UPDATE [12.35pm]: Reports of an object spotted
by the Vietnamese, believed to be a door of the aircraft, on Sunday were
not officially verified by Vietnam officials, the Department of Civil
Aviation said. No debris has been seen after 60 hours. Representatives from the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) are in Malaysia.
UPDATE [11.50am]: Vietnamese searchers say they cannot find the rectangle object - thought to be one of the doors of MH370 - that was spotted on Sunday afternoon. Read it here.
UPDATE [10.40am]: Malaysia Airlines has given initial financial assistance to all families 'over and above their basic needs', it said in a statement this morning. More families expected in KL today. The airline will provide the families travel facilities, accommodation, meals, medical and emotional support.
UPDATE [9.30am]: Authorities will investigate why immigration officers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport had no questions about Italian and Austrian passengers with Asian facial features, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. Full story here.
UPDATE [8:11am]: A video clip of a man dialing the number of his elder brother was shown on a Beijing Television's news bulletin. The call got connected, but no one picked up. He made the phone call three times. Full story here.
The 20 employees of Freescale Semiconductor who were on the MH370 flight 'were people with a lot of experience and technical background', says Mitch Haws, vice president, global communications and investor relations for Freescale Semiconductor. "It's definitely a loss for the company," he adds. Full story here.
UPDATE [4.46am]: French accident board BEA offers help in recovering missing flight MH370. There was a similar case in 2009 where Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris vanished in a storm. Full story here.
UPDATE [3.11am]: Thai police are investigating a 'passport ring' in Phuket, as details emerged of bookings made in Thailand with stolen European passports for the vanished Malaysia Airlines flight. Each ticket cost THB 20,215 (RM 2,036). Full story here .
UPDATE [1.17am]: Interpol confirmed that at least two passports - Austrian and Italian – recorded in its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database were used by passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370. Full story here.
UPDATE [12:40am]: Vietnamese authorities believe that the piece of debris spotted off the country's waters may be a door from the flight MH370. Full story here.
UPDATE [11:00pm]: Vietnamese media is quoting search and rescue officials as being 'surprised' at how tight-lipped the Malaysian government is. According to VN Express, Vietnam’s Chief of Air Administration Lai Xuan Thanh says they are receiving very little information from Malaysian partners, with most updates coming from international media.
UPDATE [10:49pm]: Sources say authorities are investigating a possible mid-air disintegration, due to the lack of debris from MH370. Full story here.
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What we know as of 9.44pm, 9 March 2014:
Search and rescue operations:
1. A Vietnam rescue plane has detected two objects that look like debris. However, MAS has not received any confirmation.
2. Vietnam, China, Singapore, United States, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Australia are assisting in the search.
3. Search radius is 50 nautical miles (93km), involving 34 aircraft and 40 ships. Malaysia also searching the Straits of Malacca due to reports that MH370 turned back.
4. No signal from the plane's Emergency Locator Transmittor (ELT).
5. The US sent two naval ships and an aircraft equipped with long-range radar.
6. Malaysian submaries will not be deployed as they are not 'equipped for search and rescue'.
7. No sign of wreckage found till now.
8. Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) will be searching for MH370 off the coast of Kelantan.
Technical investigations still ongoing:
1. No signal from the plane's Emergency Locator Transmittor (ELT).
2. Oil slicks were spotted in the area, but Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein does not confirm if it came from the plane. More pictures here.
3. The yellow ‘suspicious floating objects’ near Tho Chu islet is unrelated to MH370, confirmed by Vietnamese media.
4. A portion of the aircraft wingtip was fixed by Boeing and was certified safe to fly. They dismissed the possibility of a technical problem and any form of threat prior to this.
5. An aviation lawyer said that the plane might have broken up due to lack of pressurisation or electrical failure.
6. Associated Press ran a detailed analysis of possible reasons behind the disappearance.
7. PM Najib said that satelite imagery cannot be used as it cannot detect anything below the water surface.
8. The flight was piloted by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, with total flying hours of 18,365 hours. First officer, Fariq Ab.Hamid, 27, has a total flying hours of 2,763 hours.
9. The Vietnam Emergency Rescue Center found a signal of the missing plane at 9.50am, 8th March, 120 miles South West of Ca Mau cape, the Southern-most point of Vietnam.
10. MAS Operations Control Vice President Fuad Sharuji said the aircraft was carrying 7.5 hours of fuel at the time of its disappearance (2.40am).
11. Retired American Airlines Capt. Jim Tilmon said the route taken by the aircraft had plenty of antennae, radar and radios for contact, and the plane was 'as sophisticated as any commercial airplane could possibly be with an excellent safety record'.
Situation in Malaysia:
1. PM Najib Razak says KLIA security protocols will be reviewed and improved if necessary.
2. Transport for family members of MH370 passengers from Beijing and other countries to Kuala Lumpur will be arranged by MAS.
3. The internet is ablaze with concerned netizens expressing their views.
4. Families of passengers in Malaysia will be flown to the crash site, according to MAS.
5. The Department of Civil Aviation’s director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the airport authorities have examined security footage of the passengers and the baggage, and he is satisfied.
6. 38 Malaysians were on-board MH370, including about 20 top management staff from Freescale Semiconductor.
7. The niece of Kuching police chief ACP Roslan Bek Ahmad was a passenger on MH370.
8. Malaysia Airlines says all other flights will proceed as usual, for now.
9. Politician Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was slammed for an insensitive tweet about a 'new Bermuda triangle'.
Missing passports and possible terror links:
1. The two people (not four as previously reported) who traveled on MH370 under stolen passports had bought their tickets together.
2. Malaysia is working with the FBI on possible terror links to the MH370 disappearance.
3. MH370 Full passenger list here .
Source: http://my.news.yahoo.com/mas-aircraft-goes-missing--says-airline-023820132.html
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