jialat plane was stolen in broad daylight

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

i hope they dun harm those people on board.

NEWS›ASIA
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Hijack theory probed as officials say 'no debris from Malaysia Airlines flight has been confirmed'
Crime agency reveals that bogus documents used by two passengers travelling on missing Malaysia Airlines flight were on its database
PUBLISHED : Monday, 10 March, 2014, 6:05am
UPDATED : Monday, 10 March, 2014, 1:29pm
Staff Reporters in Beijing and Agencies in Kuala Lumpur and Phu Quoc Island
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Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya and Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Director General Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman (right) at a news conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. Photo: Reuters
Hijacking cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the vanishing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and all possibilities are still being investigated, a high-ranking Malaysian official said Monday.

Director-general of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, told a press conference that "every aspect of what could [have] happened on this ill-fated aircraft" was being probed.

He also*said that despite reports that debris had been spotted by a Vietnamese search crew, the country's authorities had not been able to confirm any positive sighting.

“Unfortunately ladies and gentleman, we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft," he said.

“There are various reports or sightings of objects that... agencies have reported with the various media. There was a report Vietnamese located an unidentified piece of the aircraft…it may have been a door of the aircraft.

“To inform all of you, that report was not verified officially by the Vietnamese authorities to date.”


A photo showing what could be debris from the missing plane, taken by a Vietnamese search team. Photo: EPA
A number of possible sightings of pieces of aircraft, which disappeared more than 60 hours ago with 239 passengers and crew on board, have been reported throughout the search operation, he added, but none have so far been confirmed.

Last night Interpol announced that Malaysia's international air security standards were being probed, after it said two stolen passports used by passengers on board the flight were in its database and could have been checked by officials in Kuala Lumpur.

The disclosure came as material suspected of belonging to the missing airliner was found by a Vietnamese Navy plane more than 40 hours after an international search was launched for the lost Boeing 777 aircraft and its 239 passengers and crew.

Oil slicks had earlier been spotted in the sea south of Vietnam by the country's air force.

Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Public Security said it would send a task force to Malaysia to help investigate after police revealed that a forged mainland passport was used by one of three passengers confirmed to be travelling on false documents.

A fourth case is being examined by officials investigating the disappearance of the plane as a possible terror attack.



"While it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol's databases," the agency's secretary general, Ronald Noble, said in a statement issued by its headquarters in Lyons, France.

"For years Interpol has asked why should countries wait for a tragedy to put prudent security measures in place at borders and boarding gates."

In a fresh statement Monday morning Malaysia Airlines said eight countries had offered search and rescue assistance, while families of those missing continued to gather in Kuala Lumpur.

"Malaysia Airlines is working closely with the government of China to expedite the issuance of passports for the families as well as with the immigration of Malaysia for their visas into Malaysia," the statement said.

"When the aircraft is located, a Response Coordination Centre (RCC) will be activated within the vicinity to support the needs of the families."

Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the country's airport security protocols were being reviewed.


Passport of Fujian man who is still in China. Photo: SCMP

The two men who boarded the plane with passports stolen from Italian Luigi Maraldi and Austrian Christian Kozel were booked to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam via Beijing before flying to Copenhagen and Frankfurt separately.

Both flights had been booked with China Southern Airlines, which operates some flights jointly with other companies including Malaysia Airlines, and their ticket numbers were consecutive.

It appeared the tickets were purchased at the same time in Thai baht at identical prices, according to China's official e-ticket verification system Travelsky.


More than 30 aircraft and 40 ships are involved in search and rescue operations following the disappearance of flight MH370. Photo: EPA

The passenger travelling on the forged mainland passport was listed on the airline manifest as Zhao Qiwei, but Fujian police said the true holder of the passport was still in the province and had never travelled abroad, Xinhua reported.

The mystery surrounding the airliner's last minutes deepened after Malaysian military officials said yesterday that the plane may have turned back from its scheduled route just before contact with it was lost.

Rodzali Daud, the Royal Malaysian Air Force chief, told reporters at a news conference that radar recordings had revealed the possibility that the aircraft had turned back from its scheduled flight path.

But Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the Boeing 777's systems would have set off alarm bells.

"When there is an air turn-back the pilot would be unable to proceed as planned," he said, adding authorities were "quite puzzled" over the situation.



Rolls-Royce, which made the plane's engines, told the Post it was sending investigators all information it had from its systems which monitor in-flight engine performance.

At least 34 aircraft and 40 ships have been deployed to the area by Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, China and the United States. Vietnam, the Philippines and Australia have also deployed vessels not included in these numbers.

A Chinese maritime vessel, "China Coast Guard 3411", arrived on the scene early yesterday afternoon.

US officials from Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are also headed to Vietnam. The FBI is sending agents and technical experts.

Malaysia Airlines, meanwhile, has sent 92 counsellors and staff to Beijing to assist anxious relatives of passengers.

Watch:*Vietnam spots possible wreckage from Malaysian plane


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