Missing Malaysia plane: 'Oil slick seen'

"A multinational team is searching the sea off south Vietnam, in the hope of finding a Malaysia Airlines flight that has been missing for 24 hours.

A Vietnamese search plane saw two possible oil slicks in the area, although there was no confirmation they were related to the disappearance.

Flight MH370 had 239 people on board, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

Two-thirds of the passengers were from China, while others were from elsewhere in Asia, North America and Europe.

A hotline has been set up and relatives living in Kuala Lumpur have been asked to meet at the international airport. All the TV monitors at the airport had signs that said "Let us pray for flight MH370" highlighted in red.

But distressed family members who were willing to speak to the media did not know much more after they spoke to officials.

Malaysian authorities have been extremely careful about what they will reveal. It has left a lot of room for rumours and speculation on social media, a cause for more anxiety for family member."


Seemingly two on board were travelling on stolen passports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26496673

I feel for the families of the 239 people on board, hopefully they will locate the wreckage of the aircraft very soon and retrieve the flight recorder.

It just shows, you never know when your time is up, live every day to the full.

‪#‎PrayForMH370‬

Updates:

http://my.news.yahoo.com/mas-aircraft-goes-missing--says-airline-023820132.html

Passengers using stolen passports bought MH370 tickets together, reports CNN

"The two people who traveled on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 under the passports of an Italian and an Austrian citizen appear to have bought their tickets together, CNN reported today.

The tickets were bought from China Southern Airlines in Thai baht at identical prices, according to China's official e-ticket verification system Travelsky.

The ticket numbers are contiguous, which indicates the tickets were issued together. China Southern Airlines sold seven tickets for the code share flight, another media reported yesterday."

http://my.news.yahoo.com/passengers...-bought-mh370-tickets-together-090636202.html

There is a very clear suspicion here.

However some reports have the plane turning back before it crashed.

Anyway, the best source of information must be this one:

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/535538-mh370-contact-lost-41.html#post8361588

Maybe it touched down in the Andaman Islands....

15 March 2014
PM Najib Razak’s Press Statement on MH370
Seven days ago Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared. We realise this is an excruciating time for the families of those on board. No words can describe the pain they must be going through. Our thoughts and our prayers are with them.
I have been appraised of the on-going search operation round the clock. At the beginning of the operation, I ordered the search area to be broadened; I instructed the Malaysian authorities to share all relevant information freely and transparently with the wider investigation team; and I requested that our friends and allies join the operation. As of today, 14 countries, 43 ships and 58 aircraft are involved in the search. I wish to thank all the governments for their help at such a crucial time.
Since day one, the Malaysian authorities have worked hand-in-hand with our international partners – including neighbouring countries, the aviation authorities and a multinational search force – many of whom have been here on the ground since Sunday.
We have shared information in real time with authorities who have the necessary experience to interpret the data. We have been working nonstop to assist the investigation. And we have put our national security second to the search for the missing plane.
It is widely understood that this has been a situation without precedent.
We have conducted search operations over land, in the South China Sea, the Straits of Malacca, the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean. At every stage, we acted on the basis of verified information, and we followed every credible lead. Sometimes these leads have led nowhere.
There has been intense speculation. We understand the desperate need for information on behalf of the families and those watching around the world. But we have a responsibility to the investigation and the families to only release information that has been corroborated. And our primary motivation has always been to find the plane.
In the first phase of the search operation, we searched near MH370’s last known position, in the South China Sea. At the same time, it was brought to our attention by the Royal Malaysian Air Force that, based on their primary radar, an aircraft – the identity of which could not be confirmed – made a turn back. The primary radar data showed the aircraft proceeding on a flight path which took it to an area north of the Straits of Malacca.
Given this credible data, which was subsequently corroborated with the relevant international authorities, we expanded the area of search to include the Straits of Malacca and, later, to the Andaman Sea.
Early this morning I was briefed by the investigation team – which includes the FAA, NTSB, the AAIB, the Malaysian authorities and the Acting Minister of Transport – on new information that sheds further light on what happened to MH370.
Based on new satellite information, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the East coast of peninsular Malaysia. Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft’s transponder was switched off.
From this point onwards, the Royal Malaysian Air Force primary radar showed that an aircraft which was believed – but not confirmed – to be MH370 did indeed turn back. It then flew in a westerly direction back over peninsular Malaysia before turning northwest. Up until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, these movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane.
Today, based on raw satellite data that was obtained from the satellite data service provider, we can confirm that the aircraft shown in the primary radar data was flight MH370. After much forensic work and deliberation, the FAA, NTSB, AAIB and the Malaysian authorities, working separately on the same data, concur.
According to the new data, the last confirmed communication between the plane and the satellite was at 8:11AM Malaysian time on Saturday 8th March. The investigations team is making further calculations which will indicate how far the aircraft may have flown after this last point of contact. This will help us to refine the search.
Due to the type of satellite data, we are unable to confirm the precise location of the plane when it last made contact with the satellite.
However, based on this new data, the aviation authorities of Malaysia and their international counterparts have determined that the plane’s last communication with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors: a northern corridor stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian ocean. The investigation team is working to further refine the information.
In view of this latest development the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board. Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear: we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its original flight path.
This new satellite information has a significant impact on the nature and scope of the search operation. We are ending our operations in the South China Sea and reassessing the redeployment of our assets. We are working with the relevant countries to request all information relevant to the search, including radar data.
As the two new corridors involve many countries, the relevant foreign embassies have been invited to a briefing on the new information today by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry and the technical experts. I have also instructed the Foreign Ministry to provide a full briefing to foreign governments which had passengers on the plane. This morning, Malaysia Airlines has been informing the families of the passengers and crew of these new developments.
Clearly, the search for MH370 has entered a new phase. Over the last seven days, we have followed every lead and looked into every possibility. For the families and friends of those involved, we hope this new information brings us one step closer to finding the plane.
ENDS

I still don't understand how you can lose an entire commercial airliner these days?! Between civil, military radars, transponders, satellites etc you should be able to see when the pilots go to the toilet!!

From pprune, the satellite signal was the engine telemetry handshaking with the INMARSAT system; since INMARSAT is a geostationary system they cannot be more precise.

Either a cabin decompression or a suicide - the cockpit voice recorder runs for two hours so two hours straight and level flight in silence will wipe it.

Still beggars belief though that this can happen these days. The person(s) involved obviously knew what they where doing

Doesn't explain the actions of the plane following flight corridors though.

There is a lot of active interest in oil and gas there. Personnel would need to be flown in regularly. Though smaller aircraft would do.

I have heard it said that they could land the 777 aircraft on an inadequate runway if they wern't interested in using the plane again...

On Sky News the Malay prime Minister says the plane has been hijacked. Its all been a "deliberate act".

Official says Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was hijacked as Malaysian prime minister confirms plane disappearance a 'deliberate action'

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wor...daman-islands-article-1.1721523#ixzz2w1puqsIL

From the BBC...

Good to see that certain information has finally been made public.

I wonder what further information they have not yet revealed...