Hisham: Hijacking not ruled out
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NO STONE UNTURNED: Report that MH370 flew across Andaman Sea unconfirmed, says minister
SEPANG: MALAYSIA has not ruled out the possibility of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 being hijacked, although it cannot confirm the accuracy of a report that suggested the aircraft had flown across the Andaman Sea, as detected by United States' satellites.
Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said several theories were being looked into, particularly pertaining to the aircraft's transponder, which had not been sending signals since the plane went missing in the South China Sea.
In response to a question at a press conference yesterday, Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, said the transponder could have been shut down by any individual on board.
To a suggestion that such a move could have been made by the pilot, he said: "The transponder could have been switched off deliberately or under duress or because of an explosion.
"From the start, we are looking into all possibilities.
"I cannot confirm whether there was no hijacking, but I do not want to go into the realm of speculation."
US daily Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that the satellites had received information on the speed and altitude of MH370 from five or six "pings" before the pulses disappeared.
Experts believe that the signals could reveal the aircraft's route and location.
Despite the unverified information, the Malaysia-led search-and-rescue (SAR) mission has expanded its search grid to the Indian Ocean, further widening its operations westward from the South China Sea and Straits of Malacca.
"The fact that we have not found the missing aircraft in the areas (searched prior), (leads to us) expanding the search grid to the Straits of Malacca and Andaman Sea.
"We are trying to confirm whether the plot lines that the primary radar detected are indeed by MH370."
Hishammuddin said Malaysia shared its sensitive information with other nations to track down MH370.
"The information in our hands is being examined by experts. I hope that, in a couple of days, they can come to some conclusive position, on which I will alert the media."
Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said experts from the US were gathering data from their satellites.
"They are trying their best to get whatever sources from their satellite systems to come up with a possible (detection) of the aircraft."
As of now, there are 13 countries involved in the SAR mission, which employs 57 sea vessels and 48 aircraft.
"The equipment and assets used in the operation are very sophisticated. More are expected to be utilised," said Hishammuddin.
