‘Always hope’ missing jet’s passengers alive
As search expands to two hemispheres, Malaysian officials won’t rule out hijacking, sabotage or possibility that plane is intact.
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA The search for a missing Malaysia jetliner expanded to two hemispheres Monday as investigators said they are now certain that the plane was deliberately diverted during its overnight flight and flew off-course for hours.
Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said finding the plane was still the main focus of Malaysia’s efforts, and he did not rule out that it might be discovered intact and the passengers alive.
“The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming responsibility, there is always hope,” Hishammuddin said.
Malaysia has not ruled out hijacking, sabotage or pilot suicide, and they are checking the backgrounds of the 239 aboard, as well as the ground crew, to see if links to terrorists, personal problems or psychological issues could be factors.
The number of countries aiding the massive search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 swelled to 26 on Monday. The unprecedented hunt is taking place as preliminary investigations revealed that the plane’s co-pilot apparently spoke the last words to air-traffic controllers. Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the co-pilot of the plane was probably the person who calmly said, “All right, good night.”
Officials previously have said that those words came at a point in the March 8 flight when one of the jet’s data communications systems already had been switched off. Ahmad, however, said Monday that the last communication from the system came minutes before the words were spoken but that it was not clear whether the system was turned off before or after the words were spoken.
The timing of the last words sharpened suspicions that one or both of the pilots may have been involved in the plane’s disappearance.
The search has been extended to what officials are calling two “corridors” that the plane may have flown from its last known position. One is an arc north toward central Asia, the other is an arc south toward the southern Indian Ocean and Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament that he agreed to take the lead scouring the southern Indian Ocean.
The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, was one of many Malaysians who have been battling a ruling party that has maintained dominance for 40 years, leading to speculation that he hijacked the plane for political reasons.
Zaharie, 53, joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, according to the New Strait Times, and had 18,365 flying hours, according to Malaysia Airlines.
He built his own flight simulator at home and liked to fix things around his home. In videos on YouTube, he shared tips on topics such as “How to service your own air-conditioner units without hassle” and “How to repair a Whirlpool icemaker.”
Pictures of Zaharie on various social media sites and blogs have been posted of him cooking dishes from his native Penang.