This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/malaysia-airlines-search-mired-in-confusion-over-planes-final-path

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Malaysia Airlines search mired in confusion over plane's final path Malaysia Airlines search mired in confusion over plane's final path
(6 months later)
The search for the missing Malaysia The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight was descending into confusion and acrimony on Wednesday as Vietnam called off part of its search pending further information from Malaysia.
Airlines flight was descending into confusion and acrimony on Wednesday As families spent a fifth day waiting for news of flight MH370, which vanished on Friday with 239 people on board, disagreements within the international search operation were surfacing and Malaysian officials failed to clarify the aircraft’s last known movements.
as Vietnam called off part of its search pending further information India announced it had joined the search for the missing jetliner on Malaysia’s request, widening the net to an area near the Andaman Sea.
from Malaysia.
As families spent a fifth day waiting for news of flight MH370, which
vanished on Friday with 239 people on board, disagreements within the
international search operation were surfacing and Malaysian officials
failed to clarify the aircraft’s last known movements.
India
announced it had joined the search for the missing jetliner on
Malaysia’s request, widening the net to an area near the Andaman Sea.
Vietnam said it had halted its air search and scaled back a sea search while it waited for Malaysia to offer more detail.Vietnam said it had halted its air search and scaled back a sea search while it waited for Malaysia to offer more detail.
“We’ve “We’ve decided to temporarily suspend some search and rescue activities, pending information from Malaysia,” Vietnam’s deputy minister of transport, Pham Quy Tieu, told AFP.
decided to temporarily suspend some search and rescue activities, Asked about the claim that the plane had last been detected over the Strait of Malacca – suggesting it had crossed the entire peninsula – he replied: “We’ve asked Malaysian authorities twice but so far they have not replied to us.
pending information from Malaysia,” Vietnam’s deputy minister of transport, Pham “We informed Malaysia on the day we lost contact with the flight that we noticed the flight turned back west but Malaysia did not respond.”
Quy Tieu, told AFP. Malaysia’s air force chief denied telling a local newspaper that on the day it disappeared the aircraft was last detected at 2.40am on the western coast of the Malay peninsula by a military radar – a detail confirmed to news agencies by at least one unnamed military official. That would mean the plane was known to be in the air more than an hour later than previously thought and had not only turned around but flown right across the peninsula – helping to explain why the search had expanded from the area between Malaysia and Vietnam to cover a large zone to the west.
Asked about the claim that the plane had last been detected over the In a statement Rodzali Daud said he had been asked whether the plane had been detected off the west coast and had merely reiterated that the flight might have turned back.
Strait of Malacca – suggesting it had crossed the entire peninsula – he Malaysia’s head of civil aviation, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, said he could neither confirm nor deny contact on the west coast, saying that the country was still investigating and looking at the radar readings. Confidence in the Malaysian authorities’ transparency had hardly been helped by an eariler response when asked why crews were searching the Strait of Malacca: “There are some things that I can tell you and some things that I can’t,” Rahman said.
replied: “We’ve asked Malaysian authorities twice but so far they have
not replied to us.
“We informed Malaysia on the day we lost contact with the flight that we
noticed the flight turned back west but Malaysia did not respond.”
Malaysia’s
air force chief denied telling a local newspaper that on the day it disappeared the aircraft was last detected at 2.40am on the western coast of the Malay peninsula by a
military radar – a detail confirmed to news agencies by at least one
unnamed military official. That would mean the plane
was known to be in the air more than an hour later than previously
thought and had not only turned around but flown right across the
peninsula – helping to explain why the search had expanded from the area
between Malaysia and Vietnam to cover a large zone to the west.
In a statement Rodzali Daud said he had been asked whether the plane
had been detected off the west coast and had merely reiterated that the
flight might have turned back.
Malaysia’s head of civil aviation,
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, said he could neither confirm nor deny contact
on the west coast, saying that the country was still investigating and
looking at the radar readings. Confidence in the Malaysian authorities’ transparency had hardly been helped
by an eariler response when asked why crews were searching the
Strait of Malacca: “There are some things that I can tell you and some
things that I can’t,” Rahman said.
On Tuesday he described the disappearance as “an unprecedented mystery” in aviation.On Tuesday he described the disappearance as “an unprecedented mystery” in aviation.
It is possible that the military radar reading detected an object but that it cannot be identified conclusively as flight MH370.It is possible that the military radar reading detected an object but that it cannot be identified conclusively as flight MH370.
On Wednesday, pressed by relatives of Chinese passengers on what On Wednesday, pressed by relatives of Chinese passengers on what information the military had given civil officials, the Malaysian government’s envoy to China told them “now is not the time” to reveal it, Singapore’s Straits Times reported.
information the military had given civil officials, the Malaysian He did disclose that the last words heard from the flight were “All right, good night.” That was the crew’s response to Malaysian air traffic controllers who had told them the plane was entering Vietnamese air space and air traffic controllers from Ho Chi Minh city would take over.
government’s envoy to China told them “now is not the time” to reveal Deepening the confusion, Colonel Umar Fathur of the Indonesian air force told reporters that Malaysia had informed it the plane was above the South China Sea, about 10 nautical miles off Malaysia’s east coast, when it turned back and then disappeared. That would place its last confirmed position around 110 nautical miles closer to Malaysia than previously thought.
it, Singapore’s Straits Times reported. Meanwhile Malaysian authorities have reportedly complained that Vietnamese officials have confused matters by issuing premature reports that they have found possible debris. In all cases the material has turned out to be unrelated.
He did disclose that the last words heard from the flight were “All right, good night.” That Two-thirds of those on board the Boeing-777 were Chinese, and China has repeatedly urged Malaysia to speed up search efforts. Beijing has also been sending a growing number of ships and aircraft to assist. As public concern grows about the state of the operation, relatives have vented their frustration to Chinese officials.
was the crew’s response to Malaysian air traffic controllers who had The Washington Post cited one popular post that was forwarded thousands of times on Chinese microblogs: “Vietnam keeps discovering. Malaysia keeps denying. China keeps sending things on the way. Journalists keep waiting at the Lido hotel [where relatives are waiting]. Family members keep being in pain. . . . But where is the plane?”
told them the plane was entering Vietnamese air space and air traffic The Telegraph reported that the United States Federal Aviation Administration had warned four months ago of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777s that could lead to a loss of structural integrity, but experts have maintained the aircraft has a strong safety record.
controllers from Ho Chi Minh city would take over.
Deepening the confusion, Colonel Umar Fathur of the Indonesian air
force told reporters that Malaysia had informed it the plane was above the
South China Sea, about 10 nautical miles off Malaysia’s east coast, when
it turned back and then disappeared. That would place its last
confirmed position around 110 nautical miles closer to Malaysia than
previously thought.
Meanwhile Malaysian authorities have reportedly complained that
Vietnamese officials have confused matters by issuing premature reports
that they have found possible debris. In all cases the material has
turned out to be unrelated.
Two-thirds of those on board the Boeing-777 were Chinese, and China has
repeatedly urged Malaysia to speed up search efforts. Beijing has also been sending a
growing number of ships and aircraft to assist. As
public concern grows about the state of the operation, relatives have vented their frustration to Chinese officials.
The Washington Post cited one popular post that was forwarded thousands of times on Chinese microblogs: “Vietnam
keeps discovering. Malaysia keeps denying. China keeps sending things on
the way. Journalists keep waiting at the Lido hotel [where relatives
are waiting]. Family members keep being in pain. . . . But where is the
plane?”
The Telegraph reported that the United States Federal Aviation
Administration had warned four months ago of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777s that
could lead to a loss of structural integrity, but experts have maintained the aircraft has a strong safety record.