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16 March 2014 Last updated at 16:02
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Missing Malaysia plane: Malaysia requests countries' help
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Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein: "At this stage both the northern and southern corridors
are being treated with equal importance"
Continue reading the main story
MH370 mystery
What we know
Military at fault?
Search logistics
Passport fraud
Some 25 countries are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing airliner that
disappeared over a week ago, Malaysian officials say.
The search area - from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean - takes in large tracts of land and
sea.
An already complex search operation has become even more difficult, Malaysia's acting transport
minister says.
Crew, passengers and ground staff are being investigated after it was confirmed the jet was
commandeered.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Richard Westcott BBC Transport Correspondent
A former 777 pilot has told me how easy it is to switch off most of the systems that track an aircraft.
Most pilots would know how to do it - though traditional radar would still pick up the presence of a
plane.
Firstly, most systems, like the transponder, the radio, the ACARS etc, have what is effectively an "off"
switch.
Secondly, every electrical system also has a circuit-breaker, a bit like the fuse box in your house. The
pilot has a panel of hundreds of buttons above his or her head; if they pull the right one, then the
system switches off. The breakers are essential to isolate electrical systems if they overheat or catch
fire.
But if you switch anything off, an orange warning light appears on a screen in front of the crew. So it
is highly unlikely one could do it without the other noticing.
And the pilot may still not know about every system the aircraft has that talks to satellites - which
could explain how this aircraft was sending out pings despite everything else being switched off.
The idea of hacking into an aircraft's systems has also been mooted, but I am told this is far less
likely on an aeroplane such as this and also that the manufacturers have put in a lot of work to stop
this happening.
One final thing: if this aircraft flew low over land, and people on board knew there was a problem,
why did no-one try to make a phone call?
Investigators are trying to obtain more radar and satellite data from any of the countries that
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have passed over, with its 239 crew and passengers.
The leaders of several Asian countries have been briefed by the Malaysia government in what acting
Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has described as a new phase of the search.
"From focusing mainly on shallow seas, we are now looking at large tracts of land, crossing 11
countries, as well as deep and remote oceans," he said at a news conference.
Malaysian officials are contacting countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia,
Australia and France.
They are also asking countries to provide assistance in the search for the plane, including satellite
data and analysis, ground-search capabilities, and maritime and air assets.
After checking their radar recordings, Pakistani civil aviation officials said they had found no sign of
the missing jet.
Malaysian national police chief Gen Khalid Abu Bakar said background checks had been requested
on all passengers aboard the plane, but that so far nothing suspicious had been reported - though
some intelligence agencies still had to respond.
The police are also reportedly looking at the family life and psychological state of the plane's pilot,
Zaharie Shah, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, and searched their homes on Saturday.
The two men had not asked to fly together, Mr Hishammuddin confirmed at the news conference.
Messages are
displayed for the missing plane passengers at an event to express solidarity in Subang Jaya
Officers spoke to relatives of the pilot and experts are examining the pilot's personal flight simulator.
Police have visited his house for a second day.
Continue reading the main story
The passengers
153 Chinese including a delegation of artists
38 Malaysians including an official who was due to start a job at a branch office in Beijing
Two Iranians using false passports in a bid to seek asylum in Europe
Three Americans including an IBM executive who had recently relocated to Kuala Lumpur
Two Canadians returning to Beijing after a business trip
Seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians and four French
Two each from New Zealand and Ukraine; one each from Russia, Taiwan and Netherlands
Passengers' stories
Why do planes crash?
Those who know Mr Zaharie, 53, insist he is a normal family man, reports the BBC's Jonah Fisher in
Kuala Lumpur.
With 18,000 hours of flying experience, he is a self-confessed "aviation geek" and proudly posted
pictures online of the flight simulator he built at home.
As well as the crew and passengers, police are investigating the engineers and other ground staff
who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off.
It has also emerged that a team from British telecommunications company Inmarsat team arrived on
Saturday in Malaysia.
An Inmarsat satellite is said have continued receiving signals from flight MH370 at least five hours
after the plane was reported lost.
A team of French investigators is to travel to Malaysia on Monday to help with the search, the
French transport ministry has said in a statement. They will join members of the US National
Transportation Safety Board already in Malaysia.
Communications sabotaged
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Saturday that the plane's communication
systems had been deliberately cut before it was diverted from its route.
According to satellite evidence, the Boeing 777 could have continued flying for a further seven hours
after its last radar contact, he said.
The flight left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time (16:40 GMT) on 8 March and disappeared
off air traffic controllers' screens at about 01:20.
An extensive search - involving 43 ships and 58 aircraft - since the plane disappeared has proved
fruitless.
More on This Story
MH370 mystery
What we know
Details and maps tracking the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared with 239 people on
board
Military at fault?
Search logistics
Passport fraud
The passengers
MH370.com on eBay
Search images
China media reacts
How can a plane vanish? Watch
Experts consider possible explanations behind the disappearance of flight MH370
Intense interest in China Watch
On board search plane Watch
Relative: I've still got hope Listen
Minister: Still focused on rescue Watch
From other news sites
Financial Times* More countries join hunt for missing jet 1 hr ago
Mail Online UK 'Democracy is dead': 'Fanatical' missing airliner pilot pictured wearing political slogan
T-shirt 1 hr ago
MSN UK Recording casts suspicion on pilots 3 hrs ago
Channel 4 MH370 pilot spoke to control after data-link shut down 4 hrs ago
Sky News Missing Plane 'May Have Sent Signals On Ground' 8 hrs ago
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