KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia
(AP) — The missing Malaysian jetliner was deliberately diverted and
continued flying for more than six hours after losing contact with the
ground, meaning it could have gone as far northwest as Kazakhstan or
into the Indian Ocean's southern reaches, Malaysia's leader said
Saturday.
Prime Minister
Najib Razak's statement confirmed days of mounting speculation that the
disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to Beijing more than a
week ago was not accidental. It refocused the investigation into the
flight's crew and passengers and underlined the massive task for
searchers who already have been scouring vast areas of ocean.
"Clearly the search for MH370 has entered a new phase," Najib said at a televised news conference. Najib
stressed that investigators were looking into all possibilities as to
why the Boeing 777 deviated so drastically from its original flight
path, saying authorities could not confirm whether it was a hijacking.
Earlier Saturday, a Malaysian official said the plane had been hijacked,
though he added that no motive had been established and no demands had
been made known.
"In view of
this latest development, the Malaysian authorities have refocused their
investigation into the crew and passengers on board," Najib told
reporters, reading from a written statement but not taking any
questions.
Police on Saturday
drove into the residential compound where the missing plane's pilot
lives in Kuala Lumpur, according a guard and several local reporters who
were barred from entering the complex. Authorities have said they will
investigate the pilots as part of their probe, but have released no
information about how they are progressing.
Experts have previously
said that whoever disabled the plane's communication systems and then
flew the jet must have had a high degree of technical knowledge and
flying experience. One possibility they have raised was that one of the
pilots wanted to commit suicide.
The
plane was carrying 239 people when it departed for an overnight flight
from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing at 12:40 a.m. on March 8. Its
communications with civilian air controllers were severed at about 1:20
a.m., and the jet went missing — heralding one of the most puzzling
mysteries in modern aviation history. Please read more from http://news.yahoo.com/malaysian-leader-planes-disappearance-deliberate-064752321.html
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