Post date:
8 Mar 2014 - 9:05am
Vietnamese aircraft spotted what they suspected was one of the doors of a missing Boeing 777 on Sunday, while troubling questions emerged about how two passengers managed to board the ill-fated aircraft using stolen passports.
Interpol confirmed it knew about the stolen passports but said no authorities checked its vast databases on stolen documents before the Boeing jetliner departed Saturday from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing with 239 people on board.
[UPDATE] 9/3 3.20PM:
A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew was presumed to have crashed off the Vietnamese coast. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has confirmed spotting signs on military radar that flight MH370 may have attempted to make a turn-back , likely towards Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), adding to the mystery surrounding the aircraft’s disappearance.
[UPDATE] 9/3 2.15PM:
Some debris has been spotted in the seas between Malaysia and Vietnam but it is unclear whether it came from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Chinese official said in Beijing on Sunday.
Mr Li Jiaxiang, chief of Civil Aviation Administration of China, was speaking at the sidelines of the tail-end of China's ongoing National People's Congress (NPC), or its annual national parliament meetings, where thousands of delegates have gathered in the Chinese capital.
[UPDATE] 9/3 1:00pm:
Four individuals on Malaysia Airlines passenger manifest might have used stolen or fake passports to board flight MH370 that went missing off the coast of Vietnam, says acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
All four names are with me and I have delegated the names to the intelligence unit," he said. The identity of the 2 new stolen passport were not disclosed.
[UPDATE] 9/3 11:30am:
Malaysia transport minister: Search for #MH370 airliner has widened extensively. Authorities have found four suspected passengers as well as a long stretch of oil slick found. No debris or signs of the airplane visible yet.
[UPDATE] 8/3 2:45pm:
While Vietnamese news sources are confirming that the missing flight MH370 crashed into the ocean, the Malaysian acting Transport Minister has denied the reports at a press conference at the KL International Airport.
The Malaysian military is now attempting to verify reports that there was a signal from the plane detected off the Vietnam coast.
"We are doing everything in our power to locate the plane. We are doing everything we can to ensure every possible angle has been addressed," Malaysian Transport Minister Seri Hishammuddin told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
"Our hope is that the people understand we are being as transparent as we can, we are giving information as quickly as we can, but we want to make sure information has been verified."
Meanwhile, families of about 80% of passengers have been contacted successfully.
[UPDATE] 8/3 1:05pm:
Vietnam media is now quoting a Vietnamese navy admiral, Ngo Van Phat, saying that the missing MalaysiaAirlines flight MH370 had crashed.
Ngo was reported to have said that the crash occurred 153 miles south of Phu Quoc island.
The Malaysia Airlines is currently working with authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the missing aircraft and possible crash site.
The next-of-kin of passengers and crew will be notified by phone during this period.
The flight was piloted by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a Malaysian aged 53. He has a total flying hours of 18,365hours. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981.
First officer, Fariq Ab.Hamid, a Malaysian, is aged 27. He has a total flying hours of 2,763 hours. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007.
Vietnam media has reported that authorities in Vietnam had detected a signal from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane at around 9:50am.
The signal originated from a location on the ocean 120 miles south-west of Vietnam's southern mainland tip. Further details about the type of signal or what it indicates about the state of the plane are yet unknown.
Relevant authorities have already indicated that it is now impossible for the plane to be still in the air as it would have already run out of fuel hours ago.
If they had landed on land, it is likely that the airplane staff would be able to contact someone to rescue them.
However, till now the search & rescue team is still unable to locate the missing plane.
[CONFIRMED] [UPDATE] 8/3 11:40am:
No Singaporeans on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The passengers were of 14 different nationalities - citizens from:-
15. China – 152 plus 1 infant
16. Malaysia - 38
17. Indonesia - 12
18. Australia - 7
19. France - 3
20. United States of America – 3 pax plus 1 infant
21. New Zealand - 2
22. Ukraine - 2
23. Canada - 2
24. Russia - 1
25. Italy - 1
26. Taiwan - 1
27. Netherlands - 1
28. Austria - 1
16. Malaysia - 38
17. Indonesia - 12
18. Australia - 7
19. France - 3
20. United States of America – 3 pax plus 1 infant
21. New Zealand - 2
22. Ukraine - 2
23. Canada - 2
24. Russia - 1
25. Italy - 1
26. Taiwan - 1
27. Netherlands - 1
28. Austria - 1
Name list of all the passenger on board: http://goo.gl/n8HgBZ
A Malaysia airlines spokesperson also told the media to ask the
family and friends of those on board the flight to be prepared for the
worst.
Rumours of Nanning landing of missing MH370 flight 'untrue', Malaysia Airlines official says.
There were no storms in the area of the South China Sea where the plane was flying across. The weather was generally fine with light clouds.
The plane had enough fuel to fly for seven hours, one hour more than the flight time to Beijing.
[UNCONFIRMED] [UPDATE] 8/3 10:10am:
The missing plane is believed to have been involved in a crash in August, 2012, when it damaged the tail of a China Eastern Airlines plane at Shanghai Pudong Airport, according to unconfirmed reports.
In the incident, the tip of the wing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 broke off.
A woman (centre), believed to be the relative of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, covers her face as she cries at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing March 8, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
[CONFIRMED] [UPDATE] 8/3 9:45am:
Malaysia Airlines has just released a statement saying its "thoughts and prayers" were with all the passengers on board the missing plane, and their families.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya shares that the passengers on board the flight were of 13 different nationalities and Malaysia Airlines is currently getting into contact with the next-of-kin of affected customers to alert them of the situation.
The focus of the airline currently is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support to locate the missing plane which was supposed to land about 3 hours ago.
Radar contact with missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft was lost in airspace controlled by Vietnam in the early hours of Saturday morning, said China's Xinhua news agency. The aircraft did not enter airspace controlled by China and did not make contact with Chinese controllers. Malaysia Airlines will be holding a press conference at 10.30am today at Sama-Sama Hotel, KLIA.
[UNCONFIRMED] [UPDATE] 8/3 9:15am:
A report from a flight tracking website said the plane had plunged more than 200 metres and changed course in the last minute that it had transmitted data.
Some websites listed the plane as having landed at 6.10am in Beijing but Malaysian Airlines issued the statement to report it was missing at 7.54am.
Below is a google GPS image of the last traceable location of the airplane:
Kuala Lumpur — A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people bound for Beijing has lost contact with air traffic control after leaving Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, the carrier said Saturday.
The airline said in a statement that Flight MH370 disappeared Saturday at 2:40 am local time (1840 GMT Friday). It was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members.
"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft," the carrier said.
The plane, a Boeing 777-200, left Kuala Lumpur 41 minutes after midnight Saturday, and had been due to arrive in Beijing at 6:30 am local time (2230 GMT Friday).
A spokeswoman said she could not immediately provide further details.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) planes have had few accidents.
One of the smaller Twin Otter aircraft, operated by MASwings, crashed upon landing in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island last October, killing a co-pilot and a passenger.
A jet crashed in 1977 in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.
Below is a media release statement from the Malaysia Airlines:
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http://www.therealsingapore.com/
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