Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 dropped to altitudes as low as 1524 metres (5000 feet) using a dangerous flying technique called “terrain masking” to avoid radar in at least three countries, investigators believe.
The plane with 239 people on board also kept to commercial airline routes as it flew for more than seven hours after turning back from its scheduled flight path over the South China Sea, they believe.
As the focus of police investigators has swung back to the pilots, authorities have revealed that whoever spoke to Kuala Lumpur air traffic control minutes after the plane’s main communication system was disabled gave no clue that anything was wrong.
“All right, good night,” some-one in the cockpit had said calmly, seemingly to mislead ground control that anything was wrong.
Investigators believe that by following commercial routes the plane did not raise the suspicion of people monitoring radar of the countries it overflew.
Terrain masking is used by military pilots for stealth flights. Based on the estimated time in the air, authorities believe MH370 would have passed over two additional countries besides Malaysia, although it's not clear which ones.
Experts say flying a Boeing 777 in such a way would be dangerous, putting pressure on the 250 tonnes air frame and possibly causing those on board to be air sick.
Experts are trying to nail down precisely how far the plane could have flown with the fuel on board but sources say the plane would have been close to running out at the time it was recorded in raw satellite data at 8.11am after departing Kuala Lumpur airport at 12.31am.
Malaysia Airlines has confirmed that no additional fuel than normal was loaded on to the plane in Kuala Lumpur.
17/03/14 Lindsay Murdoch/Sydney Morning Herald
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The plane with 239 people on board also kept to commercial airline routes as it flew for more than seven hours after turning back from its scheduled flight path over the South China Sea, they believe.
As the focus of police investigators has swung back to the pilots, authorities have revealed that whoever spoke to Kuala Lumpur air traffic control minutes after the plane’s main communication system was disabled gave no clue that anything was wrong.
“All right, good night,” some-one in the cockpit had said calmly, seemingly to mislead ground control that anything was wrong.
Investigators believe that by following commercial routes the plane did not raise the suspicion of people monitoring radar of the countries it overflew.
Terrain masking is used by military pilots for stealth flights. Based on the estimated time in the air, authorities believe MH370 would have passed over two additional countries besides Malaysia, although it's not clear which ones.
Experts say flying a Boeing 777 in such a way would be dangerous, putting pressure on the 250 tonnes air frame and possibly causing those on board to be air sick.
Experts are trying to nail down precisely how far the plane could have flown with the fuel on board but sources say the plane would have been close to running out at the time it was recorded in raw satellite data at 8.11am after departing Kuala Lumpur airport at 12.31am.
Malaysia Airlines has confirmed that no additional fuel than normal was loaded on to the plane in Kuala Lumpur.
17/03/14 Lindsay Murdoch/Sydney Morning Herald
