Missing Plane: No Pilot Suicide Notes Found

Police searching the homes of the pilots of flight MH370 have not found any suicide notes, officials have revealed.

The men at the controls of the Boeing 777 - Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and first officer Fariq Abdul Hamid - have been one of the focuses of the investigation into the missing plane.

Mr Hamid is believed to have made the last communication from the flight, speaking to air traffic control before the plane vanished 10 days ago.  

The home of Mr Zaharie has been searched by police

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said at a news conference that initial investigations into a recording of the exchange suggested the first officer was the one who calmly said: "All right, good night" as the plane passed into Vietnamese air space.

The plane's transponder - which relays the plane's location - was switched off just two minutes after the voice message.

Both pilots' homes have been searched and a flight simulator belonging to Mr Zaharie is now in police hands, officials said.

Authorities stressed that the backgrounds of all the passengers and crew were being checked - as well as ground staff who may have worked on the plane before takeoff.

The missing plane could have landed at hundreds of locations. Pic: WNYC

However, officials at Monday's news conference did not comment on reports that police were investigating a passenger who had aviation experience.

Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat said on social media sites he was a flight engineer working for a Swiss-based private jet charter company.

The 29-year-old's apparent experience means he would have a knowledge of in-flight computer systems and be able to carry out repairs.

A senior police official with knowledge of the investigation said: "The focus is on anyone who might have had aviation skills on that plane."

However, as an engineer specialising in executive jets, he would not necessarily have had the skills required to divert and fly a Boeing 777.

The search for the plane has dramatically widened as satellite data suggests the Boeing 777, which had 239 people on board, flew for at least seven hours - more than six hours after it lost contact with air traffic control.

It has been claimed it could have landed at one of 634 runways spread across at least a dozen countries.

Mr Hamid, left, and Mr Zaharie were the pilots on the missing jet

Researchers at WNYC searched for runways with a length of at least 0.95 miles (1.52km) within a radius of 2,530 miles (4,070km) from the aircraft's last known position.

The number of countries involved in the search for the plane has nearly doubled over the past two days to 26, after satellite and military radar data projected two large corridors the plane might have flown through.

It was announced this morning that Kazakhstan - located in the far northwest of the search area - had joined the operation.

The northern corridor stretches in an arc over south and central Asia, while the other swoops deep into the southern Indian Ocean towards Australia.

Malaysia announced that it was deploying its naval and air force assets to the southern corridor, with Australia vowing substantial assistance.

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Pilot's Family: 'Please Come Home, We Miss You'

The family of the missing Malaysia Airlines pilot have posted an online tribute asking him to come home.

Family snaps of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah are set to music on the YouTube video, with comments about the pilot they call "Ari".

"Please come home, we miss you," a message on the video said.

A family photo of Captain Zaharie posted in the YouTube video

The 53-year-old, who was at the controls of the passenger jet that vanished on March 8, is also described as "loving, reflective, generous, cool, sporting, intelligent, supportive, the list goes on and on..."

Mr Zaharie and his first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid, have come under increased scrutiny since investigators revealed MH370's tracking devices were deliberately switched off during the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

But little has emerged to implicate either man.

Peter Chong, a friend of Mr Zaharie's, has told Sky News he cannot believe the pilot had anything to do with the aircraft's disappearance.

"He is a very caring person who enjoys life and enjoys flying. He is a very professional pilot," Mr Chong said.

Media has focused of Mr Zaharie's membership of an opposition party headed by veteran politician Anwar Ibrahim, who was convicted of sodomy - a crime in Malaysia - hours before MH370 took off.

But those who knew Mr Zaharie rejected the reports that he was deeply upset by the Anwar case.

A flight simulator has been removed from Mr Zaharie's home

"The claim that he is a (political) fanatic doesn't deserve a response," said Mr Chong, who met the pilot at a local political meeting.

Sivarasa Rasiah, an opposition member of parliament for the Kuala Lumpur suburb where Mr Zaharie lives, remembers the pilot's volunteer work on his campaign.

"He was one of hundreds, if not a thousand, who volunteered to campaign in the May (2013) elections and he did not know Anwar personally," said Mr Sivarasa.

At a news conference on Monday morning, officials said investigators have not found any suicide notes in their searches of the two men's homes.

They also said the last person who spoke to air-traffic control before the plane disappeared is believed to have been Mr Hamid.

Mr Hamid is patted down by a member of security staff. Pic: YouTube

Leaked CCTV footage has also emerged appearing to show the two men calmly passing through security shortly before boarding the aircraft.

The video, which was uploaded to YouTube, shows them walking through a body scanner and being briefly frisked by security staff before collecting their luggage from the conveyor belt of an X-ray machine.

With much of the focus on the two men, it was revealed at the weekend that they had not requested to fly together and that a flight simulator found at Mr Zaharie's house was under investigation.

Mr Hamid (L) and Mr Zaharie's backgrounds are being investigated

Mr Hamid, 27, only recently graduated to the cockpit of the Boeing 777, while Mr Zaharie had more than 18,000 hours of flying experience.

Those who knew the younger pilot have described the son of a top state civil servant as mild-mannered.

He is said to have a bright piloting future and is engaged to an Air Asia pilot who he met in flight school nine years ago.

Mr Hamid had his reputation called into question last week by a woman who accused him of letting her join him in the cockpit for a flight in 2011, in breach of security rules.

Malaysia Airlines said it was "shocked" by the reported violation, but could not verify the claims.

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Oscar Pistorius Trial Hears From Gun Supplier

Oscar Pistorius told a firearms supplier how he went into "combat mode" when he feared intruders were in his house, a court has heard.

Giving evidence on the eleventh day of the athlete's murder trial, firearms training academy manager Sean Rens told the court the athlete had a "great love and enthusiasm" for guns.

Mr Rens said Pistorius told him of one occasion when he heard a noise in his home and drew a weapon, fearing burglars were on the property.

He went into "code red" or "combat mode" after hearing a noise in his house but it turned out to be from the tumble dryer, Mr Rens said.

Pistorius had tweeted about the incident in November 2012, saying: "Nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking its an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry!"

The tweet has since been deleted from his Twitter account.

Mr Rens said he met the double-amputee runner in 2012 and that Pistorius asked to be provided with a revolver.

He said Pistorius was familiar with gun laws and had filled out a questionnaire when applying for new permits.

The athlete's sister Aimee spoke with June Steenkamp in court

Mr Rens said that after buying a Smith and Wesson 500 from him, Pistorius put in a further order for four more guns - two shotguns, a LM6 civilian assault rifle and two revolvers, including a .38 special.

However, the order was cancelled around a month after Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead, the court heard. 

At the start of the day Ms Steenkamp's mother June  - attending for the first time since the opening day - appeared to acknowledge the athlete and spoke to his sister Aimee in the courtroom.

The court was shown photographs of Pistorius' bloodied prosthetic leg

She left court before evidence from police photographer Bennie van Staden, who discussed pictures taken at the scene - including graphic images of her daughter's injuries.

Mr van Staden said he arrived at the house at 4.50am on February 14, 2013 where he took photographs of the victim, of Pistorius in a garage and of rooms in the house.

He said Pistorius was "very quiet and emotional" when he arrived, adding that he meant he was crying.

Smears of blood were visible on a signed cricket bat in the house

He told the court the date and time was visible in his pictures and rejected claims from the defence that the timeline of his work was unclear.

He also explained how he marked out certain objects in the bathroom with cones and moved a towel and other items for visibility.

The court was shown photographs of Pistorius' bloodied prosthetic leg and of unexplained damage to the main bedroom door in the house.

Police pictures showed the scene in the athlete's bedroom

Photographs were also taken of blood spots on the bedroom wall, above one of the bedside tables, and of bullet casings in the passage leading from the bedroom to the bathroom, the court heard.

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt, who has been in court, said: "Why all this is there, we haven't been offered an explanation, but it begins to build up a picture of the prosecution case, that there was an argument before the shooting."

Pistorius, who won two gold medals at the Paralympics in London in 2012, is charged with premeditated murder.

He is also accused of illegally possessing ammunition, as well as two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in two separate incidents before the killing.

The athlete denies the charges and says he shot Ms Steenkamp, 29, by mistake after mistaking her for an intruder.

Because there are no jury trials in South Africa, his fate will be decided by a judge, working with two assessors.

The trial continues. 

:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the trial at 9.30pm, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Ukraine Calls Up Troops After Crimea Vote

Ukraine's parliament has approved a partial mobilisation of troops following Crimea's referendum supporting a union with Russia.

It said 20,000 troops reserve troops were being called up, plus 20,000 more from the newly-formed National Guard.

Crimea's regional assembly has already formally applied to join Russia and announced the nationalisation of all Ukrainian state property, including the disbanding of military bases.

"The republic of Crimea appeals to the United Nations and to all countries of the world to recognise it as an independent state," read a document by the Crimean assembly on Monday.

Thousands turned out in Simferopol and Sevastopol to celebrate the vote

Ukraine opposition leader Vitali Klitschko claimed the country stands on the verge of a humanitarian crisis, with the danger of ethnic cleansing of Crimea's Tatar minority.

Nearly 97% of those who voted in Crimea said they wanted to break away from Ukraine but Western powers have called the referendum illegal and a "sham".

Foreign Secretary William Hague warned of "long term costs and consequences for Russia" as European ministers met to finalise travel bans and asset freezes on Russian and Crimean officials.

America has restated its rejection of the referendum, branding Russia's actions "dangerous and destabilising" and saying the vote "would never be recognised".

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the vote is legal and is set to address the issue at the Russian parliament on Tuesday.

Crimea wasted no time following the landslide vote - officials are expected to fly to Moscow on Monday and the rouble has been introduced as a second official currency.

The Ukraine crisis has led to a Cold War-style stand-off

It also wants Ukrainian military outposts in the region disbanded, but the Kiev government said they are staying put.

"Those (troops) who want to live here? No problem. Those who want to swear allegiance we will examine," said Crimea's assembly chief Volodymyr Konstantynov.

Sky News' Nick Martin, at an army base near Crimean capital Simferopol, said it was a tense time for the solders and their families.

"There are many Ukrainian soldiers inside, pretty much surrounded by Russian soldiers - no one really knows how this will work."

He said many practical questions also hung over Crimea, such as the payment of salaries and social security, and the supply of gas and electricity.

Lenin Square was full of patriotism towards Russia

But, for the crowds who turned out in Simferopol on Sunday night, such questions were for another day.

Thousands of people waving Russian flags filled Lenin Square as patriotic songs boomed out and fireworks lit up the sky.

Lucia Prokorovna, 60, carrying a giant Russian flag said: "We're free of the occupation. Ukraine was attached to Crimea like a sack of potatoes."

The intervention of Russian forces in Crimea followed the ousting of Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych last month.

The president fled the Ukrainian capital Kiev after days of anti-government clashes that left scores of police and protesters dead.

The vote has been condemned as illegal by many governments in the West

Moscow justified the occupation of Crimea, saying it wanted to protect the majority ethnic Russian population.

The referendum also came against a backdrop of unrest in the divided eastern Ukraine, which has seen pro-Russian demonstrations turn violent.

Kiev has accused "Kremlin agents" of trying to stoke violence in other cities, such as Donetsk.

Sky News' Michelle Clifford, in Kiev, said there is a real fear in the country that Russia could now move its troops further into Ukraine.

The government has urged people not to be provoked into retaliating because clashes could be used by Moscow as an excuse for further interventions.

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Missing Pilots 'Did Not Ask To Fly Together'

Missing Jet: Timeline Of Key Events

Updated: 2:41pm UK, Saturday 15 March 2014

A summary of the developments surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Saturday, March 8

:: The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, loses contact with air traffic control north of Malaysia around 1.20am, some 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

:: Vietnam says the plane went missing near its airspace.

It launches a search operation which expands into a huge international hunt in the South China Sea, involving dozens of ships and aircraft from countries including the US and Japan.

:: Tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers criticise Malaysia Airlines over a lack of information.

:: Vietnamese planes spot two large oil slicks near the aircraft's last known location, but it proves a false alarm.

:: It also emerges two passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports, fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack.

Sunday, March 9

:: Malaysia said it was investigating a possible terror link to the jet's disappearance and the US sent FBI agents to assist in the investigation.

:: Malaysia raises the first of several suggestions that the plane may have veered radically off-course.

:: The air force chief said it may have turned back towards the country's capital for no apparent reason.

:: A Vietnamese plane spots possible debris off southwest Vietnam - but this is also a false alarm.

Monday, March 10

:: Authorities double the search radius to 100 nautical miles around the point where MH370 disappeared from radar.

:: China criticises Malaysia, saying it needs to speed up the investigation.

:: Malaysia sends ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft, but a Vietnamese vessel that gets there first finds only flotsam.

:: Chemical analysis by Malaysia finds no link between oil slicks found at sea and the missing plane.

Tuesday, March 11

:: The search area now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast, and an area to the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island, all far removed from the flight's scheduled route.

:: Authorities identify the two men with stolen passports as young Iranians who are believed to be illegal immigrants - not terrorists.

Wednesday, March 12

:: Malaysia expands the search zone to include the Malacca Strait off the country's west coast and the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of miles away.

:: Malaysia's air force chief says an unidentified object was detected on military radar north of the Malacca Strait early on Saturday - less than an hour after the plane lost contact - but says it is still being investigated.

:: At a news conference, Malaysian officials deny the search is in disarray after China says conflicting information about its course is "pretty chaotic".

:: It emerges US regulators warned months ago of a problem with "cracking and corrosion" of the fuselage skin under the satellite antenna on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air break-up.

:: But the manufacturer later confirms that the warning did not apply to the missing plane, which had a different kind of antenna.

Thursday, March 13

:: Malaysia dismisses a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours after its last known contact, based on data sent from its engines.

:: Authorities in Kuala Lumpur also say that Chinese satellite images of suspected debris in the South China Sea are yet another false lead.

:: India steps up its search, sending three ships and three aircraft to the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Friday, March 14

:: The hunt spreads west to the Indian Ocean after the White House cites unspecified "new information" that the jet may have flown on after losing contact.

:: Malaysia declines to comment on US reports that the plane's communication system continued to "ping" a satellite for hours after it disappeared, suggesting it may have travelled a huge distance.

Saturday, March 15

:: Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak says the last-known movements of the missing airliner were consistent with the deliberate actions of someone on board.

:: He also revealed the last contact with the plane was with a satellite at 8.11am last Saturday which means it could have been flying for more than six hours longer than first thought.

:: The PM confirmed Malaysian air force defence radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westward, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia into the northern stretches of the Strait of Malacca.

:: The search area is expanded to two air corridors - a northern one stretching as far as Turkmenistan and Thailand - and one which goes as far as Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

:: Mr Najib says search efforts in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact, had ended.

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Crimea Vote Fuels Fear Of Discrimination

When the polls open in Crimea today there will be some voters staying away - Tatars living outside of the region.

Most are refusing to return to take part in the referendum on joining the Russian Federation, insisting the poll is illegal.

 Elvina Musaeva, a young Tatar who has moved to the capital Kiev to study, says: "I have Crimean residency, but I will not vote for sure. The referendum is not legitimate. The decision is already made. This is a political issue."

The friends she is sharing dinner with in a restaurant in the capital all agree that the result of the referendum is a forgone conclusion.

The balance of the population in Crimea favours Russia. But it's a painful history under a former Soviet leader which makes them fear what may happen now.

Elnara Abdullaiera says the forced deportation of Tatars by Stalin in 1944 has left a permanent psychological scar.

After accusing them of colluding with the Nazi, Stalin banished hundreds of thousands of her people.

Crimean Tatars during rallies in Simferopol last month

Elnara says: "They cannot face deportation again. They cannot bear to moved again. Many lost everything."

After seeing the violent clashes in Crimea on television, Elnara begged her mother to leave the region.

"I feel the danger. I am afraid for the life of my mother, afraid for the life of my father," she says.

"But my mother says I don't want to live anywhere else. This is my home. I don't want to go to another place. My mother says this is our homeland."

Many families lost properties, money and livelihoods during the mass deportations. Only returning decades after to try to rebuild their lives.

There's no doubt that experience feeds into their determination to stay in Crimea and fuels their antipathy of the Russian government.

Crimean expert Natalya Berlitser says Tatars are right to be wary.

Tatars say they are afraid of impending Russian control

She believes if the referendum goes Russia's way, which seems certain, then over time they will face discrimination, especially as they have been openly critical of President Putin's move.

"We have to remember the history with Russia," she says.

"My concern for the Crimean Tatars is that in the initial period there will not be any drastic measures against them. But when the world turns away, when the international protectors of Ukraine's independence like the US and the UK get distracted by other crises, when they look away, then they (the Tatars) will become targets."

That's a worrying scenario for Tatars inside and away from Crimea.

They acknowledge that their failure to vote will make the backing for Russia seems all the stronger. But they are resigned to a result that can only cause problems for them.

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Ukraine Accuses Russia Of 'Military Invasion'

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of carrying out a "military invasion" after reportedly deploying troops in an area bordering Crimea.

It is claimed 120 soldiers, supported by helicopters and armoured personnel carriers, have landed near the village of Strelkovoye on Arbatskaya Strelka, and seized a gas distribution station.

The move is being seen as significant as the split of land, is outside the troubled southern region of Crimea, and signals an extension of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

Russian forces apparently tried to enter Arbatsyka Strelka

It had initially been reported Ukrainian forces had repelled an attempt by Russian forces to enter the area, which is about 70 miles long and runs parallel to the east of Crimea.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry is demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

It said in a statement: "Ukraine reserves the right to use all necessary measures to stop the military invasion by Russia."

Thousands of anti-war protesters have gathered in central Moscow

Washington's UN representative has branded any new Russian troop movement in south Ukraine an "outrageous escalation".

Tensions are running high as polls opened for the controversial referendum on whether Crimea should break away from Ukraine.

There were reports of advanced Russian surface-to-air missiles being mobilised in the east of the Crimean peninsula.

Two people were shot dead in clashes between pro-Kiev and pro-Moscow activists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv yesterday.

Speakers at the pro-Putin rally denounced Ukrainian "fascists"

Ukraine's interim interior minister said the two men, aged 20 and 31, were killed and several others wounded during the late-night gun battle.

Arsen Avakov claimed around 30 people "from both sides" were arrested, and he accused Russian activists of provoking the clashes.

A pro-Russian rally in Donetsk also turned violent with demonstrators storming the offices of the national security service, taking down the Ukrainian flag, and raising the Russian one.

Ukraine has accused "Kremlin agents" of stoking violence in Russian-speaking cities and urged people not to be goaded into fighting back because clashes could be used by Moscow as a precursor for further incursions.

Ukraine's east has seen regular clashes between rival groups in recent days

The unrest has escalated in the Russian-speaking east of the country since Moscow's military invention in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula following the ousting of Kremlin ally, President Viktor Yanukovych last month.

The referendum on Crimea joining the Russian Federation further ratcheted up the tensions.

Russia has vetoed a Western-backed resolution at the UN condemning the Crimea referendum but China abstained, isolating Moscow further on the crisis.

The UK's ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant responded by accusing Russia of "military adventurism".

He said: "This resolution was designed to prevent further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry could find no common ground on the Crimean vote

"It was about sending a clear signal that holding a referendum in Crimea would take us further away from a diplomatic solution.

"The resounding message from today's vote is that Russia stands isolated in this Council, and in the international community."

Moscow justified last week's military occupation of Crimea by saying it wished to protect ethnic Russians and has not ruled out moving its troops further afield to protect its compatriots.

America and the European Union have warned Russia of sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans unless the vote is called off.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said such measures would be a "counter-productive instrument".

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Families Split As Polls Open In Crimea

By Nick Martin, News Correspondent in Simferopol

The Crimean people are voting in a referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea region from Ukraine to Moscow, despite an outcry and threat of sanctions from the West.

The vote, dismissed by Kiev and Western governments as illegal, has triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War and marks a new peak in turmoil in Ukraine.

Voting will end at 6pm UK time.

It follows events in November when the now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych walked out on a trade deal with the European Union sparking violent protests in Kiev.

More than 2,000 polling stations and two million ballot cards have been hastily printed since the referendum was announced more than two weeks ago.

Election commission officials count ballots ahead of the referendum

But the vote has split even the closest-knit families many of whom say they want their peninsula to be governed in different ways.

Elena Kruglova, 26, said Crimea should remain part of Ukraine while her mother Lyna Losyeva is staunchly pro-Russian.

She said: "Two weeks to organise a referendum doesn't give people the chance to make a proper decision.

"At the moment, the way the referendum works there are two choices, Russia, or Russia.

"We are not being given the option to stay the way we are."

But her mother, who remembers being part of the former Soviet Union until Ukraine gained independence in 1991, disagrees.

She said: "I was born in a time when there was no difference between Russia and Ukraine and in the Soviet Union we didn't feel any differences.

"But my daughter was born in a different time.

"What do I expect from Russia? I expect that Russia will listen to us, to Crimean people because for 23 years Ukraine didn't listen to us."

Polling booths are readied for the crucial breakaway vote

Earlier this week Crimea's new Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov told Crimeans to "be calm and hopeful" and told reporters the referendum would be "open and transparent".

International observers were finally allowed into the region on Saturday having been prevented from crossing the border for several weeks.

More than 20,000 Russian troops are now stationed within Crimea whilst Ukrainian television channels have been taken off air and replaced by programmes operated by Moscow.

Flights from Kiev in the north have been cancelled in the run up to the election with the promise of them being reinstated after the vote.

Despite Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talking daily since the crisis began a diplomatic solution has not been reached.

Johannes Anderson, an expert in Crimean affairs, believes Russia has a "grand plan" for Crimea.

He said: "I think there's been a long-time dream for Russia to reincorporate Crimea into the Greater Russian empire.

"This is a broader trend of Russia pushing its imperial ambitions.

"Ukraine has been growing and emerging as an economy in recent years and this is Russia attempting to destabilise that growth and stamp its authority on the region."

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Plane Search Switches To Two Air Corridors

A week after it went missing, the search for the Malaysia Airlines plane is now being moved further west to two "air corridors" as it enters a "new phase".

One is from northern Thailand to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and the other is further south, from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

It comes after authorities confirmed the jet's last communication with a satellite was in one of those areas after it picked up a "ping" from the airliner.

This was nearly seven hours after the flight dropped off civilian air traffic control screens.

The corridors represent a satellite track, which appears as an arc on a map.

The Boeing 777 did not necessarily follow the corridor, but was at some point along its path at the moment the signal was sent.

Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak said that searching in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact with air traffic controllers, would be ended.

The Boeing has been missing for a week

Authorities believe Flight MH370 had its communications and tracking systems deliberately turned off amid reports that it had been hijacked.

Investigators have increasingly focused on the possibility it was flown off-course by the pilot or co-pilot, or someone else on board with detailed knowledge of how to fly and navigate a large commercial aircraft.

The plane, with 239 people on board, left Kuala Lumpur at 12.40am on Saturday March 8 and headed towards Beijing.

About 40 minutes into the flight, the jet's communications with civilian air controllers were severed.

Investigators believe one of the aircraft's communications systems - the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System - was disabled before the plane reached the east coast of Malaysia.

Shortly afterwards, someone on board then switched off the aircraft's transponder near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control.

At 2.15am Malaysian air force defence radar picked up traces of the plane turning back westwards, crossing over Peninsular Malaysia before turning north west into the stretches of the Strait of Malacca.

But the last confirmed signal between the aircraft and a satellite was at 8.11am - seven and a half hours after take-off, meaning it could have flown as far north as Kazakhstan or the southern Indian Ocean.

Airline officials have said the plane had enough fuel to fly for up to about eight hours.

The PM said authorities were still looking at all possibilities and did not confirm the hijacking claim which was made by an unnamed Malaysian official.

The massive search involves 14 countries which are using 43 ships and 58 aircraft to scour vast areas of ocean.

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Malaysian Jet Search: 'We Never Give Up'

Missing Plane: 13 Things You Need To Know

Updated: 7:33am UK, Thursday 13 March 2014

As the search for Flight MH370 continues, we answer 13 questions about the disappearance and what could have happened.

When did the plane disappear?

Flight MH370 vanished from radars early on Saturday local time, an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. When it last made contact, the jet was cruising at 35,000 feet over the South China Sea.

There are reports that the plane tried to turn around, but this would give rise to the question why didn't the pilot communicate this decision to air traffic control? Meanwhile, at an undisclosed time a relative reportedly managed to call one of the passengers. Investigators have repeatedly tried to call the same number without success.

Who was on board?

The plane's manifest contained 12 crew members from Malaysia and 227 passengers from 14 different countries.

There were 153 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French, three Americans, two each from Iran (both travelling on fake passports), New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada, and one each from Russia, Taiwan and The Netherlands.

Among the passengers was a 19-strong group of prominent artists returning from an exhibition in Malaysia. Five children - aged two to four - were on board. The oldest person on the plane was 79.

What are the main theories?

Mechanical error remains the most likely explanation. Poor conditions and strong turbulence always have to be considered, but weather conditions were good in this instance. Four areas of investigation are focused on the possibility of human involvement: hijacking, sabotage, psychological problems or personal problems with passengers or crew.

Could there have been a mechanical error?

Inquiries into Air France Flight 447 that dived into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 en route from Brazil to Paris, killing 228 people, blamed both technical and human error.

However, in the event of engine failure, a plane such as the Boeing 777-200 could glide for 80-90 miles (128-145km), giving the pilot time to issue a distress signal. The descent would also have been traced by radars. The lack of any Mayday call makes an explosion a possibility.

Could the plane have broken up in the air?

The apparent lack of wreckage from MH370 does point to a high-altitude disaster. In such an event the debris would be spread far and wide, making it difficult to find.

A smaller debris field would indicate the plane probably fell intact, breaking up on impact with the water. In the event of a sudden loss of pressure due to a window blowing out the crew would dive the plane in order to lose altitude - but this would not cause the plane to disintegrate.

How about the plane's safety record?

Sudden, accidental, structural failures are considered extremely unlikely in today's passenger aircraft. This is especially so with the Boeing 777-200, which has one of the best safety records of any jet.

One of the missing plane's wingtips was clipped in an incident while taxiing in 2012, but it was repaired and certified as safe.

Could it have been a terrorist attack or hijacking?

In the event of a hijacker trying to enter the cockpit, a pilot can send a secret distress code - something that wasn't done on Flight MH370.

The profiles of all 239 passengers are being checked against databases worldwide, but the terrorism theory was weakened on Tuesday when Malaysian police confirmed it had identified the two passengers who were travelling on fake passports. Both were said to be seeking asylum in Europe.

In the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, claims of responsibility came soon after the disaster - but no one has come forward to claim the Malaysia incident as their attack.

Human error?

The 53-year-old pilot was experienced, having amassed more than 18,000 flying hours since being employed by the airline in 1981.

However, in Indonesia in 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 disappeared with 102 passengers during a domestic flight, where the authorities found the pilots lost control after becoming preoccupied with malfunctioning navigational equipment.

Former naval pilot Dr Simon Mitchell told Sky News: "We've expended billions of dollars on developing very sophisticated aids to make the life of the pilot safer and more straightforward, but there are still opportunities whereby mistakes can be made."

Why was there no distress signal?

One explanation is that the plane fell into a communications black spot. Former Boeing 777 instructor and United Airlines captain Ross Aimer explained: "These are very sophisticated (items of) equipment that should have been working under any conditions - in the water, in the jungle, after a fire, after an explosion - and none of them have talked to the outside world yet.

"There are spots in the world, however, that are called blind spots, where you cannot communicate for some reason. Unfortunately, that area near Vietnam, over the Gulf of Thailand, those are some of the black spots."

Where is the search taking place?

A number of aircraft and ships have been taking part in the search in the seas off Vietnam and Malaysia. Search teams from Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, New Zealand and the US are assisting.

Officials said on Tuesday that the search was being conducted on both sides of Vietnam's Ca Mau peninsula. The search area has been expanded from 50 nautical miles from where the plane disappeared - over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam - to 100 nautical miles (115 miles; 185km).

This expansion was a result of a new report from the Malaysian military, which said it tracked the plane in the Strait of Malacca - a long distance from where it last made contact - in the hours following its disappearance.

Why has no wreckage been found?

Whatever caused the apparent crash, there would be some debris - but it could take a while to find. It took two years to find the main wreckage of Air France Flight 447 in 2009.

In 2007, in the case of the Adam Air flight, it was a week before an Indonesian naval vessel detected metal on the ocean floor. It was a further two weeks before the US Navy picked up signals from the flight data and cockpit recorders and seven months for the recorder to be recovered.

If the plane had crashed on land, chances are the wreckage would have been found by now. At sea, much of the plane would have sunk, but some debris should remain on the surface. But the longer the search takes the harder it becomes as the wind and tide spread any debris further from the initial crash zone.

Could the flight data recorder provide answers?

As well as wreckage, search teams are looking for the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) - though these do not always work if a plane hits water. However, attached to the plane's "black box" is a device known as a pinger. This can emit radio signals deep underwater for up to 30 days - or 40 days in warm water.

Has a plane ever simply vanished?

Since the start of the jet age in the 1950s, nearly every major aircraft that disappeared was found - eventually - and the rare exceptions did not involve passengers.

In September 1990, a Boeing 727 plunged into the North Atlantic after running out of fuel. The accident was attributed to poor pilot planning and the wreck was never recovered.

Another Boeing 727 transporting diesel to diamond mines in Africa took off without clearance and with its transponder turned off. It is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

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