Focus turns to pilots of missing MH370 as investigators hunt for a motive
Last message to Malaysian air traffic control from MH370's flight deck was 'all right, good night'
Email
Police are searching the home of Zaharie Ahmad Shah, one of the two pilots on board the missing plane.
Authorities across the world are asking who aboard the doomed Malaysian jetliner would want to hijack a Boeing 777 – and why.
American authorities have confirmed that they went through the passengers and crew members on the manifest and none had any known links to extremist groups. Now attention is shifting to the two pilots after Malaysian police began a search of their homes.
The last message from the flight deck to Malaysian air traffic control was "all right, good night". This appears to have been made after the aircraft communications and reporting system (Acars), which sends information about the plane's location to air traffic control, was deliberately switched off. If so it may suggest that one or both of the pilots were key players in the drama, possibly under duress.
Mike Glynn, a committee member of the Australian and International Pilots Association, thought pilot suicide was the most likely explanation for the disappearance. It was the suspected cause of a SilkAir crash flying from Singapore to Jakarta in 1997 and an EgyptAir flight in 1999.
"A pilot rather than a hijacker is more likely to be able to switch off thecommunications equipment," Glynn said. "The last thing that I, as a pilot, want is suspicion to fall on the crew, but it's happened twice before."
The two pilots, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, have both been described as respectable, community-minded men. Shah who joined the national carrier in 1981, spent his off days playing with a flight simulator. "He was an aviation tech geek," one pilot said. "You could ask him anything and he would help you. That is the kind of guy he was."
An avid collector of remote-controlled, miniature aircraft, he is certifiedMalaysia's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) as an examiner to conduct simulator tests for pilots.
Shah, born in Penang state in Malaysia, studied at Penang Free School before becoming a pilot. A keen amateur chef, his signature dishesincluded bihun noodles and butter prawns. Friends and colleagues said it was impossible that he could be to blame for the disappearance. "He knew everything about the Boeing 777," said one pilot. "Something significant would have had to happen for Zaharie and the plane to go missing. It would have to be total electrical failure."
Shah had more than 18,000 hours of flying experience. His co-pilot, Hamid, had clocked 2,763 hours – having joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007. Hamid was revealed to have invited two female passengers into the cockpit during a flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur, breaking Malaysia Airlines rules.
Investigators are also re-examining the backgrounds of others on board. Flight 370 had 153 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French people, three Americans and two people each from Canada, New Zealand and Ukraine. Two Iranians were travelling on stolen Austrian and Italian passports. Eighteen-year-old Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad was hoping to join his mother in Germany. The other was named by Interpol as Delavar Seyed Mohammadreza, 29.
Also among the passengers was a group of Chinese artists returning home after an exhibition. They included calligrapher Zhang Jinquan, 72, and Maimaitijiang Abula, a 35-year-old artist and ethnic Uighur.
Sign up for the Guardian Today
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.
Sign up for the daily email
-
Our Best Fares for Your Holidays: Hurry, Check Our Special Offers!
-
Hit Golf Ball Straight Every Time. Free Golf Swing Video Lessons Here!
-
No Arm-Twisting. Straightforward. Compelling Evidences. You Decide.
No comments:
Post a Comment