Missing Malaysia flight MH370: focus shifts west
Once again, the Malaysian authorities offer little new information about the search for flight 370 at a well-attended press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
By John Sparks
Once again, the Malaysian authorities offered little new information about the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at a well-attended press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
However, Minister of Transport Hishammuddin Hussein, did tell assembled journalists that the search area had been extended further west into the Indian Ocean – a significant development because it tells us that they are seriously considering the possibility that the Boeing 777 changed course and flew out over the Indian Ocean.
Until now, the multi-national search and rescue operation has been focused on the South China Sea.
Several press reports, quoting unnamed American and Malaysian officials, may indicate why the Malaysians are shifting their thinking.
The Wall Street Journal said the aircraft was fitted with a data transmission system – a system that was busy trying to connect with satellites well after the last point of contact.
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The paper suggests that the jetliner may have flown for an additional five hours, despite the fact that other communications equipment – like the cockpit radio – had stopped working or been switched off.
Later on, Reuters published a report suggesting that flight 370 had been deliberately flown off course.
The news agency said they had spoken to two unnamed investigators with access to recordings from Malaysia‘s military radar.
The officials said the aircraft was following a route using conventional “navigational waypoints” – an indication that it was flown by someone with aviation training.
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The last “bleep” on military radar suggested the plane was flying west towards India’s Andaman Islands.
Clearly, the American military are taking this scenario seriously – on Friday the US navy said it was shifting one of its ships involved in the hunt, the destroyer USS Kidd, to the western side the Malay Peninsula.
Furthermore, you have to remember that the Americans have access to more data – and more data producing ‘assets’ – than the other members of the multi-national search team.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, Malaysian academic and “geostrategist” Azmi Hassan said the US was the only country with access to local radar recordings, radio and satellite data from Boeing and additional material provided by its own spy satellites.
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“The Americans have extra resources,” said Mr Hassan. “We have shared what we have with them but (they) have their military satellites too. Put it all together and that is why they are moving their focus to the Andaman Sea.”
We can take away several things from all this. First, countries like the US and China are not going to put all their information on the table in a bid to find the plane – in particular, data produced by military satellites will be used selectively.
Secondly, the Malaysians are heavily dependent on others to provide crucial details – and they may not be able to share what they do know at daily press conferences because of its sensitivity.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, coming up with a solid hypothesis on the route of flight MH370 is going to require the combination and cross-referencing of multiple sets of data.
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