Malaysia’s military says it is investigating reports that a missing Boeing 777 jetliner headed to Beijing changed course and made it to the Malacca Strait, hundreds of miles away from the last location reported by civilian authorities.
Malaysia Airlines said Tuesday that the western coast of the country, near the Malacca Strait, is "now the focus" of search efforts. That is on the other side of peninsular Malaysia from where flight 370 was reported missing by civilian authorities, meaning if the plane went down there it would have had to fly over the country, presumably undetected. No debris from the plane has been found.
Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said expanding the search area didn't imply authorities believed the plane was off Malaysia’s western coast.
"The search is on both sides," he said.
But local newspaper Berita Harian quoted Malaysian air force chief Gen. Rodzali Daud as saying radar at a military base had detected the airliner at 2:40 a.m. on Saturday near Pulau Perak at the northern approach to the strait, a busy waterway that separates the western coast of Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island.
A high-ranking military official involved in the investigation confirmed the report to The Associated Press on Tuesday and also said the aircraft was believed to be flying low. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
A Malaysian military official who has been briefed on the investigations, who spoke to Reuters Tuesday, also said the country’s military believes the plane was last tracked by radar over the Malacca Strait.
11/04/13 Fox News
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Malaysia Airlines said Tuesday that the western coast of the country, near the Malacca Strait, is "now the focus" of search efforts. That is on the other side of peninsular Malaysia from where flight 370 was reported missing by civilian authorities, meaning if the plane went down there it would have had to fly over the country, presumably undetected. No debris from the plane has been found.
Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said expanding the search area didn't imply authorities believed the plane was off Malaysia’s western coast.
"The search is on both sides," he said.
But local newspaper Berita Harian quoted Malaysian air force chief Gen. Rodzali Daud as saying radar at a military base had detected the airliner at 2:40 a.m. on Saturday near Pulau Perak at the northern approach to the strait, a busy waterway that separates the western coast of Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island.
A high-ranking military official involved in the investigation confirmed the report to The Associated Press on Tuesday and also said the aircraft was believed to be flying low. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
A Malaysian military official who has been briefed on the investigations, who spoke to Reuters Tuesday, also said the country’s military believes the plane was last tracked by radar over the Malacca Strait.
11/04/13 Fox News
