Authorities skeptical about a terrorism act in the vanishing of MAS aircraft

12 Mar 2014  2047 | Business & Trade Fairs

KUALA LUMPUR- According to Reuters news agency on Monday night, investigators in Malaysia are voicing skepticism that the airliner that disappeared early Saturday with 239 people on board was the target of an attack, U.S. and European government sources close to the probe said.

The fate of the Malaysian airliner that vanished about an hour into a flight to Beijing remained a mystery, as a massive air and sea search failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777 plane.

Neither Malaysia's Special Branch, the agency leading the investigation, nor spy agencies in the United States and Europe have ruled out the possibility that militants may have been involved in downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

But Malaysian authorities have indicated that the evidence so far does not strongly back an attack as a cause for the aircraft's disappearance, and that mechanical or pilot problems could have led to the apparent crash, the U.S. sources said. "There is no evidence to suggest an act of terror," said a European security source, who added that there was also "no explanation what's happened to it or where it is."

Meanwhile, dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 countries were still scouring the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses that could have led to a downing of the Boeing 777-200ER after it climbed to an altitude of 35,000 feet.

Interpol confirmed on Sunday at least two passengers used stolen passports and said it was checking whether others aboard had used false identity documents. Even so, one U.S. source said Malaysian authorities were leaning away from the theory that the plane was attacked. Their view was mostly based on electronic evidence that indicates the flight may have turned back toward the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur before disappearing.
Even that information has not been clearly confirmed, and investigators and intelligence sources say the fate of the Flight MH370 is still shrouded in mystery.

One reason was that the aircraft had failed to make automatic contact with a flight data-monitoring system after vanishing from radar screens, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday. Such contact could have helped investigators determine what happened. The aircraft was equipped with a maintenance computer capable of talking to the ground automatically through short messages known as ACARS. "There were no signals from ACARS from the time the aircraft disappeared," a source involved in the investigations said.

Also raising doubts about the possibility of an attack, the United States extensively reviewed imagery taken by spy satellites for evidence of a mid-air explosion, but saw none, a U.S. government source said. The source described U.S. satellite coverage of the region as thorough.

With no success so far, authorities widened their search on Tuesday. Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority explained to reporters that "unfortunately we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft. As far as we are concerned, we have to find the aircraft. We have to find a piece of the aircraft if possible."

Azharuddin said a hijacking attempt could not be ruled out as investigators explore all theories. A senior police official told Reuters that people armed with explosives and carrying false identity papers had tried to fly out of Kuala Lumpur in the past, and that current investigations were focused on two passengers who were on the missing plane with stolen passports.

"We have stopped men with false or stolen passports and carrying explosives, who have tried to get past KLIA (airport) security and get on to a plane," he said. "There have been two or three incidents, but I will not divulge the details."

About two-thirds of the 227 passengers and 12 crew now presumed to have died aboard the plane were Chinese. The airline said other nationalities included 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French and three Americans.A senior source involved in preliminary investigations in Malaysia said the failure to find any debris indicated the plane may have broken up mid-flight, which could disperse wreckage over a very wide area."The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," said the source.

Asked about the possibility of an explosion, the source said there was no evidence of foul play and that the aircraft could have broken up due to mechanical causes.
About passengers travelling with stolen airports, the Malaysian police revealed the real identity of one of them. A Thai travel agent who arranged the tickets for the two passengers using the stolen passports said she had booked them on the flight via Beijing because they were the cheapest tickets, the Financial Times reported. The travel agent in the resort of Pattaya said an Iranian business contact she knew only as "Mr. Ali" had asked her to book tickets for the two men on March 1.

Meanwhile, Reuters highlights that the disappearance of MAS jet could dent the national carrier's plan to return to profit by end-2014, equity analysts said. MAS, which saw its net loss expand 171 percent to 1.17 billion ringgit ($359.12 million) in 2013 from 2012, could see a loss in bookings due to the missing airliner and some analysts believe it could lead to a change in management.

"We do not discount the possibly of changes to MAS top management, given the existing disappointing financial results and the severity of the current incident," Daniel Wong, equity analyst with Kuala Lumpur-based Hong Leong Investment Bank, wrote in a note on Monday.

MAS officials declined to comment on any possible changes to management, saying their primary focus was to care for the families of the passengers on the missing jet.
MAS has been aiming to turn around since it last posted an annual net profit of 237 million ringgit in 2010, but loss-making routes and competition from budget airlines like AirAsia have hurt the company. It is only recently that it started to see its turnaround plan gain traction after a series of corporate exercises that helped improve cash flow and cut debt. The airline also gained the support of its 20,000-strong employee union following an aborted share swap with AirAsia in May 2012.

Sourced: TravelDailyNews

Recommended Cambodia Tours

Cambodia Day Tours

Cambodia Day Tours

Angkor Temple Tours

Angkor Temple Tours

Cambodia Classic Tours

Cambodia Classic Tours

Promotion Tours

Promotion Tours

Adventure Tours

Adventure Tours

Cycling Tours

Cycling Tours