Australia hunts MH370 as search shifts south

Australia is now leading the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, after the focus of the investigation appeared to shift south yesterday.

Based on satellite signals, Malaysian authorities previously said they were focusing their search efforts on two broad arcs – one stretching northwest from Thailand to Kazakhstan, and the other travelling south, through Indonesian airspace and into the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

But officials in Kazakhstan yesterday issued a statement dismissing the chance the aircraft travelled all the way from Southeast Asia, across China and into Central Asia, without being spotted.

“Even if all onboard equipment is switched off, it is impossible to fly through in a silent mode,” said the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee’s deputy head, Serik Mukhtybayev. “There are also military bodies monitoring the country’s air space.”

This means the most likely possibility is that the aircraft turned back and flew south, over the Indonesian islands of Sumatra or Java, and onwards into the Indian Ocean.

Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbot confirmed yesterday that he has spoken to his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, and agreed to lead the southern search.

“I agreed that we would do so. I offered the Malaysian Prime Minister additional maritime surveillance resources which he gratefully accepted,” Abbot was quoted saying by the Sydney Morning Herald. “We will do our duty to ensure that our search and rescue responsibilities are maintained and upheld,” he added.

It is still unclear how the Boeing 777 managed to evade detection while flying over Indonesian airspace, but Malaysia’s New Straits Times reports that investigators are looking at the possibility that the aircraft dropped to an altitude of 5,000 feet (1,524 metres) to avoid radar detection. If true, this would increase the likelihood that MH370 was deliberately flown off course.

It emerged yesterday that first officer Fariq Abdul Hamid spoke the last words to air traffic controllers, prior to leaving Malaysian air space. The co-pilot is reported to have said “All right, good night” before the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. Police have searched the homes of both pilots, and were reported to have dismantled a flight simulator at the home of captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, although it is unclear whether anything suspicious was found.

Malaysia said the investigation had entered a “new phase”.

“The search was already a highly complex, multinational effort. It has now become even more difficult,” the country’s acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said in a press briefing.

“The search area has been significantly expanded and the nature of the search has changed. From focusing mainly on shallow seas, we are now looking at large tracts of land, crossing 11 countries, as well as deep and remote oceans.

“We will provide more detail on the redeployment of assets when it becomes available,” he added.