New information from the Thai government bolsters the belief that missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took a sharp westward turn after communication was lost.
And it looks like that turn was no accident.
A law enforcement official told CNN Tuesday that the aircraft's first turn to the west was almost certainly programmed by somebody in the cockpit.
The official, who has been briefed on the investigation, said the programmed change in direction was entered at least 12 minutes before the plane's co-pilot signed off to air traffic controllers, telling them, "All right, good night."
Analysts on CNN's "AC360" offered different interpretations of what that could mean -- with some experts cautioning the change in direction could have been part of an alternate flight plan programmed in advance in case of emergency, and others warning it could show something more nefarious was afoot.
"We don't know when specifically it was entered," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said the new timeframe "makes the issue of foul play seem more significant."
"Because by doing that," he said, "what it basically shows is that this thing was already heading in a different direction when they're saying good night."
But still, the new details about what happened don't add up to a clear answer.
"Like everything on this story, we learn a little bit," Schmidt said, "but then we just have more questions."
19/03/14 Mariano Castillo, Catherine E. Shoichet and Evan Perez/CNN
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And it looks like that turn was no accident.
A law enforcement official told CNN Tuesday that the aircraft's first turn to the west was almost certainly programmed by somebody in the cockpit.
The official, who has been briefed on the investigation, said the programmed change in direction was entered at least 12 minutes before the plane's co-pilot signed off to air traffic controllers, telling them, "All right, good night."
Analysts on CNN's "AC360" offered different interpretations of what that could mean -- with some experts cautioning the change in direction could have been part of an alternate flight plan programmed in advance in case of emergency, and others warning it could show something more nefarious was afoot.
"We don't know when specifically it was entered," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said the new timeframe "makes the issue of foul play seem more significant."
"Because by doing that," he said, "what it basically shows is that this thing was already heading in a different direction when they're saying good night."
But still, the new details about what happened don't add up to a clear answer.
"Like everything on this story, we learn a little bit," Schmidt said, "but then we just have more questions."
19/03/14 Mariano Castillo, Catherine E. Shoichet and Evan Perez/CNN
