by Arun George
8.53 pm: Thailand calls off search for missing Malaysian jet Thailand today called off its search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane over the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea after Malaysian Premier said hunt for the aircraft will shift to two new destinations. Navy commander Adm Narong Pipattanasai ordered the search to stop after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that flight MH370 had changed its course to a new destination, including Kazhakistan and southern Indian ocean, Thai navy spokesman Adm Karn Dee-ubon said here. But the navy still directed four ships – HTMS Pattani, HTMS Tapi, HTMS Songkhla and HTMS Sattahip – to stand ready in case the Malaysian government needed help for another search, said Rear Adm Karn. “Our most updated information in the radar system was in Hat Yai in southern Thailand where the air force detected MH370 flying out of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. That was the first and last time we detected MH370,” air force spokesman AM Monthon Sutchukorn said. 6.54 pm: Signals from MH370 received by satellite firm may help search A British satellite communications company today said it had recorded electronic ping signals from the missing Malaysian aircraft which could be analysed to help estimate its location. As the hunt for Flight MH370 remained inconclusive, the information from Inmarsat could prove to be a valuable break in the frustrating search for the plane with 239 people aboard that mysteriously vanished from radar screens last week. Inmarsat described the communication signals from the plane as “routine” and “automated”, without disclosing any details regarding the timing of the signals in relation to the aircraft’s disappearance on 8 March. Inmarsat said in a statement that it handed the information to communications specialist SITA which, it adds, has shared the data with the airline. It has not stated which satellites were involved. Inmarsat operates about 10 geostationary satellites through which it handles satcom datalink transmissions including those from the aeronautical sector. 4.14 pm: Bangladesh joins search for missing Malaysian jet Bangladesh today joined international search operations to trace the missing Malaysian plane by deploying frigates and aircraft in its exclusive economic zone in the Bay of Bengal. In line with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s directive, two patrol aircraft and two navy frigates — BNS Omar Faruque and BNS Bangabandhu — have joined the search, primarily to look for the aircraft in Bangladesh’s exclusive economic zone, a defence ministry spokesman told PTI. Bangladesh decided to join the search for the missing Flight MH370 with 14 other countries in view of emerging possibilities that the plane could be tracked down in the Bay of Bengal, he said. Replying to a question, the official said no time limit was issued for the duration of the campaign. The decision came amid reports suggesting that faint electronic signals sent to satellites from the missing aircraft show it might have been flown thousands 3.19 pm: Malaysian cops raid house of missing jet’s captain Malaysian police today went to the house of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing flight MH370, minutes after Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that investigators will refocus on the crew and passengers of the aircraft that disappeared eight days ago. Two police officers went to 53-year-old Capt Zaharie’s house in the suburb of Shah Alam here, officials said, without further elaborating. Zaharie, a pilot with 18,365 flight hours under his belt, is reportedly also a flight instructor. He has been in the news after the mysterious disappearance of the plane on March 8. The questions have been raised in the media over a flight simulator found at his home. The move came hours after Prime Minister Najib said the missing aircraft’s communication system and the transponder were switched off deliberately “by someone on the plane”. He stopped short of saying the plane had been hijacked. Zaharie and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, were among the 12-member crew of the plane with 227 passengers on board including five Indians and one Indian-origin Canadian. Outside of aviation, he had a YouTube channel dedicated to DIY projects, where he told viewers how to fix home appliances like air-conditioners. 11.51 am: Press conference of Malaysian PM begins Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s press conference begins. He thanks the multi-national search effort, says this has been an unprecedented event. “We followed every credible lead, sometimes they led nowhere,” he says. “There has been intense speculation. We understand the desperate need for information on behalf of the families and those watching. But we have a responsibility to the investigation and families to release the information that has been corroborated,” he adds. “Data showed that the plane went north of the Straits of Malacca and thus we extended search to the North, and later to Andaman Sea. Investigation authorities have briefed me on what happened to the flight. Based on new satellite communication, with a high-degree of certainty, we can say that aircraft’s communication system was disabled. Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysia and Vietnamese air space, the plane’s transponder was switched off. Malaysia Airforce’s data showed that an aircraft believed to be MH370 flew in the opposite direction,” he says. “These movements are consistent with deliberate action from someone on the plane,” says the PM. “Plane lost communication with satellites. We believe it was flown was in two possible corridors. One in the corridor of North Kazakhstan to Turkmenistan and second from Indonesia to South Indian Ocean. We have also stopped our search operations in South China sea,” he added. He refuses to confirm hijacking claims but says it is still being explored. It should be noted that he has not denied the report of hijacking either. The press conference has vastly expanded the search area. Once again nothing conclusive has been revealed in the press conference. 11.30 am: Malaysia PM’s press conference set to begin The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to host a press conference to give the latest update on the missing MH370 plane. Here’s what is being speculated about the plane for now: 1) Hijack is no longer a theory, it is being looked upon as a conclusive event. According to Associated Press one of the investigators has confirmed that the MH370 was indeed hijacked. This is based on the fact that the plane few on for four hours in the opposite direction. 2) Search in the Indian Ocean has found nothing for now. 3) Search in the Indian Ocean won’t be an easy task for the teams given the depth of the Ocean and the vast expanse. There’s also a fear that high winds and currents could have swept the debris far away. 4) Plane might have run out of fuel in the Indian Ocean. Another report from Reuters said that the plane could have run out of fuel in the Indian Ocean and then crashed. 11.08 am: Indian search finds no trace of Malaysian plane Indian navy ships supported by surveillance planes and helicopters are scouring Andaman Sea islands for a third day without any success in finding evidence of a missing Malaysia Airlines jet, reports Associated Press. VSR Murthy, a top Indian coast guard official, says the search has been expanded farther west into the Bay of Bengal on Saturday. Nearly a dozen ships, patrol vessels, surveillance aircraft and helicopters have been deployed but Murthy says, “We have got nothing so far.” Screengrab of Malaysian Press conference. Screengrab of Malaysian Press conference. Seeing no headway, Malaysian authorities suggested Friday a new search area of 9,000 square kilometers (3,474 square miles) to India along the Chennai coast in the Bay of Bengal, India’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. 10.30 am: Malaysian hijacking theory: Why it’s not an easy task to pull off According to Associated Press reports, investigators have all but confirmed that the plane was indeed hijacked given that it was deliberately flown in the opposite direction. The search for the missing plane has now been expanded into the Indian ocean, which is not an easy task, given the vastness of the Ocean and the sheer depth. As far as pulling off a hijacking is concerned, it still remains highly implausible. Avoiding both air-traffic controllers, military radars are all highly difficult tasks and would require extreme skill on part of the concerned hijackers. Scott Shankland, an American Airlines pilot who spent several years as a co-pilot on Boeing 777s, told Associated Pres,a captain would know how to disable radios and the plane’s other tracking systems. “But a hijacker, even one trained to fly a plane, “would probably be hunting and pecking quite a while — ‘Do I pull this switch? Do I pull that?’ You could disable a great deal” of the tracking equipment, “but possibly not all of it.” Experts feel that this a case of a hijacking gone bad. However the fact that no one has claimed responsibility and no motive has been determined, adds to the confusion. Hopefully the Malaysian PM’s press conference will make the picture clearer today. 10.15 am: Malaysian PM holding emergency press conference Malaysian PM will hold an emergency press conference today shortly. He is likely to give updates on the fact that the plane was indeed hijacked. 10:00 am: Investigators conclude flight was hijacked Investigators have concluded that one or more people with significant flying experience hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, switched off communication devices and steered it off-course, a Malaysian government official involved in the investigation said on Saturday, according to an Associated Press report. No motive has been established and no demands have been made known, and it is not yet clear where the plane was taken, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media. The official said that hijacking was no longer a theory. “It is conclusive,” he said. He said evidence that led to the conclusion were signs that the plane’s communications were switched off deliberately, data about the flight path and indications the plane was steered in a way to avoid detection by radar. 8.00 am: Investigators looking at foul play The mystery of the missing Malaysian flight is now continuing for the the second week and according to reports from Reuters, the investigators are now seriously exploring the question of foul play. Evvidence suggests it was deliberately flown hundreds of miles off course, sources familiar with the Malaysian probe told Reuters. Two sources told Reuters that military radar data showed an unidentified aircraft that investigators suspect was Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 following a commonly used navigational route toward the Middle East and Europe when it was last spotted early on March 8, northwest of Malaysia. That course – headed into the Andaman Sea and towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean – could only have been set deliberately, either by flying the Boeing 777-200ER jet manually or by programming the auto-pilot. Another report from Reuters adds that the plane could have run out of fuel in the Indian Ocean. If this did happen, then finding the plane will be a tricky task. The Indian Ocean with depths of more than 7,000 metres (23,000 feet) is likely to add difficulties to the task faced by searchers Winds and currents could shift any surface debris tens of nautical miles within hours. End of updates for 14 March
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