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Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: PM says plane's communications 'deliberately disabled' as police raid pilots' homes Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Any terrorist seizure of the plane ‘would have required one hell of a piece of planning’
(35 minutes later)
The search for missing Flight MH370 has become vastly bigger. And vastly more complicated. Flight MH370 weighs 250 tonnes, spans more than 60 metres and has been hunted by search teams from more than a dozen countries, but after more than a week the search for missing Malaysian Airlines jet is becoming vastly bigger. And vastly more complicated, amid suggestions of a “deliberate act” to take it off course.
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”. The expansion came after leaked reports from US officials, suggestions of terrorism and the revelation from Malaysia's Prime Minister that investigators believed new satellite data showed “deliberate action by someone on the plane” had flown the aircraft and it's 239 passengers and crew of course for up to seven hours.
“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 at a press conference in the Malaysian capital, Najib Razak said: “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… we hope this new information brings us one step closer to finding the plane.”
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 added that, based on the data, investigators were now pursuing the belief that the plane's last location was along one of two possible corridors or arcs - a northern route stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern one stretching from Indonesia to the vast emptiness of the Indian ocean.
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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. And as police raided homes of the pilot and co-pilot, the Prime Minister said that, while investigators were still exploring “all possibilities”, attention was increasingly being focused on the possible role of the passengers or crew of the plane.
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. This weekend Malaysian officials, along with experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, continue to refine the new data, which originated from signals sent by the plane via the British company Inmarsat's satellite network over the Indian Ocean. The Independent on Sunday understands that these signals came from a “failsafe” function of an Inmarsat Swift 64 communications system fitted to the ill-fated aircraft.
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. The announcement by Mr Najib was the most definitive suggestion that investigators were exploring a possible hijacking or terrorism.
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. Aviation consultant Chris Yates said: “It's increasingly clear that the hand of some form of terrorism is at play here, whether from a group or one skilled individual. The levels of specialist aviation knowledge on display here cause me to cast my mind back to 9/11 when hijackers had acquired a level of technical and flight training.”
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'   David Gleave, a former air crash investigator, added that any terrorist seizure of the plane “would have required one hell of a piece of planning”.
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. Police drove to the residential compound in Kuala Lumpur where the missing plane's pilot Fariq Abdul Hami lives, according a guard and local reporters  
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. Phil Giles, a former air safety investigator who worked on the Lockerbie Bombing, said: “Taking over a Boeing 777 without experience or skill is akin to some Somalian bloke in a tiny boat trying to take over a super tanker and captain it. Unless the hijacker has a fair amount of technical and aviation knowledge he would have to rely on putting a gun to the pilot's head.”
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. In Malaysia this new information meant an end to the search in the South China Sea and a renewed focus on the Indian Ocean. At the same time officials were continuing 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.
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 southern route, meanwhile, would pass over Indonesia and then the open waters of the southern Indian Ocean. 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.
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.” Other have suggested the complexity of the search and sensitivity of military radar and satellite information may have been a cause of delay, pointing to the fact that American newspapers have been briefed by the Pentagon and that the destroyer USS Kidd and a P-8 Poseidon search plane moved into the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal prior the Malaysian government's announcement on Saturday.
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. Tony Cable, an investigator who worked for the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch for 32 years, said: “The sensitivity of some of the military radar and satellite information here is clearly posing a problem for the investigation…. I suspect there is an awful lot more information that is known that is not being released.”
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. The last confirmed location of MH370 on civilian radar off 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 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. After that it seemed the plane disappeared from civilian radar but showed up - as a blip - on radar used by the Malaysian military. The latest revelation shows that the Boeing 777 continued to leave the faintest traces, in a series of “pings” from its Inmarsat Swift 64 system.
“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. This 20-year-old communications is device fitted to 90 per cent of the world's wide body jet aircraft and in the case of MH370 enhanced the operation of the aircraft's flight transponder and Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), both of which were deliberately deactivated early in the flight.
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 IoS understands that the disabling of the ACARS system enabled a failsafe “ping” mode in the Swift 64 system, which has been compared to an “I'm here” announcement. The last of these messages came at  8.11am local time last Saturday, more than seven-and-a-half hours after it 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. When fully operational Flight MH370's ACARS and Swift 64 only offer very basic altitude and location information and The IoS understands the aircraft wasn't fitted with more sophisticated equipment on sale, which would have allowed investigators to gain a full GPS fix.
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. Communication between the aircraft and satellites is only possible when the plane is airborne and the final transmission however would have come towards the very end of flight MH370's endurance -officials in Kuala Lumpur said the plane was carrying sufficient fuel for 8 hours.
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. However through analysis of the position and view of the receiving geostationary Inmarsat satellite over the Indian Ocean has allowed officials to plot a “rough calculation” of the two “arcs” the plane may have taken, which has led to increased search emphasis on the Indian Ocean and wild speculation the aircraft may have travelled as far as Kazakhstan.
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. The revelations 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. However the government in Beijing - which has 153 citizens on board the flight - urged Malaysia to continue providing it with “thorough and exact information” on the search, state news agency Xinhua said.
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.”