Search-and-rescue ships called back from S China Sea

The government (Taiwan) has called back navy and Coast Guard Administration ships sent to search part of the South China Sea for signs of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, one day after Malaysia said it no longer believes the missing plane will be found in that area.

Along with a Chengkung-class frigate and Lafayette-class frigate from the navy and two coast guard patrol vessels, a C-130 transport plane will no longer be sent out to help with the search, the ministry said in a statement.

“The Malaysian government has not decided on the next move in the search for the missing plane, so our frigates and coast guard vessels will return home first,” the ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Major General David Lo said that the ministry will consider how it can best participate in the international search-and-rescue once Malaysia announces its next move in the search for the plane, which disappeared on March 8 with 227 passengers aboard, including one Taiwanese.

The ministry remains committed to helping in the search, he said.

The ministry began sending out the C-130 plane on a daily basis to help find the missing aircraft starting on Monday last week, when the flight was still believed to have crashed into the ocean. Authorities now believe its disappearance and apparent divergence from its planned route were intentional decisions.

The plane disappeared from radar screens and lost contact with air traffic controllers in the early hours of March 8, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2014/03/17/2003585855

Experts: Search for jet hampered by Malaysian government

The investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet has been hindered by the Malaysian government’s lack of technology and its reluctance to share critical information about the flight now the subject of an unprecedented search that stretches from the southern tip of the Indian Ocean to Kazakhstan, aviation experts said.

Government officials behind the search announced yesterday Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 — which took off March 8 bound for Beijing with 227 passengers — was deliberately diverted and continued flying for more than six hours after losing contact with the ground.

“The evidence is pretty sketchy, the electronic evidence. And the government doesn’t seem to be too technically savvy in terms of interpreting it,” said Vernon Grose, a veteran NTSB plane crash investigator.

Malaysia is not suited to handle an investigation of this scope, and the investigation has been compromised, he said.

“The fact is they’re not very well-equipped to head the investigation,” Grose said.

John Hansman, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said, “We probably could have been searching more efficiently if the Malaysian government had been more open with the information it had.”

He added, “It’s been hard to put all the pieces together. ... This is probably the biggest search area that I’ve seen. The possible search area is about two or three times the size of the United States.”

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is assisting in the investigation, but only has a supportive role, Hansman said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday the jet’s disappearance was no accident. The investigation is now focused on the flight’s 12-person crew and passengers. Authorities have previously said that whoever disabled the plane’s communication systems and then flew the jet must have had technical knowledge and experience with planes. The jet took off last week from Kuala Lumpur destined for Beijing at 12:40 a.m., and communication with civilian air controllers was severed about 40 minutes later.

The Chinese government, where the bulk of the passengers were from, has expressed frustrations over Malaysia’s foot-dragging in releasing information.

The mystery is something out of a novel, Grose said. “Whoever writes this one would get a Nobel Prize for creativity,” he said.


http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/international/europe/2014/03/experts_search_for_jet_hampered_by_malaysian_government

Satellite firm says it received signals from missing Malaysian aircraft

A British satellite communications company on Saturday 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 March 8.

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.

Until now, that search has turned up false leads: oil slicks, chunks of foam, life vests and other debris unconnected to the vanished plane.

But a series of electronic pings sent by the aircraft could help the search, which is shifting focus from the confines of the Gulf of Thailand and nearby waters to include the Indian Ocean on the western side of Malaysia.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/satellite-firm-says-it-received-signals-from-missing-malaysian-aircraft/458123-2.html

Still no sign of wreckage from missing plane

CHRIS UHLMANN: Two days after a Malaysia Airlines plane failed to arrive in Beijing there is, as yet, no sign of any wreckage, as 40 ships and 34 aircraft from nine different nations scour the seas off Vietnam and Malaysia. Two hundred and thirty nine people, including six Australians, are missing.

Authorities are investigating the possibility of a terrorist attack because two passengers on board the flight were travelling on stolen passports. And mysteriously there was no distress signal from the plane before it lost contact with air traffic controllers.

In Kuala Lumpur the families of those onboard spend their hours in a hotel near the airport as they wait for news.

Our South-East Asia correspondent Samantha Hawley filed this report from Kuala Lumpur.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: In the Malaysian capital CCTV footage is now vital evidence for authorities. It shows the two potential suspects arriving and boarding Malaysia Airlines flight 370 to Beijing.

The pair was travelling on stolen passports belonging to an Italian and Austrian man. Both documents were reported missing in Thailand at different times.

The nation's defence minister and acting transport minister is Hishammuddin Hussein.

HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN: I can confirm that we have visuals on them through the CCTV, and I also can confirm that the two individuals concerned and their details have been forwarded to the intelligence agencies - not only local, but international.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: Can you confirm what their nationality is?

HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN: No, not yet. I do not want to reveal any information which may affect the investigation of this nature because it involved security threats. But concerns the public has had on these two fake passports, I've indicated that we have managed to get visuals of them.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: You said 'not yet' - so you seem quite certain that it is a terrorist act? You said 'not yet'.

HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN: I said from the beginning that we are looking at all possibilities. Just because 'not yet' does not mean that we are saying that it is a terrorist act, but we are not discounting anything when it comes to the lives of innocent people.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: There are now also investigations into the possibility the plane may have turned around after it lost contact with air traffic controllers on the ground.

The relatives of the passengers and crew on the plane spend their hours at a hotel about a 40 minute drive from Kuala Lumpur's international airport where they wait for news. They're visited often by prominent Malaysians - including on this occasion, the wife of the embattled opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

WAN AZIZAH WAN ISMAIL: Of course they deserve our condolences. The other thing is that we have to know for sure what happened, and therefore keep them... at least not in the dark and not expect... we do expect the worst.

SAMANTHA HAWLEY: As the wait grows longer any glimmer of hope they had is fading fast.

This is Samantha Hawley in Kuala Lumpur reporting for AM.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-10/still-no-sign-of-wreckage-from-missing-plane/5309284