Timeline of communication with missing jet disputed
ARTICLE
Officials revealed a new timeline Monday that suggests the final voice transmission from the cockpit of
the missing Malaysian plane may have occurred before any of its communications systems were disabled,
adding more uncertainty about who aboard might have been to blame.
The search for Flight 370, which vanished early on March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing
with 239 people on board, has now been expanded deep into the northern and southern hemispheres.
Australian vessels scoured the southern Indian Ocean and China offered 21 of its satellites to help
Malaysia in the unprecedented hunt.
With no wreckage found in one of the most puzzling aviation mysteries of all time, relatives of those on
the Boeing 777 have been left in an agonizing limbo.
Investigators say the plane was deliberately diverted during its overnight flight and flew off course for
hours. They haven't ruled out hijacking, sabotage or pilot suicide, and they are checking the backgrounds
of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as the ground crew, to see if links to terrorists or
psychological issues could be factors.
Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said finding the plane was still the main focus, and
he did not rule out that it might be discovered intact.
"The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming responsibility, there is
always hope," Hishammuddin said.
Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said an initial investigation indicated that the last words
heard from the plane by ground controllers - "All right, good night" - were spoken by the co-pilot, Fariq
Abdul Hamid. Had it been a voice other than that of
Fariq or the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, it would have been the clearest indication yet of something amiss
in the cockpit before the flight went off course.
Malaysian officials said earlier that those words came after one of the jetliner's data communications
systems, the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, had been switched off,
suggesting the voice from the cockpit may have been trying to deceive ground controllers.
However, Ahmad said that while the last data transmission from ACARS, which gives plane performance
and maintenance information, came before that, it was still unclear at what point the system was switched
off, making any implications of the timing murkier.
The new information opened the possibility both ACARS and the plane's transponders, which make the
plane visible to air traffic controllers, were turned off at about the same time. It also suggests the message
delivered from the cockpit could have preceded any of the severed communications.
Airline pilots cautioned against reading too much into what little is known so far about the actions of the
Malaysia Airline crew.
"You can't take anything off table until everything is on table, and we don't even have an aircraft," Boeing
737 pilot Mike Karn, president of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, said.
Authorities have pointed to the shutdown of the transponders and the ACARS as evidence that someone
with detailed knowledge of the plane was involved. But Bob Coffman, an airline captain and former 777
pilot, said that information is probably available on the Internet.
"We really don't know what happened in the airplane at this point," he said.
Summary
Officials still do not know who is responsible for the disappearance of the flight 370. The last
voice communication happened 12 minutes before the system went off. The plane disappeared
from radar on March 8th on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. 239 people were on the
plane. Many countries have joined the researches but, currently, no wreckage or evidence has
been found about what happened. Authorities are considering the possibility of hijacking,
sabotage, suicide, Psychological issues and terrorism among the passengers and crew members.
The last words heard from the plane from ground controls were "All right, good night" from the
co-pilot. At the moment, no one knows for sure what happened on that plane, but the search
continues and every possibility is being investigated.
Significance
This very important article affects many people, passengers and crewmembers of the missing
plane as well as all of their friends and family members. This situation made me think about how
in danger we are even with so many procedures and precautions. This situation must have caused
many problems to the company too that will be no longer trusted as much as before. The missing
plane has affected people all around the world because many countries from different continents
have joined in the search in hope of finding either survivors or answers for the government and
the company and closure for all those who lost loved ones on this flight.