Is this proof that missing Malaysia Airlines flight WAS 'hijacked' by one of its pilots? Final words from MH370 were spoken after its communication equipment was disabled - and the pilot sounded calm
- Footage captures Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah being frisked by security
- He is followed by co-pilot Fariq Hamid who was also searched
- Shah 'fanatical' supporter of the country's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
- Pilot's wife and three children moved out of family home the day before plane went missing
By Tara Brady
|
The final words from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight were spoken after its communication equipment was disabled it has been revealed as footage emerged showing the aircraft's pilots walking through security for the final time before take-off.
CCTV captured Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, pilot of the Boeing 777 flight, being frisked while walking through security at Kuala Lumpar International Airport.
He is then joined by co-pilot Fariq Hamid who is also searched before the pair walk onto the plane.
The final words from the aircraft gave no indication anything was wrong even though one of the plane's communications systems had already been disabled, adding to suspicions that someone who knew the controls was involved in the disappearance.
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Captured: Airport security CCTV of Zaharie Ahmad Shah, pilot of Malaysia Boeing 777 Airlines flight
Officials also said today that it is possible the aircraft could have landed and transmitted a satellite signal from the ground.
Shah, a father-of-three, was said to be a 'fanatical' supporter of the country's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim - jailed for homosexuality just hours before the jet disappeared.
It has also been revealed that the pilot's wife and three children moved out of the family home the
day before the plane went missing.
It comes as FBI investigators say the disappearance of MH370 may have been ‘an act of piracy’ and the possibility that hundreds of passengers are being held at an unknown location has not been ruled out.
CCTV footage captures Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, pilot of the Boeing 777 flight, being frisked while walking through security at Kuala Lumpar International Airport
If the plane was intact and had enough electrical power in reserve, it would be able to send out a radar 'ping'.
After a missing half hour, someone in the cockpit spoke to air traffic controllers for the final time, saying: ‘All right. Good night.’
The usual sign-off would have been ‘Roger and out’, but whoever was talking did not mention a problem with the flight, suggesting an attempt was made to mislead ground control.
Footage: Co-pilot Fariq Hamid who was also searched before the pair walked onto the plane
Co-pilot Fariq Hamid is frisked by security at Kuala Lumpar International Airport before the flight took off
Around 14 minutes later the
transponder – which sends out an identifying signal – was switched off
and shortly afterwards the aircraft turned sharply to head back across
the Malaysian peninsula.
As authorities examined a flight simulator that was confiscated from the home of one of the pilots and
dug through the background of all 239 people on board and the ground crew that serviced the plane,
they also were grappling with the enormity of the search ahead of them, warning they needed more data to narrow down the hunt for the aircraft.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur at around 12.40am on March 8, headed to Beijing.
On Saturday, Malaysia's government confirmed that the plane was deliberately diverted and may
have flown as far north as Central Asia, or south into the vast reaches of the Indian Ocean.
Authorities have said someone on board the plane first disabled one of its communications systems -
the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS - at 1.07am.
The fact that they went dark separately is strong evidence that the plane's disappearance was
deliberate.
Today, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference that the final, reassuring words from the cockpit - 'All right, good night' - were spoken to air traffic controllers after the ACARS system was shut down.
Whoever spoke did not mention any trouble on board, seemingly misleading ground control.
Timeline: The above graphic shows how the situation may have developed
Air force Maj. Gen. Affendi Buang told reporters he did not know whether it was the pilot or co-pilot
who spoke to air traffic controllers.
Given the expanse of land and water that might need to be searched, the wreckage of the plane might take months - or longer - to find, or might never be located.
Establishing what happened with any degree of certainty will likely need key information, including cockpit voice recordings, from the plane's flight data recorders.
Probe: Police in Malaysia have searched the home of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah (left) and Fariq Abdul Hamid after officials confirmed the plane was taken over by a 'deliberate act'
On board: Student Firman Siregar, pictured centre with his family, was one of the 239 aboard Flight MH370
Peter Chong (left) with best friend Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. He is pictured in a T-shirt with a Democracy is Dead slogan as police investigate claims he could have hijacked the plane as an anti-government protest
The search area now includes 11 countries the plane might have flown over, Hishammuddin said, adding that the number of countries involved in the operation had increased from 14 to 25.
'The search was already a highly complex, multinational effort. It has now become even more
difficult,' he said.
The search effort initially focused on the relatively shallow waters of the South China Sea and the
Strait of Malacca, where the plane was first thought to be.
Hishammuddin said he had asked governments to hand over sensitive radar and satellite data to try and help get a better idea of the plane's final movements.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the plane could have travelled, undetected, for a further seven hours
A journalist films the home of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur
The final picture: The missing jet is pictured here in February this year above Polish airspace
Meanwhile, footage has emerged of Hamid in a training session a month before the Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared.
CNN aviation expert Richard Quest filmed the 27-year-old who said he had 2,700 hours of flight experience.
When asked about flying, he told Mr Quest that he 'just loved it'.
'It was a wonderful experience, particularly flying the larger big triple 7 plane that we were onboard,' he said.
According to Quest, Hamid had carried out a 'textbook landing' on that day he was filmed.
Hamid joined the airline in 2007 and was flying with a much more experienced co-pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, who began working for Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and had more than 18,000 hours of flying experience.
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AW, Minneapolis, United States, 5 hours ago
That is a creepy picture of the older pilot. Looks like he is looking into the camera because he knows he is about to do something bad.