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MH370 may have flown on for hours after last contact with air traffic control MH370 may have flown on for hours after last contact with air traffic control
(about 4 hours later)
Almost a week after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished, it has emerged that the aircraft could have flown on for a further five hours with its communications systems deliberately switched off. The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was focused on the Bay of Bengal late on Friday after satellite data showed that the aircraft could have flown on for hours and US officials confirmed they had directed surveillance aircraft to patrol the area for debris.
With no trace of the plane or wreckage despite a huge international search, one US official told Associated Press that the pattern of transmissions sent from the jet after it dropped off the radar implied human intervention or "an act of piracy". The focus of the search operation shifted to the Indian Ocean on Friday. There were reports that Malaysian military radar indicated the plane made at least two distinct changes of course after apparently turning back from its route towards Beijing. US officials indicated that they believed the plane had crashed in the Indian Ocean and had ordered an aerial search of the area beginning on Saturday. Malaysian officials said they were investigating the possibility that the plane's communications systems had been deliberately shut down.
Two communication systems appear to have stopped transmitting at different times after the plane left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing, but further electronic signals were picked up by satellites after the last contact, which could be analysed to help estimate the location of the aircraft. A week after the the aircraft vanished, there was still no trace of it, despite a huge international search involving 13 countries. The strongest indication that the plane had flown on for hours came from Inmarsat, a British-based provider of satellite equipment, which said it had continued to receive "pings" from the aircraft well after its last contact with air traffic control.
The signals, described as a series of hourly pings to the satellite, indicated that the plane's communication system was still working, but not transmitting data. The information would support theories that the plane's system was deliberately switched off. There were competing theories about why and how the plane had changed course. The three main possibilities under consideration, according to a variety of US officials quoted by a range of media outlets, were air piracy, hijacking or pilot suicide. Whatever the reason, the theory that the plane had suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure on its route over the Gulf of Thailand appeared to be fading from prominence.
The signals, provided to the investigators by British satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat, do not transmit location but can indicate a position and distance relative to the satellite, which could give a guide to a rough direction of travel over several hours. David Coiley, vice president, aviation, at Inmarsat, said any total absence of communication during normal aviation would be "a highly unusual situation". The US Navy confirmed to the Guardian that it had deployed a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft to scour the Bay of Bengal for debris on Saturday. A spokesman said it would search a "much larger area .... the southern portion of the Bay of Bengal and the northern portion of the Indian Ocean".
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials who said these signals persisted for another five hours. The USS Kidd, a guided missile destroyer that has been searching the Strait of Malacca, was moving further west, preparing to search the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. A P-3C Orion completed an aerial search of the northwest section of the Strait of Malacca "where it flew approximately 1000 miles west with nothing significant to report", according to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
The White House refused to comment on suggestions that US officials believe there may have been "an act of piracy". In a further indication that the plane was under piloted control, the New York Times reported that Malaysian military radar data showed the jet climbed to 45,000ft, above the approved altitude limit for a Boeing 777-200, soon after its last known position, after making a turn to the west. It said there were indications that MH370 descended to 23,000ft on the approach to Penang, one of Malaysia's largest and most densely populated islands. Then came another turn, this time north-west on a trajectory that took it over the Strait of Malacca and out towards the Indian Ocean.
"This is a difficult and unusual situation and we are working hard in close collaboration with the Malaysian government to investigate a number of possible scenarios for what happened to the flight," said spokesman Jay Carney. The Inmarsat signals, described as a series of hourly pings to a satellite, also indicated the plane had continued to fly beyond its last known point of contact. The Inmarsat signals do not transmit location but can indicate a position and distance relative to the satellite, which could give a guide to a rough direction of travel over several hours. David Coiley, vice-president of aviation at Inmarsat, told the Guardian that the receipt of such pings indicate "that the satellite communications are functioning".
"Unfortunately, definitive conclusions still cannot be drawn at this time," he added. "I don't have conclusive answers. I don't think anyone has." The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials who said these signals persisted for another four to five hours.
Military radar evidence suggests that the Boeing 777 may have been deliberately flown west towards the Andaman Islands after it last made contact with air traffic control in the early hours of Saturday 8 March. Sources told Reuters that the flight path of an unidentified aircraft, believed by investigators to have been the MH370 jet, followed a route with specific navigational waypoints, suggesting someone with aviation training was at the controls. The last known position of MH370 was at 1.21am on Saturday 8 March, at 35,000ft roughly 90 miles off the east coast of Malaysia as plane, with 239 people on board, made its way towards Vietnam en route to Beijing.
The systems are designed to allow people to communicate when they want to communicate, constantly. According to two US officials who spoke to ABC News, the Boeing 777's data reporting system was shut down at 1.07am last Saturday, while the transponder – which sends back information to civilian radar regarding performance, location and altitude – was turned off at 1.21am. That led investigators to believe the systems had been switched off on purpose.
"When the system is not transmitting or receiving data on the aircraft, it will send network signalling info to establish that the aircraft satellite communication is switched on to say that the system could communicate. Meanwhile the White House refused to comment on suggestions that US officials believe there may have been "an act of piracy". Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said: "This is a difficult and unusual situation and we are working hard in close collaboration with the Malaysian government to investigate a number of possible scenarios for what happened to the flight.
The last known position of MH370 was at 1.21am at 35,000ft roughly 90 miles off the east coast of Malaysia, as the plane, with 239 people on board, made its way towards Vietnam, en route to Beijing. He added: "Unfortunately, definitive conclusions still cannot be drawn at this time. I don't have conclusive answers. I don't think anyone has."
If the aircraft picked up on the military radar is the missing jet, the data suggests it veered dramatically and deliberately westwards, heading north-east of Indonesia's Aceh province towards a navigational waypoint used for carriers headed towards the Middle East. From there, plot indications suggest the plane zigzagged towards the Thai island of Phuket and then towards the Andaman Islands and possibly onward towards Europe. Sources told Reuters that the flight path of an unidentified aircraft, believed by investigators to have been the MH370 jet, followed a route with specific navigational waypoints, west towards the Andaman Islands after it last made contact with air traffic control.
If the aircraft picked up on the military radar is the missing jet, the data suggests it veered dramatically and deliberately westwards, heading north-east of Indonesia's Aceh province towards a navigational waypoint used for carriers headed towards the Middle East.
Malaysian military officials have previously confirmed that an aircraft that could have been MH370 was last seen on military radar at 2.15am some 200 miles off Malaysia's west coast.Malaysian military officials have previously confirmed that an aircraft that could have been MH370 was last seen on military radar at 2.15am some 200 miles off Malaysia's west coast.
A senior Malaysian police official told Reuters: "What we can say is we are looking at sabotage, with hijack still on the cards."
According to two US officials who spoke to ABC News, the Boeing 777's data reporting system was shut down at 1.07am, while the transponder – which sends back information to civilian radar regarding performance, location and altitude – was turned off at 1.21am.
The US has since moved surveillance planes into an area of the Indian Ocean 1,000 miles west of the Malayasian peninsula after an undisclosed suggestion that the plane may have crashed there. "We have an indication the plane went down in the Indian Ocean," a senior Pentagon official said.The US has since moved surveillance planes into an area of the Indian Ocean 1,000 miles west of the Malayasian peninsula after an undisclosed suggestion that the plane may have crashed there. "We have an indication the plane went down in the Indian Ocean," a senior Pentagon official said.
The USS Kidd destroyer, which has helicopters aboard, will be moved to the western tip of the Malacca Strait, where it meets the Andaman Sea.The USS Kidd destroyer, which has helicopters aboard, will be moved to the western tip of the Malacca Strait, where it meets the Andaman Sea.
Most of the leads on the potential location have come from unattributed US sources assisting the Malaysian investigation. Under international protocols, the country where the missing aircraft was registered must lead the investigation.Most of the leads on the potential location have come from unattributed US sources assisting the Malaysian investigation. Under international protocols, the country where the missing aircraft was registered must lead the investigation.
Malaysian police have spent the past week investigating whether any personal or psychological problems affecting the crew or passengers may have had a role in the jet's disappearance, in addition to mechanical failure, hijacking or sabotage. Friday's revelations that the plane may have flown towards the Andaman Islands are the first real indication of a sinister cause. Malaysian police have spent the past week investigating whether any personal or psychological problems affecting the crew or passengers may have had a role in the jet's disappearance, in addition to mechanical failure, hijacking or sabotage. Friday's revelations that the plane may have flown towards the Andaman Islands are the first real indication of a sinister cause.
At a press conference on Friday, Malaysia's defence and acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said authorities were investigating the possibility that the plane's communications systems had been deliberately shut down and said there were four or five possibilities as to why they may have been turned off. At a press conference on Friday, Malaysia's defence and acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said said there were four or five possibilities as to why the plane's communications systems may have been turned off.
"It could have been done intentionally, it could be done under duress, it could have been done because of an explosion," he said. "That's why I don't want to go into the realm of speculation. We are looking at all the possibilities.""It could have been done intentionally, it could be done under duress, it could have been done because of an explosion," he said. "That's why I don't want to go into the realm of speculation. We are looking at all the possibilities."
Hishammuddin confirmed that the plane's passengers and crew were being looked into and added: "If investigation requires searching the pilots' homes, it will be done."Hishammuddin confirmed that the plane's passengers and crew were being looked into and added: "If investigation requires searching the pilots' homes, it will be done."
Aviation experts from the UK – in addition to a team from Rolls-Royce, which manufactured the 777's engines – were due to arrive in Malaysia on Friday night to help with the investigation, said the civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.Aviation experts from the UK – in addition to a team from Rolls-Royce, which manufactured the 777's engines – were due to arrive in Malaysia on Friday night to help with the investigation, said the civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.
A total of 57 ships, 48 aircraft and 13 nations are taking part in the search and rescue mission, which has been expanded further east into the South China Sea and further out into the Indian Ocean. Indian planes and ships have begun searching the 572 islands comprising the Andaman and Nicobar island groups using heat-seeking devices to help find the missing plane, and would likely extend the search to the Bay of Bengal. A total of 57 ships, 48 aircraft and 13 nations are taking part in the search and rescue mission. Indian planes and ships have begun searching the 572 islands comprising the Andaman and Nicobar island groups using heat-seeking devices to help find the missing plane.
A Chinese government spokesman would not be drawn on whether China believed the plane had flown for several hours or whether it had asked the US about the reports. A Chinese government spokesman would not be drawn on whether China believed the plane had flown for several hours or whether it had asked the US about the reports.
He added that China had asked Chinese commercial vessels to take note of any floating objects which might be connected to the missing flight. A subsequent comment suggested this applied to vessels in the Strait of Malacca.He added that China had asked Chinese commercial vessels to take note of any floating objects which might be connected to the missing flight. A subsequent comment suggested this applied to vessels in the Strait of Malacca.
The Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday evening that search vessel Haixun 31, which had been at work in the Gulf of Thailand, was heading to the Strait of Malacca to continue work there.The Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday evening that search vessel Haixun 31, which had been at work in the Gulf of Thailand, was heading to the Strait of Malacca to continue work there.