The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the longest civil aircraft disappearance in modern history, has unearthed more questions than answers, as the mystery surrounding the fate of the missing jetliner continues to intensify with each passing day.
06 April 2014
UK naval ship HMS Echo has arrived in the area where the missing Malaysian plane is being searched for. It will conduct underwater searches after preliminary environmental tests. The ship was dispatched after a Chinese vessel detected a pulse signal in the vast search area on two occasions. Whether or not they are being emitted from the flight recorders of MH370 is still to be confirmed.
05 April 2014
Chinese pilots involved in the search operations found white objects floating in the Indian Ocean, about 2,700 kilometers off the coast of Australia, Xinhua news agency reported.
The pulse picked up by a Chinese ship searching the southern Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysian airliner does not belong to the black boxes Flight MH370, the China Maritime Safety Administration says.
The signal picked up by the Chinese vessel's black box detector had a frequency of 37.5kHz per second, the official Xinhua news agency said - identical to the beacon signal emitted by flight recorders.
Following a preliminary analysis, the agency now believes it is not connected to the jetliner.
A black box detector on a Chinese patrol searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has detected a pulse signal in the South Indian Ocean, state media reported. It has not yet been established whether the signal picked up by the Haixun 01 vessel is in fact linked to the missing jetliner, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
Sources in the Malaysian government later confirmed that the Chinese vessel had detected a signal though there is no confirmation on its origin.
The announcement came as international crews search the Indian Ocean for the flight's lost black boxes before the devices stop emitting locator ‘pings’. Black boxes typically release a ping for 30 days. MH370 disappeared March 8, leaving rescue workers several days at most before its battery dies.
04 April 2014
A US Navy "black box" detector made has been deployed in the search for missing Malaysian Airline’s flight 370. The Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield arrived with a "towed pinger locator", which is capable of homing in on signals from the black box, AFP reports.
However, Angus Houston, Australia's former military chief and now coordinator of the eight-nation search, said "we're now getting pretty close to the time when [the black box signal] might expire."
Black boxes typically release a ping for 30 days. MH370 disappeared March 8, leaving rescue workers several days at most before its battery dies.
02 April 2014
Malaysian police say they have excluded the possibility that any of the passengers of the flight could have organized a hijacking, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Malaysian media.
Malaysian investigators excluded three more possibilities, in which the main suspects were passengers of the plane. The police said they were referring to sabotage by passengers with psychological disorders or personal problems.
"Suspicions according to four [possibilities] have been lifted from them (passengers)," said Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector general of Malaysia’s police, adding that the crew members, including both pilots, remain under suspicion in these four possibilities.
The search area, which has repeatedly shifted as experts analyze radar and satellite data, is currently focused on a 98,000-square mile area off Perth, Australia.
Lack of coordination between nations assisting with the search for missing flight MH370 has delayed the efforts, as the targeted area was 1,000 miles away from where the aircraft is believed to have crashed, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
The probe into the missing flight has been classified as a criminal investigation, Malaysia's police chief said, according to The Wall Street Journal. More people are scheduled to be interviewed. Meanwhile, the investigation into the pilot’s flight simulator remains inconclusive.
01 April 2014
Malaysian authorities now say the final words from the cockpit of missing Flight MH370 were, in fact, “Good night Malaysian three seven zero,” and not “All right, good night,” as was reported weeks ago.
"We would like to confirm that the last conversation in the transcript between the air traffic controller and the cockpit is at 0119 (Malaysian Time) and is "Good night Malaysian three seven zero," the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation said in a statement released late Monday.
31 March 2014
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot has said that all hope is lost for the passengers of flight MH370, and he pledged to continue the search for the missing jetliner.
"The accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean,” Abbott told reporters. "If this mystery is solvable, we will solve it."
More objects that were previously thought to be parts from the plane were identified as fishing equipment on Monday.
30 March 2014
A US Naval Officer has said that the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines craft may take years, reports Reuters.
"Right now the search area is basically the size of the Indian Ocean, which would take an untenable amount of time to search," US Navy Captain Mark Matthews told Reuters. He went on to say that when authorities were searching for Air France flight 447, they had a lot more positional information and it still took two years to locate.
Australia has appointed former chief of defense Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston in the search for the missing, Malaysia Airlines plane. Houston will head the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) in Perth from where the search for Flight MH370 is being carried out.
29 March 2014
Officials from Interpol refuted a claim from Malaysia Friday in which the government said it could not check through the international police agency’s passport database because the process was too much of a burden.
28 March 2014
An international search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was redirected 1,100km (680 miles) to the northeast on Friday, after new analysis suggests the aircraft had run out of fuel earlier than previously estimated.
27 March 2014
Japan has handed over satellite images possibly pointing to about 10 objects that could be the debris from the missing Boeing. The largest one measures about 4 meters by 8 meters. The chunks were located about 2,500 kilometers southwest of Perth, Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office said. The images were taken Wednesday.
25 March 2014
Now that satellite data has confirmed that the missing Malaysian airliner crashed into the Indian Ocean, the race is on to find the crucial voice and data recorders, the so-called black boxes, before a battery-powered homing device runs out.
Hundreds of people have gathered outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing to protest what they call two weeks of “lies and misleading information” from the Malaysian authorities after flight MH370 disappeared two weeks ago. A small group of grief-stricken family members attempted to storm the embassy building, but were repelled by police. The rest of the protesters stood outside the gates waving banners amid cries of "Are you coming out?" "Have you no shame?" and "Murderers!”
24 March 2014
China has demanded Malaysia hand over satellite data on the missing airliner. The Chinese demand comes after an announcement today in which the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that the Being 777-200 had definitely crashed over the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors, citing new satellite data.
Malaysian airlines have announced beyond any reasonable doubt that flight MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board have survived.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has made an announcement, saying “It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."
A Chinese aircraft searching for missing MH370 has spotted some suspicious objects in the southern Indian Ocean on Monday, Xinhua news agency reports. The crew has reported the coordinates to the Australian command center, as well as the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, which is en route to the search area.
Malaysia Airlines told AP that the missing flight had wooden pallets aboard. The revelation comes after a search plane spotted wooden pallets in the ocean. However, authorities have warned that such pallets are also used on cargo ships.
23 March 2014
France’s satellite image has shown possible debris from the Malaysia Airlines plane deep in the southern Indian Ocean, according to a statement issued by the country’s Transport Ministry.
"This morning, Malaysia received new satellite images from the French authorities showing potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor," the statement said. "Malaysia immediately relayed these images to the Australian rescue co-ordination center."
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said there was "increasing hope" of a breakthrough in the search that’s proven to be the longest plane disappearance in modern history.
Flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur on March 8 destined for Beijing, but mysteriously disappeared from radar screens around an hour after takeoff. The search has lasted for the last fortnight, with over 20 countries trying to find out what happened to the plane.
22 March 2014
An Australian aircraft spotted objects, including a wooden pallet, during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Saturday, according to Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The search of the area will resume on Sunday.
“Yesterday one of our civilian search aircraft got visuals on a number of objects in a fairly small area in the overall Australian search zone,” Abbott said Sunday morning.“A number of small objects, fairly close together within the Australian search zone, including a wooden pallet.”
China has spotted an object, 72 feet by 98 feet, floating in the South China Sea and has sent ships to investigate, report Malaysian officials.
Satellite photo release by Chinese of the new object sighted. Located 2630km from Perth #MH370pic.twitter.com/JBgCbP22kV
— Alert 5 (@alert5) March 22, 2014
China, India, Myanmar, Laos, Kyrgyzstan or Khazakhstan have all confirmed their radars picked up no sign of the missing plane, Malaysian officials have said.
The last 54 minutes of communication with the pilots of the missing Boeing 777 have been revealed. The transcript disclosed by UK newspaper, The Telegraph, displays a mostly routine conversation with the two pilots. However, experts have flagged what they think are two anomalies in the exchange of communications. The first of these was a message sent at 1.07am, saying the plane was flying at 35,000ft, just six minutes after a message with the same data had been sent and a couple of minutes before the plane’s Acars signaling system was deliberately disabled. The second is when co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, seemingly unaware of the signaling failure finishes the conversation with air traffic control with an optimistic: “All right, roger that.”
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority stated that the search will continue on Saturday, with six aircrafts participating in the mission, including “three RAAF P3 Orion aircraft, a New Zealand P3 RAAF Orion aircraft and two ultra long range commercial jets.”
The aircrafts will “search a 36,000 square kilometer area about 2,500 kilometers southwest of Perth.”
The final communication between the missing Malaysia Airlines plane and air traffic control has been revealed by The Telegraph. It begins with communication on the runway and ends with the last message at 1:07 a.m. The British newspaper got a hold of the transcript, which accounts for the first 54 minutes of the flight.
21 March 2014
The Pentagon said on Friday it was considering a request from Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to provide undersea surveillance equipment to help in the search for the missing Malaysia Air Flight 370.
The Malaysian defense chief made the request in a telephone call with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Hagel said he would "assess the availability and utility of military undersea technology for such a task and provide him an update in the very near future," the statement said. (Reuters)
Search planes looking for two large floating objects detected by a satellite far off the southwest coast of Australia have so far failed to finding anything that could be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, Australia's acting prime minister said Friday.
“The last report I have is that nothing of particular significance has been identified in the search today but the work will continue,'' said Warren Truss, who is acting prime minister while Tony Abbott is in Papua New Guinea, AP reports.
Truss told reporters that two Chinese aircraft are slated to arrive in Perth on Saturday to join the search, with two Japanese aircraft set to touch down the day after. A small flotilla of ships coming to Australia from China still need several days to reach their destination.
“We are doing all that we can, devoting all the resources we can and we will not give up until all of the options have been exhausted,'' Truss said. "We can't be certain that the sightings are in fact debris from the aircraft (but) it is about the only lead that is around at the present time.''
The search area in the southern Indian Ocean – which is halfway to Antarctica – is so remote is takes aircraft four hours to fly there and four hours back, effectively leaving them two hours to search before the need to turn back.
Two additional Chinese rescue vessels are headed to the southern Indian Ocean in search of the Malaysia Airlines jet, Xinhua reported. The vessels will search area more than 3,000 km southwest of Perth, Australia, around where possible debris from flight MH370 was found on Thursday.
Xinhua added that five more ships will eventually make their way to the southern Indian Ocean.
An approximate schedule for five aircrafts involved in the Malaysia Airlines flight search on Friday was released by Australian maritime safety authorities.
A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion began the search first, at around 9:15 a.m. AEST, followed by a civil Gulfstream jet. Another RAAF P3 Orion was scheduled to depart at about 11 a.m. AEST. A third RAAF P3 Orion was set to join the search area at around 1 p.m. AEST. The day will be capped by the US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft that will make its way to the search area at approximately 4 p.m. AEST. Each aircraft can handle up to two hours of search time, due to the distance between the base and the search area.
20 March 2014
Rescue planes have been sent to the location where two objects possibly related to the Malaysia Airlines flight were spotted earlier on Thursday, an Australian search and rescue official said. However, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority warned against expectations that this will help solve the mystery.
"We have been in this business of doing search and rescue and using sat images before and they do not always turn out to be related to the search even if they look good, so we will hold our views on that until they are sited close-up," said John Young.
The debris was spotted in the Indian Ocean about 2,500 kilometers southwest of the Australian city of Perth.
Australian officials say their search for possible objects from the missing plane ends for Thursday.
Planes hunting for #MH370 fail to find objects a satellite spotted in the Indian Ocean: http://t.co/X7wrPlEth5pic.twitter.com/ZdCKnfK33Z
— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) March 20, 2014
A British survey ship, HMS Echo, has joined search efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft after officials reported that wreckage from the plane had been spotted, the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday.
The naval ship is now in the Indian ocean, where according to the Australian PM, a satellite detected objects including a 24-metre long piece of debris.
The Norwegian carrier, Hoegh St. Petersburg, has reached the area in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia where officials say there could be wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
The vessel was on its way from Madagascar to Melbourne when it received a request from Australian authorities to help investigate reports of debris in the sea, which might be from the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft.
An Australian Navy P-3 plane has failed to locate debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).
"P3 crew unable to locate debris" due to cloud and rain, which limited visibility, AMSA said on Twitter.
The AMSA said the Australian plane will continue search for the missing flight.
The international search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft is continuing in both the northern and southern "corridors" where it is suspected to have flown, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters on Thursday.
Search aircraft and ships were dispatched to locate two objects seen by satellite floating in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia that officials said could be pieces of the wreckage from the jetliner missing for 12 days with 239 people on board.
Plane Search: Satellite images of possible #MH370 flight debris released http://t.co/dC7NInM8iApic.twitter.com/idKUB93RT4
— RT (@RT_com) March 20, 2014
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says satellite imagery has found objects possibly related to the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Two objects have been spotted in the Indian Ocean, Abbott told the Australian parliament.
“The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult...and it may be they do not relate to the aircraft,” he said.
Day 13 of the search for MH370 has opened in the southern Indian Ocean. Five merchant ships are searching in conjunction with surveillance aircraft from Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.
“To date, neither the ships nor the aircraft have reported sighting anything in connection to the aircraft,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.
19 March 2014
The FBI is analyzing flight simulator data from the home files of the pilot after the Malaysian government sought its help retrieving electronic files deleted last month. The official told AP of the investigation on conditions of anonymity while confirming that the FBI has already been given the data. Files with records of simulations undertaken using the program were deleted by the pilot on February 3, according to Malaysia's defense minister.
The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has cast a light on developmental satellite technologies which could prevent such an incident from happening again in the future.
European and North American teams are already working on developing systems which will provide for more accurate plotting of location and flight paths. These would use satellite-based sensors rather than radars to pick up signals containing automated location and velocity data sent every second from aircraft, Reuters reports.
Authorities in the Maldives are now investigating reports that islanders saw a "low-flying jumbo jet" on the day missing Malaysia Air flight 370 disappeared. The investigation was instigated by a report on the Haveeru news website that several locals had spotted a large plane flying over the remote southern island of Kuda Huvadhoo on March 8. Airport authorities in the small island ocean – located in the Indian Ocean – said there was so far no “credible” information to back up the claim. The islands' National Defence Force said that no trace of Flight MH370 had been picked up on radar.
Missing Flight 370 provided a rare ecumenical moment in religiously diverse Malaysia, as Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Taoists came together for an interfaith ceremony in the courtyard of a shopping mall in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night. Such interfaith ceremonies have been held before, but representatives from the predominant-Muslim community did not attend, as bigotry towards religious minorities has often been on full display.
Malaysian investigators are trying to restore files deleted last month from the home flight simulator of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the experienced pilot at the helm of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
Files containing records of the simulations carried out on the program were deleted on February 3, Malaysian Police Chief Khalid Abu told said at a news conference, AP reports.
Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein the news conference that the pilot, Capt. Shah, is considered innocent until proven guilty. He said members of Zaharie’s family are cooperating in the investigation.
The missing Malaysia Airlines plane flew into the southern Indian Ocean, said a source close to the investigation, Reuters reported.
"The working assumption is that it went south, and furthermore that it went to the southern end of that corridor," said the source, adding that a search area has now stretched from the west of Indonesia to the Indian Ocean, west of Australia.
German insurance company Allianz began making payment claims once the plane had been missing for ten days, Reuters reported.
Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 changed direction at least 12 minutes before its co-pilot signed off, sources told NBC News.
18 March 2014
A search of computers belonging to MH370’s pilot and co-pilot did not yield any suspicious material, CNN reported citing anonymous US officials.
Breaking: Search of #MH370 pilot & co-pilot computers, email & flight simulator reveal nothing suspicious -US officials to @evanperez
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 18, 2014
By now, MH370’s “black box” would have lost a third of its 30-day battery life by now, ABC News reported.
US officials in Kuala Lumpur are working closely with the Malaysian government in the search mission, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney.
“They are in a truly agonizing situation. We remain fully committed to assisting the Malaysians and working with our other international partners … I can assure you we are in a close, collaborative relationship,” he said.
Indonesia has suspended any flight of search planes over its territory, BBC reported.
Profiles by Reuters and the New York Times of the pilot and co-pilot on MH370 show the pair as unlikely conspirators in any possible plan to down the plane.
“The captain and co-pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are now at the centre of a baffling paradox: as circumstantial evidence mounts that at least one of them may have been involved in the plane’s disappearance on March 8, accounts of their lives portray them as sociable, well-balanced and happy,” Reuters wrote.
MH370 may have been picked up on a Thai military radar, according to recent reports. Thailand's military admitted on Tuesday that a plane was detected moments after communications from the aircraft cut out. However, no information was shared with Malaysia as it hadn't – until this point – asked for it. Thai air force spokesman Air Vice Marshal Montol Suchookorn described a flight tracked in the Strait of Malacca, according to AP. However, they do not yet know if it is the same plane – MH370 – whose twisting flight path took it to the same place.
Residents of the Maldive Islands reported witnessing a “low flying jumbo jet” just hours after the plane disappeared, The Telegraph reported.
In a press briefing that included little new information on missing flight MH370, Malaysian authorities said search efforts continue. They defended their handling of search operations, as some missing passengers’ relatives have threatened to hunger strike for more information.
“We are doing all that we can to ensure that we are giving sufficient assistance, information and care to all the family members in Beijing,” said Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, chief executive of Malaysia Airlines.
Malaysian government officials asked the countries assisting in the search, including China and the US, to recheck their radars for any more information.
“The only one out in the open is Malaysia,” acting transport minister Hishamuddin Hussein told reporters Tuesday, suggesting Malaysia has been the most transparent in the search.
Relatives of Chinese passengers on missing flight MH370 are threatening a hunger strike for lack of information from Malaysian authorities, AFP reported.
"Hunger strike protest, Respect life, Return my relative, Don't want become victim of politics, Tell the truth,” read a paper sign made by one passenger’s relative as she spoke to reporters in Beijing.
China authorities say they have found no evidence of deliberate diversion of the plane, the Guardian reported.
“Extensive checks on all Chinese passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane had found no evidence they were involved in the deliberate diversion of the plane, the Chinese ambassador in Kuala Lumpur said on Tuesday.”
Scammers are using the prolonged search for missing flight MH370 to trick some using videos with titles like “Malaysian Airlines missing flight MH370 found in Sea -- 50 people alive saved,” CNET reported. Once one clicks on a video, they are asked to complete a survey, giving scammers personal social media permissions.
It will likely take weeks to search a 600,000 square kilometer area off the southwestern coast of Australia for MH370, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority announced.
“This search will be difficult. The sheer size of the search area poses a huge challenge. The search area is more than 600,000 square kilometres,” said the agency’s head, John Young.
China has started a search and rescue operation in a northern region of its own territory, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang said early Tuesday, according to Xinhua.
Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 changed course on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing via the cockpit’s computerized Flight Management System, not by manual control, American officials suggested to the New York Times.
The officials said Monday that only seven or eight keystrokes would have been sufficient to change the Boeing 777’s flight path, though it was not clear whether the system was reprogrammed before or after takeoff.
Regardless, the theory supports the belief of investigators – first voiced by Malaysian officials – that the flight was deliberately diverted.
Malaysian officials have also retracted their theory that the plane’s communication operations known as Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS, was deliberately shut off before the plane vanished.
They now believe ACARS was still functioning when the plane’s co-pilot spoke the last words heard from MH370 by ground control.
ACARS lost function around the same time oral radio contact was cut off and as the airplane’s transponder halted, the Times reported.
Investigators are combing over radar tapes from MH370’s departure given they believe the recordings would show that after the plane changed its path, it went through several pre-ordained “waypoints,” or markers in the sky. That would implicate that a knowledgeable pilot was controlling MH370 as it went through those points, as passing through them without a computer is not likely.
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim stated that he was 'disgusted' by speculation over the fate of the missing plane. It has been suggested that the captain, who he is distantly related to, had a political motive to sabotage the aircraft. He slammed attempts to smear the pilot, stating that the situation was "above politics".
"Is it a crime for anyone to be a member of Keadilan? To me it is an attempt to deflect the government's incompetence," Anwar told AFP.
17 March 2014
UK newspaper The Independent reported that Malaysian investigators had requested permission from the Pakistani government to follow up on a theory that the missing passenger jet had landed close to the border with Afghanistan.
The Pakistani government says it has no record of the craft entering its airspace, but has told the Malaysian investigators it is ready to share all available information. In addition, The Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee has said that although the Malaysian Airlines plane could have reached Kazakhstan, their radars would have picked it up.
Meanwhile, Indonesia and Australia said Monday they would divide between them a large section of the south-eastern Indian Ocean in the plane search. Indonesia will examine equatorial waters while Australia will focus farther south, according to the New York Times.
The Malaysian government’s ministry of transport has issued a statement about the search operation, saying police started investigating all passengers and crew, as well as ground staff, on March 8, the day flight MH370 disappeared. The ministry added that police have twice visited the homes of the pilot and co-pilot. Police have also met with their family members.
The statement added that French investigators have joined the search operation.
“The officials will share their expertise and knowledge based on their experience from the search for Air France Flight 447,” the statement reads.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has asked Australia to take the lead in search efforts of southern regions, according to AAP.
“He asked that Australia take responsibility for the search in the southern vector, which the Malaysian authorities now think was one possible flight path for this ill-fated aircraft,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
Investigators believe the plane may have dropped to a dangerously low altitude of 5,000 feet, evading radars in a technique known as “terrain masking,” Fairfax Media reported.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he has not seen information that indicates MH370 has been detected near western Australia.
“All of our agencies that could possibly help in this area are scouring their data to see if there’s anything that they can add to the understanding of this mystery,” said Abbott.
Investigators have narrowed the flight’s possible paths to Central Asia to the north or south towards the Indian Ocean.
16 March 2014
Malaysian investigative authorities are conducting thorough background checks of the pilots, the crew and all the ground staff in efforts to establish the potential whereabouts of the plane through possible motives for steering it off-course, according to the country's police chief. Sources told Reuters that personal, political and religious backgrounds of both pilots and the other crew members were being examined.
Britain is deploying a senior team from its Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to assist in the search for missing MAS flight MH370.
The British High Commission said in a statement that the team comprised an advisor at engine maker Rolls Royce and two AAIB senior investigators.
"The AAIB offered its assistance to the Malaysian authorities as the investigation body for the country of manufacture of the engines.”
Malaysian Airlines said the plane's pilot and co-pilot did not request to fly together, dismissing speculations of a pre-planned hijack attempt by the two.
“Yesterday, officers from the Royal Malaysia Police visited the home of the pilot. They spoke to family members of the pilot and experts are examining the pilot’s flight simulator. The police also visited the home of the co-pilot. According to Malaysia Airlines, the pilot and co-pilot did not ask to fly together on MH370,” the airline said in a statement.
It noted that “Malaysian authorities are refocusing their investigation on all crew and passengers on board MH370, as well as all ground staff handling the aircraft.”
Malaysia Airlines released a statement recognizing the search and rescue operation has “entered a new phase.” Noting that the number of countries involved in the search and rescue operation has increased from 14 to 25, the airline said that the complex, multinational effort is now facing “new challenges of co-ordination and diplomacy.”
“In the last 24 hours, the Prime Minister has spoken to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the President of Turkmenistan, the President of Kazakhstan and the Prime Minister of India,” the airline said in a statement.
“Yesterday the Foreign Ministry of Malaysia briefed representatives from countries along the northern and southern corridors.”
15 March 2014
The Malaysian government said police searched the homes of both of the plane's pilots on Saturday, but did not say whether it was the first time officers had done so since the flight went missing more than a week ago with 239 people aboard, AP reports.
Investigators believe that one of the plane's communications systems — the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS — was partially disabled before the plane reached the east coast of Malaysia. It is then believed someone on board switched off the aircraft's transponder, which communicates with civilian air traffic controllers. In line with the previous US analysis, investigators are looking into the possibility the pilots might have played a role in the jetliners disappearance.
16:00 GMT: US law enforcement and intelligence officials are focusing on the possibility that one of the two pilots on board may have been responsible for the disappearance of flight MH370 after new information revealed the plane performed "tactical evasion maneuvers" after it disappeared from radar, two senior law enforcement officials told ABC News.
US authorities believe only a person with extensive flight or engineering experience could have executed the maneuvers. They also say suspicious behavior indicates the aircraft’s pilot was attempting to evade radar detection at one point.
The US analysis corresponds with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak statement earlier today that "these movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane.”
10:00 GMT: The last satellite transmission from missing flight MH370 has been traced to the Indian Ocean off Australia – far from where the search and rescue operations have taken place – a person familiar with the analysis told Bloomberg.
A path from Malaysia to the ocean off Australia would entail a 3,000 mile journey, just around the maximum distance the 777-200 could have traveled with its fuel load.
Flight 370 may have flown beyond its last known position about 1,000 miles west of Perth, and that location may not be an indication of where the plane ended up, the individual said on condition of anonymity.
09:00 GMT: Malaysian Airlines released the following statement following comments earlier today by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak that flight MH370 most likely had its communications “deliberately disabled”:
“Further to the statement by the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak earlier today into the ongoing search for Flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines has shared all available information with the relevant authorities since the moment we learned that the aircraft had disappeared, in the early hours of Saturday 8th March. This includes the very first indications that MH370 may have remained airborne for several hours after contact was lost, which the prime minister referred to today.
This is truly an unprecedented situation for Malaysia Airlines and for the entire aviation industry. There has never been a case in which information gleaned from satellite signals alone could potentially be used to identify the location of a missing commercial airliner. Given the nature of the situation and its extreme sensitivity, it was critical that the raw satellite signals were verified and analyzed by the relevant authorities so that their significance could be properly understood. This naturally took some time, during which we were unable to publicly confirm their existence.
We were well aware of the ongoing media speculation during this period, and its effect on the families of those on board. Their anguish and distress increases with each passing day, with each fresh rumor, and with each false or misleading media report. Our absolute priority at all times has been to support the authorities leading the multinational search for MH370, so that we can finally provide the answers which the families and the wider community are waiting for.
We remain absolutely committed to sharing confirmed information with family members and the wider public in a fully open and transparent manner. However, given the nature of the situation, the importance of validating new information before it is released into the public domain is paramount.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of the 227 passengers and our 12 Malaysia Airlines colleagues and friends on board flight MH370. They will remain at the center of every action we take as a company, as they have been since MH370 first disappeared.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said there is a possibility flight MH370 had its communications “deliberately disabled” before it went missing, though there is no evidence pointing towards a hijacking.
“There is a high degree of certainty” that the communications systems of flight MH370 were disabled by someone on board the plane, Razak said. Citing evidence from satellite images and radar tracking, Razak said the actions taken before the plane’s disappearance were "consistent with the deliberate action of someone on the plane," he said.
"Despite media reports the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear, we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate," Razak said.
The investigation into the planes disappearance has entered a “new phase,” said Prime Minister Razak, adding that the search for wreckage in the South China Sea had come to an end.
14 March 2014
Inmarsat plc, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, issued the following statement regarding Malaysia Airlines flight MH370:
“Routine, automated signals were registered on the Inmarsat network from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 during its flight from Kuala Lumpur.
This information was provided to our partner SITA, which in turn has shared it with Malaysia Airlines.
For further information, please contact Malaysia Airlines.”
17:10 GMT: A possible “act of piracy” may have diverted a Malaysia Airlines jetliner last weekend, the Associated Press reports a US official as saying on condition of anonymity.
According to the AP, the unnamed official says there’s key evidence that “human intervention” played a role in whatever happened to the Boeing 777 that mysteriously disappeared about an hour after departing Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on March 8.
“This official says that it's also possible the plane may have landed somewhere,” AP journalist Joan Lowy reported on Friday afternoon. “The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke only if not identified,” she said.
16:30 GMT: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 experienced significant changes in altitude after it lost contact with ground control, and changed course more than once as if still under the command of a pilot, American officials and others familiar with the investigation told the New York Times.
Radar signals recorded by the Malaysian military appeared to show that the missing jetliner climbed to 45,000 feet, exceeding the appropriate altitude for a Boeing 777-200, soon after it disappeared from civilian radar. The aircraft then made a sharp westward turn, according to a preliminary assessment by a person familiar with the data.
The radar track, which the Malaysian government released to the US and China but not yet released to the public, showed the plane then descended unevenly to 23,000 feet, below normal cruising levels, as it approached the densely populated Malaysian island and state of Penang.
There, officials believe, the plane turned from a southwest-bound course, climbed to a higher altitude and flew northwest over the Strait of Malacca toward the Indian Ocean.
The Indian navy, air force and coast guard are also now assisting after a request for help from the Malaysian government.
Malaysia Airlines released the following statement, reaffirming it will continue to give “their full support” in cooperating with the ongoing search and rescue mission for missing flight MH370.
“Malaysia Airlines is fully aware of the on-going media speculations and we have nothing further to add to the information we have already provided,” the statement read.
The company reiterated previous claims that their primary focus at this time “is to care for the families of the passengers and crew of MH370.”
13 March 2014
Malaysia's transport minister dismissed a report in the Wall Street Journal that the engines of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 continued to transmit data long after the plane’s last confirmed position.
"As far as both Rolls-Royce and Boeing are concerned, those reports are inaccurate," Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference, referencing the plane’s manufacturers.
However, when asked if it was possible that the plane had kept flying for several hours, he said, "of course, this is why we have extended the search."
The United States is reportedly dispatching a naval destroyer to the Indian Ocean amid allegations that the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner may have gone down much further west then investigators initially thought.
The USS Kidd, ABC News reported, was being rerouted to the Indian Ocean to begin searching for the missing Flight MH370 after officials from the US and no fewer than 11 other countries had already begun scouring the waters below the plane’s scheduled flight path for clues.
Officials in the United States say there’s an “indication” that the plane ended up in the Indian Ocean, and not the South China Sea as was widely assumed.
Apart from potentially crashing, it still remains possible the plane reached an alternate destination, avoiding international detection in doing so.
15:30 GMT: Communications satellites detected faint electronic pulses from Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 after it went missing on Saturday, but the signals gave no information on where the aircraft might have been headed or its physical condition, a source close to the investigation told Reuters.
The "pings" equated to an indication that the aircraft's maintenance troubleshooting systems were ready to communicate with satellites if necessary, but no links were opened because Malaysia Airlines and others had not subscribed to the full troubleshooting service, the source said.
The US has sent surveillance teams to the Indian Ocean to help search for the missing Malaysian plane, following reports that the plane might have flown for up to 4-5 hours longer than initially believed. The move comes one day after the US Navy dispatched The USS Kidd to the Indian Ocean, with officials saying at the time there is an “indication” that the plane ended up in the Indian Ocean, and not the South China Sea as was widely assumed.
US investigators suspect that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 stayed in the air for up to four hours past the time it reached its last confirmed location, two people familiar with the details told the Wall Street Journal. If correct, that would mean the plane flew for hundreds of miles under circumstances which remain unclear.
US counterterrorism officials are currently investigating the possibility that one of the pilots or someone else on board the plane may have diverted it toward an unknown location, after intentionally disabling the aircraft’s transponders to avoid radar detection.
China will not give up its efforts in searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight "as long as there is a glimmer of hope," Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday.
"We will not give up any suspected clue that is being found," he said. "We are also looking very closely at all suspected clues showing on satellite images," Li said at a press conference shortly after the conclusion of China's annual legislative session.
His remarks came after a Chinese satellite found three floating objects at a suspected site of the missing plane, which had 154 Chinese citizens on board.
The satellite images, which are being analyzed, showed that the objects in the South China Sea were spreading across an area with a radius of 20 kilometers.
12 March 2014
Chinese satellite images show three floating objects suspected to be debris from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, according to reports. Coordinates place the fragments in the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam
The three objects are sized 13x18, 14x19, and 24x22 (meters), according to CNN.
The images, from China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, were taken on Sunday morning but only released Wednesday, the BBC reported.
Beijing criticized Malaysia for its "pretty chaotic" answers regarding flight MH370, which has been missing for 5 days, the South China Morning Post reports. Officials also expressed their concern that officials in Malyasia had failed to pinpoint the plane’s exact last known whereabouts.
"It's pretty chaotic, so up to this point we too have had difficulty confirming whether [information is] accurate or not," said Qin, responding to conflicting information provided about the flight path of flight MH370.
"[China] has requested Malaysia to verify the 'turn-back' rumors and act accordingly," Qin later said in a statement on the ministry's website, "and notify the situation to China timely."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the country had asked Malaysia to check conflicting information about the change of course of the jetliner, which vanished on Saturday with 239 passengers and crew aboard, including 154 Chinese. With the search enters its sixth day, Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein admitted: "We don't know where the aircraft is."
Malaysian media has reported that Ibrahim Mat Zin, a famous shaman or ‘witchdoctor’, performed an elaborate prayer ceremony at Kuala Lumpur's airport on Monday to help locate flight MH370, allegedly at the invitation of one of the country's top leaders. In full view of dozens of journalists from around the world, three witchdoctors performed a ceremony at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Sunday.
The incident has incited a harsh response from internet users and opposition-minded politicians alike.
“All the contradicting statements, our slow response. Our credibility and image have been shattered, destroyed. We are not only criticized by the NYT (New York Times) but ASEAN leaders are also condemning us,” The Malay Mail online cites opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as saying.
“Like the [shaman] incident. Who allowed them [to perform the rituals] there? Can’t you see how stupid we look in the eyes of the world?”
Interpol announced it will allow two airlines to access its mass database of lost and stolen travel documents in a test project to snag criminals or potential terrorists attempting to travel with fake, illicitly-obtained documents.
"I have announced today that Qatar Airways and Air Arabia are two airlines that have committed themselves to making sure that all passengers boarding their planes will have their passport data screened against Interpol's database," Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble told reporters at the organization’s headquarters, AP reports.
The announcement follows news two Iranian citizens boarded missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 with stolen passports, though they are not believed to be connected with its disappearance.
“If Malaysia Airlines and all airlines worldwide were able to check the passport details of prospective passengers against Interpol's database, then we would not have to speculate whether stolen passports were used by terrorists to board the MH 370. We would know that stolen passports were not used by any of the passengers to board that flight,” Noble said.
Malaysia Airlines has to-date deployed a team of 112 caregivers to provide assistance to the family members of those onboard flight MH370, the company said in a statement. The airline said 94 caregivers had initially been deployed to Beijing – the intended destination of the missing flight – with 18 more being dispatched in the following days.
“The caregivers’ primary role is to provide family members with emotional support and ensure their basic needs are met to try and make this difficult time relatively bearable,” the airline said in a statement.
“Malaysia Airlines also provided equal amount of initial financial assistance to all families of passengers, over and above meeting their basic needs. All travel arrangements, accommodation, meals, and medical support are also absorbed by the airline.”
11 March 2014
Military radar indicates flight MH370 might have veered west, moving away from its planned route, before vanishing, the Malaysian Air Force says.
Malaysian authorities initially said flight MH370 disappeared about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, as it flew over the South China Sea, south of Vietnam's Ca Mau peninsula.
No distress signal or message was ever sent, though it is believed that the aircraft attempted to turn back, possibly towards Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian police have identified one of the two men who travelled on the plane on a stolen passport as Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, an 18-year old Iranian citizen. Police believe he was likely traveling to Germany. Interpol identified the other man, also an Iranian, as Delavar Seyed Mohammadreza.
Interpol's Tehran bureau has said the two men had no criminal records and had left Iran legally.
Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said “These two individuals were probably not terrorists."
Iran's foreign ministry said it was seeking to clarify information about two Iranian citizens aboard the lost Malaysian plane, adding the Islamic Republic was prepared to share information. "We are offering our cooperation to obtain more information," said the ministry's spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham.
Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said biometric information and CCTV footage of two men who boarded flight MH370 with stolen passports has been shared with Chinese and US intelligence agencies. Officials have yet to decide on whether to release pictures of the men as part of a broader public appeal for information. Interpol, meanwhile, said additional "suspect" documents are under review.
It is not known whether the two men played any part in the plane’s disappearance.
Malaysia Airlines has said search and rescue teams are expanding the scope of their search beyond the plane's flight path to western Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca. Malaysian authorities are investigating the possibility that MH370 attempted to turn back.
10 March 2014
Malaysia Airlines has announced it will give 31,000 yuan (approximately $5,000 US) to the relatives of each passenger as a special condolence payment. In a message released earlier in the day, the airline said its primary focus “is to care for the families of the passengers and crew of MH370.”
The Thai travel agency that booked the tickets for the two passengers who used stolen passports to board flight MH370 had been asked to do so by an Iranian middleman, the Financial Times reports. The two men, reportedly of "non-Asian appearance", were travelling on an Italian passport and an Austrian passport respectively. Both passports were reported missing a year ago by their rightful owners:Christian Kozel and Luigi Maraldi. While false documents are commonly employed for the purposes of illegal immigration and drug smuggling, the disappearance of the plane has fueled speculation of a potential terrorist attack onboard.
The largest rescue flotilla in Chinese naval history - four warships and five civilian and commercial vessels – reportedly sailed overnight to waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. Ten Chinese satellites have also been utilized in the search for the missing plane.
An oil slick spotted on Sunday by the Vietnamese Air Force did not come from the ruptured tanks of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, tests revealed, the South China Morning Post reported.
Faidah Shuib, spokeswoman for the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency, said tests proved that an oil slick stretching a length of about 15-20 km in the sea off the Vietnamese coast had in fact come from a ship.
"The chemical department has confirmed this evening the oil found in Malaysian waters yesterday is bunker oil, and is not used by any aircraft."
The slick from which the samples were collected lies approximately 185 kilometers north of Malaysia’s eastern coastal state of Kelantan and just south of the point where air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Malaysia Airlines says it has received multiple queries regarding how passengers with stolen passports managed to purchase their tickets onboard missing flight MH370.
“We are unable to comment on this matter as this is a security issue. We can, however, confirm that we have given all the flight details to the authorities for further investigation,” the airline said in a statement.
On Sunday, an Australian and an Italian citizen reportedly onboard flight MH370 were later found to have never boarded the flight. Both individuals reportedly had their passports stolen while on vacation in Thailand.
Malaysia Airlines releases a statement saying it has been more than 48 hours since they lost contact with flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
“Despite not being able to establish any positive findings on the whereabouts of the aircraft, Malaysia Airlines has been actively cooperating with the search and rescue authorities coordinated by the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia (DCA),” the airline said.
DCA has confirmed that the multinational search and rescue effort includes teams from Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and the United States of America.
09 March 2014
Malaysia Airlines released a statement saying that as a result of the high percentage of passengers from China, the company has deployed a “Go Team” to Beijing with a team of caregivers and volunteers to assist the family members of the passengers.
“Once the whereabouts of the aircraft is determined, Malaysia Airlines will fly members of the family to the location. Travel arrangements and expenses of immediate family members will be borne by Malaysia Airlines,” the airline said in a statement.
Malaysia has launched a terror probe into the disappearance of flight MH370. Authorities were checking CCTV footage at the airport and investigating the identities of four passengers, at least two of whom boarded the flight using stolen passports.
The country’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said that airport security procedures were being reviewed.
“We will enhance them if necessary, because we still do not know the cause of the incident,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Interpol is “examining additional suspect passports.
At least two passengers registered aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been found safe and sound in their home countries.
An Austrian national thought to have been aboard the plane that disappeared off the coast of Vietnam early Saturday is alive and safe, an Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman revealed. The man’s passport was reportedly stolen while in Thailand in 2012.
The passenger list provided by Malaysia Airlines also included Luigi Maraldi, 37, an Italian citizen. Following the document’s release, Corriere Della Sera newspaper reported that Maraldi's passport was stolen in Thailand last August.
No Italian was on board the plane, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement after referring the issue of the stolen passport to the Interior Ministry.
Malaysia Airlines is “fearing the worst” as its commercial aircraft carrying 239 people remains missing more than 24 hours after it disappeared. A rescue team is continuing its search after two oil slicks suspected to have come from the aircraft were found at sea on Saturday.
The plane search area for the rescue mission has been expanded as the missing aircraft might have turned back, Malaysia's Transport Minister Seri Hishammuddin said during a press conference.
The minister said that no debris was found and added that four suspect passengers are being investigated in a terror link probe.
Earlier on Sunday, China sent two more naval vessels to join the search, China Central Television reported. The US was also reported to have dispatched additional aircraft.
Malaysia Airlines has amended a previous statement, saying it lost contact with MH370 at 1:30 am local time, and not 2:40 am, as earlier reported. The last contact the plane had with air traffic controllers was 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu, the airline said on Saturday.
08 March 2014
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 239 people crashed into the sea, reports Vietnamese state media citing a Navy official. The craft disappeared from radars early on Saturday morning over Vietnamese airspace.
Vietnamese Air Force planes have spotted two oil slicks which they suspect may have come from the missing airplane, AP reported. The Air Force said the slicks were discovered off the southern tip of Vietnam and resemble the kind of trail left by fuel from a jetliner.
An international search and rescue mission from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam was mobilized in the morning. Malaysia Airlines says the crew has so far failed to find evidence of any wreckage. The sea mission will continue overnight while the air mission will recommence at daylight.
Malaysia Airlines has released information about the passengers onboard flight MH370, which included 14 different nationalities. Approximately 153 Chinese citizens, including one infant, were on the flight. There were also 38 Malaysians, 7 Indonesians, and 6 Australians. There were three US citizens, including one child, and three people from France. Two people from Canada, New Zealand and Ukraine were also onboard, as well as one person from each of the following states: Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and Taiwan.All crew on-board are Malaysians.
Malaysia Airlines has released the identity of the pilot of flight MH370, which is currently missing. The flight was piloted by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a 53-year-old veteran with decades of experience. According to the airline, Captain Shah first joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, and has logged a total of 18,365 hours in the preceding 3 decades. His co-pilot, First officer, Fariq Ab.Hamid, is 27-years-old. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007 and has thus far racked up 2,763 flying hours.
Malaysia Airlines released a media statement confirming they lost contact with flight MH370 at 2:40am local time.
“Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on March 8, 2014. MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members,” the airline said in a statement.
Malaysia Airlines said it is currently working with the authorities, who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.