Missing Malaysia Airlines plane WAS hijacked, says official

By

Wills Robinson

and Richard Shears

|

Investigators say the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was hijacked, steered off-course and could have reached Pakistan.

A Malaysian government official said people with significant flying experience could have turned off the flight’s communication devices.

The representative said

that hijacking theory was now ‘conclusive’, and, as a result, police

have raided the luxury homes of both the captain and the co-pilot.

Zahari Ahmad Shah, 53, the pilot, and Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27,are now being investigated as police in Kuala Lumpur search for any sign of foul play.

The search operation has now been focused on two ‘corridors’, one which extends from  north west from Thailand to the Kazakstan-Turkmenistan border and the other which opens out into the southern Indian Ocean.

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The last known position of MH370 was pinpointed as it headed east over the Peninsular Malaysia. Rada pings then suggest the plane could have then taken two paths along ‘corridors’ which are currently being searched. The northern corridor extends from northern Thailand to the Kazakstan-Turkmenistan border, while the south extends from Indonesia into the southern Indian Ocean

Entrance: The gates outside the home of co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid which has been searched by police

Journalists gathered outside Hamid’s home in Shah Alam as police turned their attention to those on board as part of the wide-ranging probe

While Malaysian Prime Minister Najib

Razak refused to confirm that flight MH370 was taken over, he admitted

‘deliberate action’ on board the plane resulted in it changing course

and losing connection with ground crews.

The plane’s communication system was

switched off as it headed west over the Malaysian seaboard and could have flown for another seven hours on its fuel reserves.

It is not yet clear where the plane was taken, however Mr Razak said the most recent satellite data suggests the plane could

have headed to one of two possible flight corridors.

The

last radar contact was made along one of the corridors, seven hours and

31 minutes after take off, but the plane could have deviated further

from these points.

The aircraft’s fuel reserves mean it could have travelled as far as Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Australia in the other direction.

US investigators have also not ruled

out the possibility that the passengers are being held at an unknown

location and suggest that faint ‘pings’ were being transmitted for

several hours after the flight lost contact with the ground.

NASA has also joined the international search operation, analysing satellite data and images that have already been gathered.

Malaysian authorities and others are urgently investigating the two pilots and 10 crew members, along with the 227

passengers on board.

Today, a

police van with a large contingent of officers inside passed through a

security gate at the entrance to the wealthy compound where

father-of-three Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah lives with his wife Faisa.

Investigators have now raided the homes of both Capt. Zahari Ahmad Shah (left) and Fariq Abdul Hamid in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur

Compound: A view of the entrance to Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s residence. Police have been stationed outside for the last week

Luxury: Shah is said to live at the property with his wife Faisa

Officers are said to have spent two hours searching the pilot’s home today inside the luxury compound

Both pilots live in the upmarket Kuala Lumpur district of Laman Seri, about an hour’s drive from the city centre

A security guard stands at a main gate of the missing Shah’s house in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur

Shah’s property would have looked similar to this one and is set in an estate which is said to be popular with high-income earners

Four plain-clothed police officers were also, reportedly, seen at the home of the other pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.

Both

pilots live in the upmarket Kuala Lumpur district of Laman Seri, about

an hour’s drive from the city centre – and each was visited today by a

team of detectives who arrived in a white ‘people mover’ vehicle.

The homes are substantial and are, said one resident, typical of high income earners.

It

is believed a team

of search specialists entered Shah’s house and spent two hours searching

for signs of foul play, before moving into search the co-pilot’s home a

short distance away.

The

New Straits Times reported last night that before police turned up at

Hamid’s home, his two brothers arrived there in a Mini Cooper, believed

to belong to a friend.

They

hurried into the house and remained there for a short time before

hurrying away in the same car, taking with them transparent blue plastic

bags containing clothes and toiletries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (centre) on refused to confirm reports the plane was ‘hijacked’

Another relative gives a statement to the media following the press conference

Hamid’s father, Abdul Hamid left with them. An hour later, the plain clothed officers left the house carrying two brown bags.

The

concentration by police on the homes of the Captain and the co-pilot

adds to suspicion that one – or both – of them might have had been

responsible for the plight of the aircraft.

However,

if it was diverted into the Indian Ocean, the task of the search teams

becomes more difficult, as there are hundreds of uninhabited islands and

the water reaches depths of around 23,000ft.

The maximum range of the Boeing 777-200ER is 7,725 nautical miles or 14,305 km.

It

is not clear how much fuel the aircraft was carrying though it would

have been enough to reach its scheduled destination, Beijing, a flight

of five hours and 50 minutes, plus some reserve.

Experts

have previously said that whoever disabled the plane’s communication

systems and then flew the jet must have had a high degree of technical

knowledge and flying experience.

THE TWO PILOTS UNDER SUSPICION: A ‘GOOD MUSLIM BOY’ AND AN FATHER DEDICATED TO COMMUNITY SERVICE

Suspicions: Jonti Roos (left) claims she and her friend were entertained by Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, who is one of the pilots of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight (right). He is now part of an investigation by police in Kuala Lumpur

Following the confirmation that flight MH370 was hijacked, police raided the homes of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and his co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.

Officers in Malaysia have said they have been looking at the psychological background of the pilot from the start.

They have also examined their family life and connections as one line of inquiry into the flight’s disappearance.

It has emerged that Shah was so passionate about flying he has is own flight simulator at home, and that Hamid once invited two women to spend an entire flight in the cockpit with him.

According to a local mosque leader, Hamid is a ‘good boy, a good Muslim, humble and quiet’.

Hamid, the son of a high-ranking civil servant in Selangor state, joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007. With just 2,763 hours of flight experience he had only recently started co-piloting the sophisticated Boeing 777.

He had a short brush with fame when he was filmed recently for a CNN programme.

Hamid’s superior, Shah, joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and has more than 18,000 flight hours.

Police have raided the luxury home of Fariq Abdul Hamid in Kuala Lumpur

His Facebook profile includes pictures of him flying remote-controlled aircraft, posting pictures of his collection which included a lightweight twin-engine helicopter and an amphibious aircraft.

Born in northern Penang state, the bald-headed captain and grandfather is also an enthusiastic handyman and proud home cook.

As part of what he called ‘community service’, he had posted several YouTube videos including how to make air conditioners more efficient to cut electricity bills, how to waterproof window panes and how to repair a refrigerator icemaker.

A Malaysian Airline stewardess who had flown with Shah several times said he was ‘very nice, very friendly and safety-conscious’. She didn’t want to be named because of company policy prohibiting employees from speaking to the media.

Neighbours of both men also praised their commitment to the community.

Hamid played futsal, a modified form of soccer popular in Southeast Asia, with neighborhood youngsters and paid for their sports shirts.

Neighbours said Shah was known for bringing food he cooked himself to community events or making sure his wife and children did when he couldn’t attend

Shah was known for bringing food he cooked himself to community events or making sure his wife and children did when he couldn’t attend.

A supporter of Malaysia’s main opposition parties, he had volunteered to be a poll monitor in recent elections.

Yet both Hamid and Shah have quirks that reveal a more colorful side to their pilot personas.

Grabbing attention were pictures Shah posted online of the flight simulator he built for his home using three large computer monitors and other accessories.

Asked at a news conference whether it was unusual for pilots to have such equipment at home, Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said ‘everyone is free to do his own hobby’.

Shah is certified by Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation as a flight simulator examiner, according to Malaysia Airlines.

Agony: It has been more than a week since relatives of the missing passengers received any concrete evidence concerning their whereabouts

A handout map provided by the Indian Navy shows the revised search area for missing flight MH370 near the Andaman Nicobar islands, India

In Shah’s house a flight simulator has been set up and is understood to have

interested police following up one line of investigation – that he had

used the equipment to practice making his real-life Boeing 777

‘invisible’ by turning off all communications.

Despite the investigation, Malaysian

officials and friends of the pilots have told MailOnline this week that

there are no reasons to suspect either the Captain or co-pilot of having

personal problems that would have resulted in them taking control of

the aircraft.

During his statement Mr Naqib added authorities have not ruled out any possibilities in the international

search for the plane, which now involves 14 countries, 43 ships and 58

aircraft.

‘Clearly

the search has entered a new phase. Over the last seven days, we have

followed every lead and looked into every possibility,’ Mr Razak said.

‘For family and friends (of the passengers), we hope this new

information brings us one step closer to finding the plane.’

Mr Najib said data showed that the jet went north of the Straits of Malacca which resulted in the search to the north and later to the 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 the 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 data showed that an aircraft believed to be MH370 flew in the opposite direction.

‘These movements are consistent with deliberate action from someone on the plane.’

The

Boeing 777′s communication with the ground was severed just under one

hour into the flight on March 8 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

It has now been confirmed the plane turned back and

crossed over the Malaysian peninsula after setting out on a northeastern

path toward the Chinese capital.. 

Gone: The Malaysian Airways jet (not pictured) vanished on March 8 after communication was severed just one hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

Search effort: Colonel Do Duc Minh (far left) Vietnam Air Force’s 370 Division’s Chief of Staff, points at a map as he speaks to reporters about search flights aimed at finding the missing Malaysia Airlines plane

The disabling of the  Boeing

777′s transponder and messaging system occurred around 12 minutes apart. Such a gap would be unlikely in the case of an

in-flight catastrophe and gave authorities the clearest indication to date someone on-board was behind it.

The

motive of the hijack is still not clear. No demands have been made and

no groups have publicly claimed involvement in the disappearance. 

Scott

Shankland, an American Airlines pilot who spent several years as a

co-pilot on Boeing 777s, said 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’ to find the correct way to switch off the

equipment.

Some of the

plane’s data is transmitted automatically from equipment not located in

the cockpit, making it even harder to avoid leaving electronic bread

crumbs, he said.

John

Hansman, an aeronautics professor at MIT who is familiar with the Boeing

777, said it would be possible for an intruder to turn off the

transponders, but knowing how to shut down other systems in a bid to be

stealthy would be more difficult.

Isolated: A large-scale search operation was launched in the Anadaman Islands, but Indian Navy vessels have drawn a blank

Even

if 9/11-style hijackers got that far, he said, they would be challenged

to keep flying, make a successful landing, and hide the plane.

‘If it was a hijacking, it was probably a hijacking gone bad,’ he said.

Some experts have

said that pilot suicide may be the most likely explanation for the

disappearance, as was suspected in a SilkAir crash during a flight from

Singapore to Jakarta in 1997 and an EgyptAir flight in 1999.

The already global search effort will now be expanded along the two large corridors outlined in his speech.

Indian

navy ships supported by long-range surveillance planes and helicopters

scoured Andaman Sea islands for a third day without any success in

finding evidence of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

Nearly

a dozen ships, patrol vessels, surveillance aircraft and helicopters

have been deployed, but ‘we have got nothing so far,’ said VSR Murthy,

an Indian coastguard official.

The

Indian navy’s coordinated search has so far covered more than 100,579

square miles in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal ‘without any

sighting or detection,’ the Defence Ministry said.

The search has been expanded to the central and eastern sides of the Bay of Bengal, the ministry said.

The USS Kidd arrived in the Strait of Malacca late Friday afternoon and will be searching in the Andaman Sea, and into the Bay of Bengal

Expanded search: A Royal Malaysian Air Force Navigator captain Izam Fareq Hassan (right) talks with his team members onboard a Malaysian Air Force CN235 aircraft during a search and rescue (SAR) operation

Bangladesh also joined the search

effort in the Bay of Bengal with two patrol aircraft and two frigates,

said Mahbubul Haque Shakil, an aide of Bangladesh’s prime minister,

Sheikh Hasina.

Seeing no

headway, Malaysian authorities suggested a new search area of 3,474

square miles to India along the Chennai coast in the Bay of Bengal,

India’s Defence Ministry said.

Developments,

including the massive change in flightpath and subsequent radar

detections, have ruled out the possibility of a huge mechanical failure.

It also means that

extensive search efforts in the South China Sea have finished, with

countries like Vietnam ending their involvement.

No wreckage of the missing jet has been found, despite alleged sitings in various locations throughout the week.

The

USS Kidd arrived in the Strait of Malacca late Friday afternoon. It

uses a using a ‘creeping-line’ search method of following a pattern of

equally spaced parallel lines in an effort to completely cover the area.

A

P-8A Poseidon, the most advanced long range anti-submarine and

anti-surface warfare aircraft in the world, will arrive Saturday. It has

a nine-member crew and has advanced surveillance and reconnaissance

capabilities, the department of defense said in a statement.

Expanded search: Indonesian Search And Rescue personnel keep a lookout on a rescue ship heading to the Andaman sea

Wanting answers: Relatives of passengers of a missing Malaysia Airlines plane attend a conference with airline representatives at a hotel in Beijing, China on Saturday

Exhausted: Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 rests in a room reserved for relatives awaiting news of the search for the plane

Malaysia has come under fire for what has been described as a ‘pretty chaotic’ search, with China saying the overall search effort has consequently been mired in confusion after a series of false alarms, rumors and contradictory statements.

Meanwhile, the hijacking news will renew focus on the two pilots at the helm of the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet.

The only known blot on co-pilot Fariq’s character appears to be the time 2011 when he invited two South African women into the cockpit when he and another officer flew a jet from Thailand to Malaysia.

In the days since the flight went missing, it has emerged that Shah was so passionate about flying he has is own flight simulator at home.

As the search continued for the missing

Boeing 777, military radar suggested the plane was deliberately flown

towards India’s Andaman Islands.

Two

sources familiar with the

investigation said an unidentified aircraft – which investigators

believe was flight MH370 – was plotted by military radar following a route between navigational

waypoints.

This indicates that it was either being flown by the pilots or someone with knowledge of those waypoints, the sources said.

Support: Thousands of people have written messages of support on a wall at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, for passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane

Hope: Paper cranes are pasted on a message board for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur

A toy plane with messages of hope sits next to cards dedicated to people involved with the missing flight MH370 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport

The last plot on the military radar’s

tracking suggested the plane was flying towards India’s Andaman Islands, a

chain of isles between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, they

said.

Waypoints are

geographic locations, worked out by calculating longitude and latitude,

that help pilots navigate along established air corridors.

India recently began searching hundreds of uninhabited islands in the Andaman Sea, using heat-seeking devices.

Two

Indian air force reconnaissance planes began flying over the islands as

a precaution, after they and two naval ships scoured the seas

surrounding the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to spokesman Col.

Harmit Singh of India’s Tri-Services Command on the territory.

The

archipelago that stretches south of Myanmar contains 572 islands

covering an area of 720 by 52 kilometers. Only 37 are inhabited, with

the rest covered in dense forests.

Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein attended prayers for passengers and crew of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at a mosque near Kuala Lumpur International Airport

India today began searching hundreds of uninhabited islands in the Andaman Sea, using heat-seeking devices, officials said

The focus of search efforts shifted on Thursday from the South China Sea after the US said ‘new information’ indicated that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may have gone down to the west in the Indian Ocean.

China,

which had more than 150 citizens on board the missing plane, today said the confirmation foul play was involved in the flight’s disappearance was ‘painfully belated’.

The Boeing 777

has one of the best safety records of any commercial aircraft in

service.

Its only previous fatal crash came on July 6 last year when

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 struck a sea wall with its undercarriage on

landing in San Francisco. Three people died in the incident.

THREE TYPES OF SIGNALS GIVEN OFF BY PLANES, AND HOW THEY RELATE TO MISSING MH370

The missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 sent signals to a satellite for four hours after the aircraft went missing, an indication that it was still flying for hundreds of miles or more, according to a U.S. official briefed on the search for the jet.

This raises the possibility that the plane may have flown far from the current search areas. 

Here is a look at three types of signals planes give off, and how they relate to the missing jetliner:

TRANSPONDERS

Transponders are electronic devices that automatically identify commercial aircraft within air traffic control radar range and transmit information on the plane’s identity, location and altitude to ground radar stations. Beyond radar range, they enable planes to be identified and tracked anywhere in the world by satellite. Transponders can be turned off by pilots.

The missing jet’s transponder last communicated with Malaysian civilian radar about an hour after takeoff, when the plane was above the Gulf of Thailand between Malaysia and southern Vietnam.

ACARS

ACARS – or Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System – is a data link system used to transmit short messages such as weather updates and status reports between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite.

According to the U.S. official, ACARS messages sent by the missing plane continued after its transponder went silent, although he wasn’t certain for how long.

OPERATING DATA SENT VIA SATELLITE

Boeing offers a satellite service that can receive data during a flight on how the aircraft is functioning and relay the information to the plane’s home base. The idea is to provide information before the plane lands on whether maintenance work or repairs are needed. Even if an airline does not subscribe to the service, planes still periodically send automated signals – or pings – to the satellite seeking to establish contact.

Malaysia Airlines did not subscribe to the satellite service. The U.S. official said automated pings were received from the jetliner for four hours after it went missing, indicating it probably flew for hundreds of miles beyond its last confirmed sighting on radar.

 

Comments (2005)

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Nickfr2014,

Dark side of the Moon, France,

moments ago

Satellite Pings after transponder was switched off that included GPS coordinates would have found this plane 6 days ago! Having the ability to switching tracking off is just madness and causes situations just like this. I hope the families and passengers have a positive result.

Plum,

Cloud nine, United Kingdom,

moments ago

I feel sorry for both the pilots families. Their loved ones are missing and are d also having the finger pointed at them because no one has a clue. I don’t believe a trained pilot of his standing would need to train on a sim at home to take this flight to an unexpected destination. Innocent until proven guilty

Tyson,

New zealand,

moments ago

Xinjiang china

BrokenBritain,

Leeds,

moments ago

good to see that KFC are sponsoring the prayer board

Cottonhead,

London,

moments ago

Even if they are searching the wrong area you would think a boat / plane / person somewhere would have seen a crash or some wreckage. Also 200+ people on board who probably all have mobile phones but not a peep. Its so weird.

Real Eastender,

UK, United Kingdom,

moments ago

I always said it was hyjacked or taken by aliens:)

keithm,

bournemouth,

moments ago

we are all pawns in the evil elites plans.

Faithmarie,

Pico rivera, United States,

moments ago

They should each have a special code that only the pilot or co pilot know to turn off and on the transponder so that way if it does turn off they know exactly who did it that way they don’t waste their time assuming it was the pilots

TheVoiceOfThePeople,

London, United Kingdom,

5 minutes ago

Oh I was waiting for this, I expected them to say we found a note in his house saying, Sorry I hijacked the plane, yours sincerley the pilot. What a hoax!

essex lady,

Essex,

6 minutes ago

It’s not in the sea it’s not landed I think aliens took it ….Jo other explanation really if it was hijackers where have they taken the plane??? Hardly in a back pack with all 200 odd passengers!

Just hope if the passengers are okay with or without their alien abductors

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Missing Malaysia Airlines plane WAS hijacked, says official