said the communications systems of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were deliberately disabled.
According to satellite and radar evidence, the plane then changed course and could have continued flying for a further seven hours.
The plane’s last signal came about seven and a half hours after takeoff, meaning it could have ended up as far as Kazakhstan or deep in the southern Indian Ocean, PM Najib Razak said Saturday.
Najib Razak’s statement confirmed days of mounting speculation that the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people on board on March 8 was not accidental, and underlines the massive task for searchers who already been scouring vast areas of ocean.
The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight last made contact with air traffic control as it headed east towards the South China Sea, about one hour after take-off.
Najib Razak told a news conference that new satellite evidence shows “with a high degree of certainty” that the aircraft’s communications systems were disabled just before it reached the east coast of Malaysia.
Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak has said the communications systems of the missing flight MH370 were deliberately disabled (photo Reuters)
According to a military radar, the flight then turned and flew back over Malaysia before turning north-west.
A satellite was able to pick up a signal from the plane for some seven hours after it lost radar contact, although it was unable to give a precise location, Najib Razak said.
He went on to say that based on this new data, investigators “have determined the plane’s last communication with a satellite was in one of two possible corridors”:
- a northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through to northern Thailand
- a southern corridor stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean
Najib Razak said that in light of the new evidence, the investigation had “entered a new phase” and would focus on the crew and passengers on board.
Addressing reports that the plane had been hijacked, he said only “we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate”.
An extensive search of the seas around Malaysia – involving 14 countries, 43 ships and 58 aircraft – have proved fruitless.
Najib Razak’s news conference goes some way to addressing the speculation that had begun circulating in local media that the plane had been hijacked and had somehow landed intact.
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New reports claim Malaysia Airlines plane may have been flying for more than five hours after it disappeared.
According to a BBC report, it is believed the plane was sending automated signals to a satellite system long after radar contact was lost.
This would mean flight MH370 could have flown more than 1,000 miles beyond its last confirmed position.
On Friday, US surveillance teams were sent to the Indian Ocean, much further west than the initial searches
The Indian navy has also been asked to search an area in the Bay of Bengal off India’s Chennai coast, Malaysian authorities said on Friday.
Flight MH370 vanished last Saturday with 239 people on board.
The plane – which was supposed to be flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur – last made contact with air traffic control over the South China Sea to the east of Malaysia.
Malaysia Airlines plane may have been flying for more than five hours after it disappeared
However, the BBC understands that a satellite system operated by London-based telecommunications company Inmarsat received an automated signal from flight MH370 at least five hours after the plane was reported lost.
The signal could only have been sent if the plane was intact and powered, and may explain why search teams have moved to the Indian Ocean.
Earlier, US media outlets also quoted unnamed officials as saying that the Boeing 777 was “pinging” satellites for hours after its last contact with air traffic controllers.
White House spokesman Jay Carney has confirmed that US teams were shifting their focus to the Indian Ocean because of “new information”, but gave no further details.
Malaysia has not yet commented on the latest claims.
The US – one of a number of countries helping to search for the plane – has sent a navy destroyer and a sophisticated surveillance aircraft to the Indian Ocean.
The Indian navy, air force and coast guard are also now involved after a request from the Malaysian government.
Indian naval spokesman DK Sharma said on Friday that six ships and five aircraft were scouring the Andaman Sea.
Malaysian authorities later said that India’s Eastern Naval Command was to search an area of sea 3,500 sq miles off the Chennai coast.
China said on Friday it was sending a patrol ship to the Malacca Strait, west of Malaysia, after a fruitless search in the Gulf in Thailand.
The official Xinhua news agency said experts and officials had met on Friday and “analyzed new information”, but did not give details.
Some 153 of the passengers on board the plane were Chinese, and Beijing has been pressing Malaysia to intensify its search.
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US surveillance teams have been sent to the Indian Ocean to help search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, after claims emerged that it may have flown for longer than investigators had thought.
Unnamed officials said flight MH370 sent signals to satellites for up to five hours after its apparent disappearance.
However, investigators stressed that the information was not conclusive.
Rescuers have so far failed to find any trace of flight MH370, which vanished last Saturday with 239 people on board.
The plane, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, last made contact with air-traffic control over the South China Sea to the east of Malaysia.
US surveillance teams have been sent to the Indian Ocean to help search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
The US, which is one of a number of countries helping in the search for the plane, has sent a navy destroyer and a sophisticated surveillance aircraft to the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles west of Malaysia.
The Indian navy, air force and coast guard are also now assisting after a request for help from the Malaysian government.
Several US media reports on Thursday cited unnamed officials as saying that the Boeing 777 was “pinging” satellites for hours after its last contact with air-traffic controllers.
That led searchers to believe the plane could have flown more than 1,000 miles beyond its last confirmed radar sighting.
White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed that US teams were shifting their focus to the Indian Ocean because of “new information”, but he gave no further details.
Some 153 of the passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines plane were Chinese, and Beijing has been putting pressure on Malaysia to intensify its search.
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Malaysia’s civil aviation chief has said the planes sent Thursday to check the spot where Chinese satellite images showed possible debris from the missing flight MH370 found nothing.
“There is nothing. We went there, there is nothing,” Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
Adding to the mystery, The Wall Street Journal reported that US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours once it lost contact with air traffic controllers, based on data from the plane’s engines that are automatically downloaded and transmitted to the ground as part of routine maintenance programs.
The report, based on two anonymous sources, raises questions as to why the Boeing 777 would have been flying without passive or active contact with the ground, and if anyone would have been in control during that time. US counterterrorism officials are considering whether a pilot or someone else on board intentionally disabled the jetliner’s transponders to avoid detection and divert it, the report said.
The hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has been punctuated by false leads since it disappeared with 239 people aboard about an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing early Saturday.
The plane was heading northeast over the Gulf of Thailand toward Vietnam when vanished.
Shortly after that it fell off commercial radar, but military authorities say it might have turned west and flown into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca based on unconfirmed traces seen on its air defense radar.
Dozens of ships and aircraft from 12 nations have been searching the Gulf of Thailand and the strait, but no trace has been found. The search area has grown to 35,800 square miles, or about the size of Portugal.
Malaysia found nothing at the spot where Chinese satellite images showed possible debris from the missing flight MH370 (photo PRC)
If the Wall Street Journal report is confirmed, the search area will have to significantly expand.
The Chinese satellite imagery showing possible debris was not far from where the last confirmed position of the plane was between Malaysia and Vietnam. The images and coordinates were posted on the website of China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
China’s state Xinhua News Agency said the images from around 11 a.m. on Sunday appear to show “three suspected floating objects” of varying sizes in a 12-mile radius, the largest about 79-by-72 feet off the southern tip of Vietnam.
Li Jiaxiang, chief of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said later China had yet to confirm any link between the suspected floating objects and the plane.
Pham Quy Tieu, deputy transport minister, told The Associated Press that the area had been “searched thoroughly” by forces from other countries over the past few days. Doan Huu Gia, chief of air search and rescue coordination center, said Malaysian and Singaporean aircraft were scheduled to visit the area again Thursday.
Malaysian authorities have come under fire for their handling of the search amid sometimes confusing and conflicting statements, including the time of the plane’s disappearance. Officials had also said that five passengers had checked into the flight but did not board the plane, and their luggage had been removed, but later they said this was not true.
Malaysia’s air force chief said Wednesday that an unidentified object appears on military radar records about 200 miles northwest of Penang, Malaysia, and experts are analyzing the data to determine whether the blip is the missing plane.
Authorities have not ruled out any possible cause, including mechanical failure, pilot error, sabotage and terrorism, and they are waiting to find any wreckage or debris to determine what went wrong.
Two US Federal Aviation Administration technical experts and a regional representative are in Kuala Lumpur as part of a National Transportation Safety Board team supporting the investigation.
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A Chinese government website has released satellite images of possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The three images show what appear to be large, floating objects in the South China Sea. Previous sightings of possible debris have proved fruitless.
Malaysia Airlines plane went missing on Friday with 239 people on board.
The aircraft vanished about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur as it flew south of Vietnam’s Ca Mau peninsula.
No distress signal or message was sent.
China has released satellite images of possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (photo PRC)
The three images were taken on Sunday, a day after the plane disappeared, but were only released on Wednesday on the website of China’s State Administration for Science.
Map co-ordinates place the objects in the South China Sea east of Malaysia and off the southern tip of Vietnam.
China’s official Xinhua news agency says the largest of the objects measures about 24m x 22m (78ft x 72ft).
China has deployed several high-resolution satellites – controlled from the Xian Satellite Control Centre in northern China – to help search for the jet, the People’s Liberation Army said on Tuesday.
Earlier, Malaysian authorities revealed that the last communication from the jet suggested everything was normal on board.
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