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Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Did missing jet end up on dry land? Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Did missing jet end up on dry land?
(about 3 hours later)
The hunt for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 moved inland, as China confirmed it had started searching its territory for the stricken plane. The hunt for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 moved inland today, as China confirmed it has started searching within its own borders for the stricken plane.
Huang Huikang, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, said that search and rescue operations in the Chinese territories of the northern corridor had begun, Xinhua news agency reported.Huang Huikang, the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, said that search and rescue operations in the Chinese territories of the northern corridor had begun, Xinhua news agency reported.
Mr Huang also confirmed that background checks on Chinese nationals did not uncover any evidence suggesting they were involved in hijacking or an act of terrorism against the plane.Mr Huang also confirmed that background checks on Chinese nationals did not uncover any evidence suggesting they were involved in hijacking or an act of terrorism against the plane.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also told a briefing that China had deployed 20 satellites to search for the missing jetliner in Chinese territory which covers a northern corridor through which the aircraft could have flown.Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also told a briefing that China had deployed 20 satellites to search for the missing jetliner in Chinese territory which covers a northern corridor through which the aircraft could have flown.
Meanwhile, desperate family members of missing passengers aboard the flight MH370 have threatened to go on hunger strike. The developments come as news outlets in the Maldives reported a number of eyewitnesses claiming that they saw a "low-flying jumbo jet" pass near the islands in the early hours of 8 March.
Speaking to reporters, a woman who had led chants during the news briefing calling on authorities to "respect life, tell us the truth!" said the families were calling for a hunger strike. "I've never seen a jet flying so low over our island before," a witness told the Haveeru news website.
"Respect life, return our relatives" she said. "We're going on hunger strike. I'm representing. "We've seen seaplanes, but I'm sure that this was not one of those. I could even make out the doors on the plane clearly.
"The families are on the point of collapse. There are so many families coming and going, some have already left. The young people can stand it, but the elderly have already broken down," she shouted. "It's not just me either, several other residents have reported seeing the exact same thing. Some people got out of their houses to see what was causing the tremendous noise too."
In a news conference today, Malaysian authorities said they have contacted every country with relevant satellite data and requested deep sea detection to assist in the search. Search efforts remain focused on the southern and northern corridors, officials added. In a news conference earlier today, the official leading the hunt for missing Flight MH370 confirmed the search for the aircraft and its 239 passengers and crew now covers an area of more than 2.2million nautical square miles. At least 25 countries are involved in the operation. Yet there still remains not a single physical trace of the plane or the people who boarded 11 days ago.
The Malaysian Defence Minister told Reuters he has spoken to the US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel about the use of satellite data. A week-and-a-half after the Boeing 777 disappeared shortly after it set off on route for Beijing, officials said they were still searching along two arcs that cut north and south through swathes of Asia. It is believed that it was from somewhere along this line that the final satellite signal from the plane was sent. Amid speculation about which way the plane might have turned, officials say both areas remain equally important to investigators.
Hishammuddin Hussein denied reports that Malaysia had discouraged the Federal Bureau of Investigation from sending a team to Malaysia. “The entire search area is now 2.24m square nautical miles. This is an enormous search area,” said Malaysia’s Transport Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein. “And it is something that Malaysia cannot possibly search on its own. I am therefore very pleased that so many countries have come forward to offer assistance and support to the search and rescue operation.”
"I have been working with them," he said. "It's up to the FBI to tell us if they need more experts to help because it's not for us to know what they have." Mr Hussein spoke as investigators continued to focus attention on both the passengers and crew of the plane, searching for any clues as to who may have been responsible for diverting the jet off course. Over the weekend, officials said they believed the actions of the plane as it veered from its planned route and turned sharply West, were consistent with the intentional action of someone onboard.
Today, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said that while it had narrowed down the search area using satellite data, the region in the southern Indian Ocean was still "vast". Mr Hussein said Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea were sending additional hardware to search in the massive southern Indian ocean. He said he had also spoken with US defence secretary Chuck Hagel, given the US’s search and rescue capabilities. He said he had also spoken with his counterparts in China, which had also vowed to help search in China itself and along the so-called southern corridor.
Amsa Emergency Response General Manager John Young said: "A needle in a haystack remains a good analogy," warning that there is "a difficult task ahead". The minister dismissed criticism voiced by officials in both China and the US that Malaysia had been reluctant to share information with foreign governments. He said such was the desire to find the plane, that Malaysia had shared information with other countries that could potentially weaken its national security.
The Malaysian Airlines jet disappeared with its 239 passengers and crew less than one hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. More than 150 of the passengers on board the plane were from China. Such is the level of anguish among the relatives of the passengers – desperate for a solid piece of information about what may have happened to their loved ones – that on Tuesday they reportedly threatened to go on hunger strike if the authorities in Kuala Lumpur were not more forthcoming.
Malaysian authorities say that someone on board the flight switched off two vital pieces of communication equipment, allowing the plane to fly almost undetected. “What we want is the truth,” one woman said, after a meting with Malaysian authorities, according to the BBC. “Don’t let the passengers become the victims of a political fight.”
Satellite data shows it might have ended up somewhere in a giant arc stretching from Central Asia to the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, checks into the background of the Chinese citizens on board the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner have uncovered no links to terrorism, the Chinese ambassador in Kuala Lumpur said Tuesday.
A massive search operation in the Indian Ocean and beyond has yet to find any trace of the plane. The remarks will dampen speculation that Uighur Muslim separatists in far western Xinjiang province might have been involved with the disappearance of the jet.
Malaysian military radar spotted the plane in the northern reaches of the Strait of Malacca at 2.14 am on 8 March. That is the plane's last known confirmed position. Malaysian police have searched the homes of the captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid, who is aged 27. Among the items taken for examination was a flight simulator Mr Zaharie had built in his home.
A signal to a satellite from the plane at 8.11 am suggests that, by then, it was somewhere in a broad arc spanning from Kazakhstan to the Indian Ocean west of Australia. Reports said that among the runways programmed into the device were locations in the Maldives, Sri Lanka and the British islands of Diego Garcia. While the men remain under investigation, officials have said they have found nothing incriminating.
Officials searching for missing Flight MH370 are investigating whether whoever was in control of the plane when it veered off course deliberately flew low to avoid detection by military radar. 
An international team of investigators is said to be probing the possibility that the plane hugged close to the ground to avoid detection – a technique used by military pilots.
On Sunday it was revealed that the final message sent to air traffic controllers from the jet's cockpit - “ All right, good night” - was spoken after someone on board had already disabled the plane's ACARS reporting system.On Sunday it was revealed that the final message sent to air traffic controllers from the jet's cockpit - “ All right, good night” - was spoken after someone on board had already disabled the plane's ACARS reporting system.
That conversation between air traffic controllers and the cockpit took place at 1.19am as officials warned the pilots they were about to leave Malaysian airspace on route to Beijing. The response “All right, good night,” apparently came from Fariq Abdul Hamid, the co-pilot. That conversation between air traffic controllers and the cockpit took place at 1.19am as officials warned the pilots they were about to leave Malaysian airspace on route to Beijing. The response “All right, good night,” apparently came from Hamid, the co-pilot.
Mr Hussein, the Transport Minister, said officials were aware of the vast area they were having to search and were working with other countries and agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration to try and narrow the search.
“Now we are saying we are trying to reduce the area. We can relook at the data we have some friends who already have radar data. Both areas remain a priority.”
At least 26 countries are now assisting in the search for the plane, intensifying challenges of co-ordinating ground, sea and aerial efforts.At least 26 countries are now assisting in the search for the plane, intensifying challenges of co-ordinating ground, sea and aerial efforts.
Additional reporting by agenciesAdditional reporting by agencies