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Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Plane's communications 'deliberately disabled' says prime minister as new radar evidence points to hijacking Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Prime ministers says plane's communications 'deliberately disabled' as police reportedly raid pilots' homes
(about 2 hours later)
Malaysia's prime minister has revealed that investigators believe the communications aboard missing Flight MH370 were intentionally disabled, that it flew sharply off course and may have flown for a total of more than seven hours. His comments confirm earlier reports that investigators believe foul play was most likely responsible for the plane’s disappearance. The search for missing Flight MH370 has become vastly bigger. And vastly more complicated.
Najib Razak said the actions taken by the plane after it took off from Kuala Lumpur a week ago were consistent with “deliberate action by someone on the plane”. Yet he added: “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.” A week after the Malaysian Airlines plane and its 239 passengers and crew disappeared, Malaysia’s Prime Minister has revealed investigators believe the missing plane was intentionally flown off course and was in the air for more than seven hours. He said the actions taken by the jet after it took off from Kuala Lumpur seven days ago were consistent with “deliberate action by someone on the plane”.
Also on Saturday morning, police reportedly drove to the residential complex in Shah Alam, west of Kuala Lumpur, where the plane's co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid lives. “Clearly, the search for MH370 has entered a new phase. Over the last seven days, we have followed every lead and looked into every possibility,” said Najib Razak at a press conference in the Malaysian capital. “For the families and friends of those involved, we hope this new information brings us one step closer to finding the plane.”
Speaking in Malaysia’s capital on Saturday morning, Mr Razak said data from the plane’s satellite communications system suggested the last contact with the plane was at 8.11am local time last Saturday, more than seven-and-a-half hours after it took off on route for Beijing. Mr Najib said that based on new satellite data investigators were now pursuing the belief that the plane’s last location was along one of two possible corridors - a northern route stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian ocean.
He said it was impossible to determine precisely where the Boeing 777 was at that point but that investigators believed it was in one of two possible corridors – a northern route stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian ocean. He said the investigation team is working to further refine the information. He said while investigators were still investigating all possibilities, he said attention was being refocussed on the possible role of the passengers or crew of the plane. Police on Saturday reportedly raided the homes of the pilot and the co-pilot. Earlier, officials had said they were probing whether some psychological problems or other motivation among someone onboard the plane was the cause of the plane’s disappearance.
The prime minister, who did not take questions from waiting journalists, said that as a result of the new information, officials were ending their search in the South China Sea. They were also working with the different counties along these possible routes and requesting they provide any radar data they have along with any other information that might be relevant to the search. The Prime Minister said Malaysian officials, along with experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, were still working to refine the information they have received. He said the plane’s main satellite system and its transponder had been switched off, something experts say requires specialist knowledge.
While he said that investigators were still examining all angles, he said that the new information had led investigators to refocus attention on the crew and passengers on board. Earlier in the week, officials denied reports in the Malaysian media that police had raided the home of the plane’s main pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, to determine whether or not he was encountering any psychological problems. He said officials were trying to get radar data and other relevant information from the countries whose air space the two routes being examined pass through. The northern corridor would trace a busy route, passing northern Thailand and Burma and entering into China on the way towards central Asia.
“Clearly, the search for MH370 has entered a new phase. Over the last seven days, we have followed every lead and looked into every possibility,” he said. “For the families and friends of those involved, we hope this new information brings us one step closer to finding the plane.” The southern route, meanwhile, would pass over Indonesia and then the open waters of the southern Indian Ocean, close only to some islands. The New York Times reported that officials believed the southern corridor to be the most likely to have been taken by the plane. “The US Navy would not be heading toward Kazakhstan,” a person briefed on the investigation told the paper.
Razak 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: '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'  
Earlier on Saturday, a source familiar with official US assessments of electronic signals sent to satellites told the Reuters News Agency that it appeared most likely the plane turned south over the Indian Ocean, where it would presumably have run out of fuel and crashed into the sea. The announcement by the Malaysian Premier follows days of mounting speculation that the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines jet was not accidental and that it was intentionally diverted or hijacked, by either a member of the crew or a passenger.
The other interpretation was that Flight MH370 continued to fly to the northwest and headed over Indian territory. The source added that it was believed unlikely the plane flew for any length of time over India because that country has strong air defence and radar coverage and that should have allowed authorities there to see the plane and intercept it. As it was, the comments by Mr Najib were the most definitive yet that investigators believe foul play was being the plane’s disappearance. Malaysia Airlines said on Saturday it had been unable earlier to confirm reports of the existence of the satellite data until it had been verified.
The announcement the Malaysian premier, follows days of mounting speculation that the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines jet a week ago with 239 people on board was not accidental, and that it was intentionally diverted or hijacked, by either a member of the crew or a passenger. Yet Mr Najib’s comments raised as many questions than they answered. A week after the plane went missing, a search involving more than a dozen nations and more than 100 ships and aircraft has failed to uncover a single piece of debris or wreckage. Perhaps most significantly his statement has also reopened the possibility that the plane was hijacked, flown to an as yet unidentified location and set down.
Inmarsat, the London-based communications company, confirmed that its satellites covering the region received “ping” signals from the plane after it vanished from civilian radar and stopped communicating with the ground shortly after the plane took off in the early hours of 8 March. Indeed, his remarks were reportedly welcomed by relatives of the passengers in China, who believe the development keeps alive the hope they may somehow be reunited with their loved ones.
The “ping” signals, sent from satellites if the aircraft has not been in contact for some time, were sent out hourly, providing information about the speed at which the plane was travelling and its altitude, which could help determine the plane’s location. Perhaps aware of this, Mr Najib told journalists: “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.”
Such communication between the aircraft and satellites is possible only when the plane is airborne. It is understood ‘pings’ were received for as much as five hours after the plane vanished. The final confirmed location of MH370 on radar used by air traffic controllers in Malaysia was at 1.31am last Saturday, about 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. At that point it was heading north-east across the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand on what should have been a six-hour flight to Beijing.
Mr Najib, the Prime Minister, had earlier met with relatives of passengers from the plane. “We realise this is an excruciating time for the families of those on board,” he said. “No words can describe the pain they must be going through. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them.” After that it seemed the plane disappeared from civilian radar but showed up – as a blip - on radar used by the Malaysian military. The Boeing 777 then continued to leave the faintest of traces, a series of “pings” from its Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System.
Mr Najib said the last contact came from the plane at 8.11am local time last Saturday, more than seven-and-a-half hours after it took off. That would have been towards the very end of its flying capability, Officials said the plane was carrying sufficient fuel for 8 hours.
“Due to the type of satellite data we are unable to confirm the precise location of the plane when it last made contact with the satellite,” said the premier.
Inmarsat, the London-based communications company, confirmed that its satellites covering the region received these signals from the plane after it vanished from civilian radar and stopped communicating with the ground shortly after the plane took off.
The signals, sent from satellites if the aircraft has not been in contact for some time, were sent out hourly, providing information about the speed at which the plane was travelling and its altitude, which could help determine the plane’s location.
Such communication between the aircraft and satellites is possible only when the plane is airborne. Calculations made by Inmarsat’s experts have allowed officials to plot the two “arcs” the plane may have taken.
The prime minister, who did not take questions from waiting journalists, said that as a result of the new information, officials were ending their search in the South China Sea. India is already involved in a search of the Andaman Sea.
They were also refocussing their investigations into the pilots - Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid - crew and passengers on the plane. On Saturday, police were seen driving into the compound where home of the plane’s main pilot, Mr Shah, is located.
Mr Najib had earlier met with relatives of passengers from the plane. “We realise this is an excruciating time for the families of those on board,” he said. “No words can describe the pain they must be going through. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them.”