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Mystery deepens as Malaysia says vanished airliner may have been turning around Debris spotted may be from missing Malaysian Airline flight
(35 minutes later)
BEIJING — The mystery surrounding the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane thickened Sunday after investigators said the plane appeared to turn around before vanishing from radar screens, and as authorities examined closed-circuit television footage of at least two passengers, apparently traveling together with stolen passports. BEIJING — Vietnamese aircraft located possible debris from the vanished Malaysia Airlines plane late Sunday, including a rectangular object that could have been a door, but officials said it was too dark to confirm if they came from the airliner.
Ships and planes from at least a half-dozen countries expanded their search for the plane, which is presumed to have crashed in the Gulf of Thailand off Vietnam with 239 people aboard, after finding two large oil slicks consistent with a downed airliner the day before, but no debris. Experts had been puzzled by the failure to find debris from the airliner nearly two days after it disappeared from radar screens in the Gulf of Thailand, and was presumed to have crashed with 239 people on board.
After insisting for 24 hours that investigations were continuing, Malaysia Airlines acknowledged Sunday that it was “fearing the worst.” Two large oil slicks, between six and nine miles long, consistent with a downed jetliner were found on Saturday, and the following day Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority published a picture of what could have been an aircraft door on its Web site, found in roughly the right area, between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Information about passengers believed to be traveling with stolen passports has only added to the mystery surrounding Flight MH370, a red-eye from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, and stirred speculation of terrorism. But it said it was too dark to be sure, and that more aircraft and planes from both countries would be dispatched to investigate in the morning. Vietnamese media also reported that another piece of debris had been found that might have been part of the plane’s tail.
European officials indicated Saturday that two people on board were using passports that had been stolen in Thailand. Flight booking information showed the passengers had consecutive ticket numbers, and both were booked on a subsequent flight from Beijing to Amsterdam. One of the passengers was due to proceed to Frankfurt, Germany, and the other to Copenhagen. Some 40 ships and 34 planes from eight nations, including the United States, expanded their search for the plane on Sunday over a vast area of the ocean. After insisting for 24 hours that investigations were continuing, Malaysia Airlines acknowledged on Sunday that it was “fearing the worst
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that intelligence officials were also checking the identities of two other passengers, according to the Associated Press. The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 thickened Sunday after investigators said the plane appeared to turn around before vanishing from radar screens, and as authorities examined closed-circuit television footage of at least two passengers, apparently traveling together with stolen passports.
“All the four names are with me and have been given to our intelligence agencies,” Hishammuddin said, according to AP. “We do not want to target only the four; we are investigating the whole passenger manifest. We are looking at all possibilities.” The information about the suspect passengers has led to speculation that terrorists might have downed the flight , a red-eye carrying passengers from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing that vanished from radar after midnight Saturday (Friday afternoon Eastern time).
Later, however, the director of Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation said there were only two men with false passports and that authorities were checking closed-circuit television footage of them. “We have the CCTV recordings of those passengers from check-in right through the departure point,” he said, according to Bloomberg News. “These records of CCTV are now being used for investigation of this matter.” The fact that the plane was cruising at steady altitude in decent weather, and apparently did not emit a distress signal before disappearing, were also possible indications of a sudden catastrophic event striking the plane.
On Sunday, Malaysia said the flight might have turned back from its scheduled route to Beijing before disappearing from radar. “I think this is a criminal act of some kind,” said Scott Hamilton, an aviation expert and founder of Leeham News in Seattle. “If both engines had failed, the pilots would have had plenty of time to call and say ‘we have a problem.’”
“What we have done is actually look into the recording on the radar that we have and we realized there is a possibility the aircraft did make a turnback,” said Rodzali Daud, the Royal Malaysian Air Force chief, at a news conference, according to the Reuters news agency. Malaysian investigators narrowed their focus Sunday on the possibility that the plane may have disintegrated in mid-flight, according to Reuters.
Malaysia said it had expanded its search to the country’s western coast, the opposite side of the peninsula from the plane’s last sighting. But it nevertheless appeared implausible that a passenger plane could simply disappear from radar screens over the ocean unless it had crashed, experts said. If the plane had broken up on impact with water, search teams would have been expected to find a fairly concentrated pattern of debris, officials said. But they said an explosion was not the only possible cause: the plane, a Boeing 777-200, could have broken up due to mechanical issues.
“It can’t vanish from primary radar unless it is a stealth bomber,” said Mikael Robertsson of FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking service. The plane, which was more than 11 years old, had suffered damage to its wing after a minor collision with another aircraft in 2012, but had been fully repaired.
The airline’s own transponder, which broadcasts the plane’s position and location, went completely dark while the plane was cruising at a steady 35,000 feet, he said. “Everything indicates it must have lost altitude suddenly,” he said. Hamilton said possibilities included a bomb, passengers penetrating the cockpit and seizing control of the plane, or pilot suicide.
The Vietnamese government said in a statement that two oil slicks spotted off the southern tip of the country were between six and nine miles long and were consistent with what would be left by a crashed jet, according to AP. But Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken told CNN that it was too early to say if foul play was involved, and premature to speculate on whether the passengers with stolen passports had a role to play.
But experts said a mid-air explosion would typically leave debris strewn over a large area, and some kind of catastrophic mechanical failure was also possible. European officials indicated on Saturday that two of the people on board were using passports that had been stolen in Thailand within the past two years.
The plane, which was more than 11 years old, had suffered damage to its wing after a minor collision with another aircraft in 2012 but had been fully repaired.
“A portion of the wing tip, approximately a meter, was torn. It has been repaired by Boeing, and we also got the clearance from them,” said Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Johari Yahya, according to local media.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday night in Washington that a team of investigators was en route from the United States to Asia to assist with the investigation.
As the search resumed Sunday, the airline posted a notice saying that it was “still unable to detect the whereabouts of the missing aircraft,” a Boeing 777-200.
The airline said it would establish a command center either in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, or Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as soon as the location of the aircraft is established. A 94-person caregiver team was providing emotional support for families, the airline said, and an additional team was on its way to Beijing.
There was no distress signal from the pilots, and crashes usually happen during takeoff or landing, heightening concerns of possible foul play.
Passport mystery
Luigi Maraldi, 37, from Italy, and Christian Kozel from Austria had initially been listed as among the plane’s passengers, but both men were subsequently found to be safe.Luigi Maraldi, 37, from Italy, and Christian Kozel from Austria had initially been listed as among the plane’s passengers, but both men were subsequently found to be safe.
The men had reported to authorities that their passports were stolen in Thailand within the past two years. Flight booking information accessed through the KLM website showed the passengers had adjacent ticket numbers, and were both booked on a subsequent flight from Beijing to Amsterdam. One, travelling under Maraldi’s name, was due to proceed to Copenhagen, and the other to Frankfurt, Germany.
“We are aware of the stolen passport issue and are carrying out an investigation,” said Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation in Malaysia. Their itinerary was separately confirmed by an employee of China Southern Airlines, which was a codeshare partner on the flights and had sold them the tickets.
Flight booking information accessed through the KLM Web site showed Maraldi and Kozel were booked on a flight to Amsterdam, and then on to Copenhagen and Frankfurt, respectively. Their itinerary was separately confirmed by an employee of China Southern Airlines, which was a codeshare partner on the flight and had sold them the tickets. Reuters reported that people presenting themselves as the two men had booked their tickets together at a travel agent in Pattaya, Thailand. Thai media reported that Maraldi had lost his passport in Phuket last year, after surrendering it at a motorcycle rental shop and another man had collected it.
Reuters reported that the people presenting themselves as the two men had booked their tickets together at a travel agency in Pattaya, Thailand. On Sunday Malaysia’s transportation minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said Malaysian intelligence officials were also checking the identities of two other passengers, according to the Associated Press.
Thai media reported that Maraldi had lost his passport in Phuket last year, after surrendering it at a motorcycle rental shop, where it was collected by another man. “All the four names are with me and have been given to our intelligence agencies,” Hishammuddin said, according to AP. “We do not want to target only the four; we are investigating the whole passenger manifest. We are looking at all possibilities.”
Later, however, the director of Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation, said there were only two men with false passports, and that authorities were checking closed-circuit television footage of them. “We have the CCTV recordings of those passengers from check-in right through the departure point,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “These records of CCTV are now being used for investigation of this matter.”
Adding to the confusion, Malaysia said on Sunday the flight might have turned back from its scheduled route to Beijing before disappearing.
“What we have done is actually look into the recording on the radar that we have and we realized there is a possibility the aircraft did make a turnback,” Rodzali Daud, the Royal Malaysian Air Force chief, told reporters at a news conference, according to the Reuters news agency.
Malaysia said it had now expanded its search to the country’s western coast, the opposite side of the peninsular from the plane’s last sighting.
“The outcome so far is there is no sign of the aircraft,” Malaysian civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said, according to Reuters.
“On the possibility of hijack, we are not ruling out any possibility,” he told reporters.
But it nevertheless appeared implausible that a passenger plane could simply disappear from radar screens over the ocean unless it had crashed, experts said.
“It can’t vanish from primary radar unless it is a stealth bomber,” said Mikael Robertsson of FlightRadar24, a flight tracking service.
The airline’s own transponder, which broadcasts the plane’s position and location, went completely dark while the plane was cruising at a steady 35,000 feet. “Everything indicates it must have lost altitude suddenly,” he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday night in Washington that a team of investigators was en route from the United States to Asia to assist with the investigation. U.S. officials said Sunday that intelligence agencies were examining the possibility of a connection to terrorism.
Asked earlier whether terrorism was suspected in the plane’s disappearance, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said authorities were “looking at all possibilities, but it is too early to make any conclusive remarks.”Asked earlier whether terrorism was suspected in the plane’s disappearance, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said authorities were “looking at all possibilities, but it is too early to make any conclusive remarks.”
It was unclear how people with stolen passports could have passed through immigration control checks in Malaysia. The country’s prime minister said airport security procedures were being reviewed. Nevertheless, he said airport security procedures were being reviewed.
“We will enhance them if necessary, because we still do not know the cause of the incident,” Najib told reporters, according to Reuters. “We will enhance them if necessary, because we still do not know the cause of the incident,” he told reporters, according to Reuters.
U.S. officials said Sunday that the cause of the crash remained unclear. International police agency Interpol confirmed Sunday the two stolen passports were on its database, but said no country had made what should be routine checks about them.
“It is too soon to tell what happened, why it happened,” Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”Reports that two passengers on the flight traveled with stolen passports “raise questions and concerns,” said Blinken. But he added that it’s too early to draw conclusions. “Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol’s databases,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said in a statement.
Blinken said the U.S. has dispatched the FBI and other experts to help with the investigation. Noble expressed frustration that few of Interpol’s 190 member countries “systematically” search the database to determine whether documents being used to board a plane are registered as lost or stolen.
Clive Williams, a counterterrorism expert at Australia’s Macquarie University, said it seemed unlikely that terrorists would target a Malaysia Airlines flight. “This is a situation we had hoped never to see. For years Interpol has asked why should countries wait for a tragedy to put prudent security measures in place at borders and boarding gates,” he said.
“The stolen passports may or may not be related, but more likely not,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I think it’s likely that most Asian flights have passengers with stolen passports on board.” Nevertheless, Clive Williams, a counter-terrorism expert at Australia’s Macquarie University, said it seemed unlikely that terrorists would target a Malaysia Airlines flight. Data from Interpol data shows there were 39 million lost or stolen passports as at the end of last year.
Data from Interpol show there were 39 million lost or stolen passports as of the end of last year. “The stolen passports may or may not be related but more likely not,” he wrote in an email. “I think it likely that most Asian flights have passengers with stolen passports on board.”
Three Americans on fight The plane carried passengers from 14 countries, including three Americans, according to the manifest posted on the airline’s Web site. They were identified as Philip Wood, 51, an IBM employee working in Malaysia; Nicole Meng, 4; and Yan Zhang, 2.
The plane carried 239 passengers from 14 countries, including three Americans, according to the manifest posted on the airline’s Web site. They were identified as Philip Wood, 51, an IBM employee working in Malaysia; Nicole Meng, 4; and Yan Zhang, 2.
In a brief interview, Wood’s mother, Sondra Wood of Keller, Tex., said she had received a call from the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia. Her son had just been in Texas visiting, she said, and she knew he would be on the Malaysia Airlines flight.
“He was a wonderful person and very intelligent,” she said. “I could talk forever about him. He’s my son, and any mother would be proud of their son.”
Aside from his work at IBM, she said, her son loved building furniture. “He was very artistic,” she said. Philip Wood has two sons, ages 20 and 24, his mother said.
Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor confirmed Saturday that 20 of its employees were aboard the plane. Twelve are from Malaysia and eight are from China, the firm’s president and chief executive, Gregg Lowe, said in a statement.Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor confirmed Saturday that 20 of its employees were aboard the plane. Twelve are from Malaysia and eight are from China, the firm’s president and chief executive, Gregg Lowe, said in a statement.
“At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families,” Lowe said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event.”“At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families,” Lowe said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event.”
Vessels and planes from Southeast Asia have been scouring the waters near where the oil slicks were spotted, and Razak said “the search-and-rescue operations will continue as long as necessary.” Flight MH370 lost contact with Malaysian air traffic control at 1:20 a.m. Saturday (12:20 p.m. EST Friday), less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur and as it was completing its ascent. It vanished on the border of the territorial waters of Malaysia and Vietnam, where the Gulf of Thailand meets the South China Sea. It had been due to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. Saturday (5:30 p.m. EST Friday).
The Philippines sent planes and vessels to help in the search, and Singapore and China also joined the effort, news agencies reported. Vietnamese fishermen were also put on alert. The airline said it would establish a command center either in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, or Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as soon as the location of the aircraft is established. A 94-person caregiver team was providing emotional support for families in Malaysia and a similar size team in Beijing, the airline said.
U.S. 7th Fleet officials said in a statement that the USS Pinckney, a guided-missile destroyer, and a P-3C Orion aircraft were being sent to aid in the search. But in China, frustration has steadily grown among relatives at the lack of news; on Sunday, some threw water bottles at the airline team when they arrived to share information on the flight.
Flight MH370 lost contact with Malaysian air traffic control at 1:20 a.m. Saturday (12:20 p.m. EST Friday), less than an hour after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur, as it was completing its ascent. It vanished on the border of the territorial waters of Malaysia and Vietnam, where the Gulf of Thailand meets the South China Sea. It had been due to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. Saturday (5:30 p.m. EST Friday).
In Beijing, relatives of those on board were taken to a hotel in the city to wait for news. A 93-person team from the airline arrived Saturday night to look after relatives and has offered to fly them to Malaysia. But the relatives’ grief has been mixed with anger over the lack of information. On Sunday, some loved ones threw water bottles at the airline team when they arrived to share information on the flight.
The plane’s sudden disappearance without a call for help brought back memories of an Air France flight that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009.The plane’s sudden disappearance without a call for help brought back memories of an Air France flight that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009.
While some wreckage and bodies were found in subsequent weeks, it took nearly two years for the main wreckage and the plane’s flight recorders to be recovered. The final report in the Air France crash said that pilots had made an error in responding to technical problems. While some wreckage and bodies were found in subsequent weeks, it took nearly two years for the main wreckage and the plane’s flight recorders to be recovered. The final report said that pilot errors in responding to technical problems led to the crash.
“We are doing everything in our power to locate the plane. We are doing everything we can to ensure every possible angle has been addressed,” Hussein, Malaysian transport minister, told reporters near the Kuala Lumpur airport, according to Reuters. “We are looking for accurate information from the Malaysian military. They are waiting for information from the Vietnamese side.”
Barnes reported from Washington. Harlan reported from Seoul. Liu Liu, Gu Jinglu and Xu Jing in Beijing and Karen DeYoung, Ian R. Shapira and Sean Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.Barnes reported from Washington. Harlan reported from Seoul. Liu Liu, Gu Jinglu and Xu Jing in Beijing and Karen DeYoung, Ian R. Shapira and Sean Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.