Malaysia jet: police search pilot's home as hijack suspected

The missing Malaysian jet's communications systems were "deliberately" turned off, confirms the government - but was it a pilot or a passenger? And who flew it seven hours in the wrong direction?

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S AT U R D AY 15 MARC !"1# Malaysian police a$$ou$ced they are searchi$% the home o& the pilot o& the missi$% jet' as the cou$try's prime mi$ister declared that the disappeara$ce o& the pla$e looked like (a deli)erate actio$( that re*uired e+pert k$o,led%eSpeaki$% o$ Saturday mor$i$% .rime Mi$ister /aji) Ra0ak co$&irmed reports &rom earlier this ,eek that the pla$e kept &lyi$% a&ter it dropped out o& co$tact ,ith air co$trole said that jet M 12" appeared to ha3e changed direction just after the transponder communications 4 that se$t locatio$ data to air tra&&ic co$trol 4 ,ere cut at 1-!"am o$ Saturday 5 March- 6oth those actio$s appear to ha3e )ee$ deli)erate-

Just after the plane changed course it sent information recording the change of course through a routine engine update. Known as Acars - this second communications system sent information about the plane's engine including its location to the engine manufacturers. After that update was received, Acars was disabled too. 'These mo3eme$ts are co$siste$t ,ith deli)erate actio$ )y someo$e o$ the pla$e' rime Minister !a"a# rime Minister !a"a# told journalists$ %&ased on new satellite communication, 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 the peninsula of Malaysia. %'p until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, these movements are consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane.%

.la$e '&le, &or se3e$ more hours' After that the plane can be trac#ed for almost seven more hours - than#s to a third communication system location information from military satellites - which pic#ed up on satellite signals from the plane. (hat has emerged in the last wee#. And then, at cruising height over somewhere over the )ndian *cean, the satellite signals dropped out too. (he second blac#-out of satellite signals could have been because a sudden catastrophic event too# down the plane and its +,- passengers. *r, the satellite system too could have been disabled. (hough disabling satellite communications is an even more comple. and s#illed procedure than disabling the transponder. Missing Malaysia flight M !"#$ focus shifts west %ohn &par's writes on why the search is moving location, and why it seems everyone has been loo'ing in the wrong place( )ead more* +olice searching pilot's home (hat means that the spotlight has turned to the people on board the plane as the authorities search for reasons for flight M/,01's disappearance. %(he Malaysian authorities have re-focussed their investigation into the crew and passengers on board,% said rime Minister !a"a#. %2espite media reports that the plane was hijac#ed, ) wish to be very clear that we are still investigating all possibilities.% (he Malaysian police separately announced on 3aturday they were searching the home of the plane's pilot 4aharie Ahmad 3hah, 5,. (here were two pilots on board, 4aharie Ahmad 3hah, 5, and the younger co-pilot 6ari7 Abdul /amid, +0. 6riends of the pilot of the downed plane pilot 4aharie Ahmad 3hah, said he was e.tremely e.perienced and loved wor#ing on &oeing 000s, to the

e.tent that he built a simulator of one in his spare time. %/e #new everything about the &oeing 000. 3omething significant would have had to happen for 4aharie and the plane to go missing. )t would have to be total electrical failure,% said another Malaysia Airlines pilot who #new 4aharie. Mr 4aharie was described as a family man who cared about the community - even running a youtube channel with tips on how to ma#e air-conditioners more efficent and how to waterproof window planes. (he young co-pilot was a new pilot, just recently engaged to be married. 6ari7 was a sports player and the son of a high-ran#ing civil servant. A minor scandal involving 6ari7 in +188 centred on allegations that he and another pilot had invited two women boarding their aircraft to sit in the coc#pit for a flight from hu#et to Kuala 9umpur. 2uring the flight, the pilots smo#ed and flirted, said one of the women, 3outh African Jonti !oos, spea#ing to Australia's :ine :etwor#. (he 6&) has already loo#ed into the bac#grounds of the passengers and pilots, a '3 official said, but hasn't found any ties to terrorist groups or other indications they may have tried to hijac# or sabotage a plane. An e.pert needed to disable comms An analysis of the communications systems on board the Malaysia plane has shown that manually disabling both the transponder, routine engine updates and then satellite locator systems on the plane would have been difficult and re7uired an e.pert #nowledge of &oeing. (he new data on the plane location has changed where the search crews are loo#ing for the plane. (he Malaysian prime minister said he was calling off the search over the 3outh ;hina sea and that two separate corridors

between (hailand, Ka"a#stan and then between )ndonesia and 3outh )ndian ocean were the new focus for the international rescue teams. %(his new satellite information has a significant impact on the nature and scope of the search operation,% said rime Minister !a"a#. %<e are ending our operations in the 3outh ;hina 3ea and reassessing our deployment of our assets. <e are wor#ing with the relevant countries to re7uest all information relevant to the search including radar data. %;learly the search for M/,01 has entered a new phase,% he told the press conference. ",eliberate action" - statement by Malaysian +rime Minister, -ajib )a.a' /ased on new satellite communication, 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 the peninsula of Malaysia( 0p 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, which was obtained from the satellite data service provider, we can confirm that the aircraft shown in the primary radar data was flight M !"#( /ased on this new data, the aviation authorities of Malaysia and their international counterparts have determined that the plane1s last communication with a satellite was in one of two possible corridors( The northern corridor stretching appro2imately from the border of 3a.a'hstan and Tur'menistan to northern Thailand( 4r a southern corridor stretching appro2imately from 5ndonesia to southern 5ndian ocean( The Malaysian authorities have re-focussed their investigation into the crew and passengers on board( ,espite media reports that the plane was hijac'ed, 5 wish to be very clear that we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused flight M !"# to deviate from its original flight path( This new satellite information has significant impact on the nature and scope of the search operation( 6e are ending our operations in the &outh 7hina &ea and reassessing our deployment of our assets( 6e are wor'ing with the relevant countries to re8uest all information relevant to the search including radar data( 7learly the search for M !"# has entered a new phase( 4ver the last seven days we have followed every lead and loo'ed 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( +osted by Thavam