[UPDATE]-Malaysia Airlines plane crashes in South China Sea after the Flight Vanishesd with 239 passengers .

[shamu726]

The Plane has reportedly crashed into the South China Sea .

http://www.nsaneforums.com/topic/210138-update-malaysia-airlines-flight-vanishesmalaysia-airlines-plane-crashes-in-south-china-sea/?do=findComment&comment=753786

---

South-east Asian states have joined forces to search waters between Malaysia and Vietnam after a Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on a flight to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that flight MH370 had disappeared at 02:40 local time on Saturday (18:40 GMT on Friday) after leaving Kuala Lumpur.

It had been expected to land in Beijing at 06:30 (22:30 GMT).

Malaysia's transport minister said there was no information on wreckage and he urged against speculation.

"We are doing everything in our power to locate the plane. We are doing everything we can to ensure every possible angle has been addressed," Seri Hishammuddin told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

"Our hope is that the people understand we are being as transparent as we can, we are giving information as quickly as we can, but we want to make sure information has been verified."

Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the focus was on helping the families of those missing. He said that 80% of the families had been contacted.

The plane went off the radar south of Vietnam, according to a statement on the Vietnamese government website.

Its last known location was off the country's Ca Mau peninsular although the exact position was not clear, it said.

The Boeing B777-200 aircraft was carrying 227 passengers, including two children, and 12 crew members.

'Very worried'

Malaysia's military said a second wave of helicopters and ships had been despatched after an initial search revealed nothing.

Territorial disputes over the South China Sea were set aside temporarily as China dispatched two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deployed three air force planes and three navy patrol ships.

Vietnam also sent aircraft and ships while Vietnamese fishermen in the area were asked to report any suspected sign of the missing plane.

"In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues," said Lt Gen Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military's Western Command.

The passengers were of 14 different nationalities, Mr Jauhari said.

Among them were 152 Chinese nationals, 38 Malaysians, 7 people from Indonesia, six from Australia and five from India.

Relatives gathered at Beijing International Airport fearing the worst

They had faced hours of waiting with no news - arrivals boards simply displayed a sign of a flight delay

Relatives of passengers also waited for news at the plane's departure airport in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia and one of the largest in Asia

The pilot was Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, Mr Yahya said.

A Vietnamese navy official told the BBC the plane had gone missing within Malaysian maritime territory. The flight went missing two hours after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.

Friends and relatives expecting to meet passengers from the flight in Beijing were instructed to go to a nearby hotel where officials were meant to be on hand to provide support.

"They should have told us something before now," a visibly distressed man in his thirties told AFP news agency at the hotel.

"They are useless," another young man said of the airline. "I don't know why they haven't released any information."

In Kuala Lumpur, Hamid Ramlan, a 56-year-old police officer, said his daughter and son-in-law had been on the flight for an intended holiday in Beijing.

"My wife is crying," he said. "Everyone is sad. My house has become a place of mourning. This is Allah's will. We have to accept it."

Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines' vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000ft (10,700m) and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.

The airline is the national carrier of Malaysia and one of Asia's largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.

The route between Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has become more and more popular as Malaysia and China increase trade, says the BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur.

The Boeing 777 had not had a fatal crash in its 20-year history until an Asiana plane came down at San Francisco airport in July 2014. Three teenage girls from China died in that incident.

Boeing said in a statement posted on Twitter: "We're closely monitoring reports on Malaysia flight MH370. Our thoughts are with everyone on board."

At the scene

BBC News, Beijing airport

The relatives and friends waiting to meet passengers from flight MH370 have been taken to the Lido Hotel, a short drive from Beijing Airport's Terminal Three.

Some are of course clearly very distressed and volunteers are providing them with support. But there have been complaints, and at least one angry outburst, about the lack of information from the airline. "We've waited for hours and they've told us very few details," one man said.

Some of the anger has also been directed at the large group of journalists gathered outside the room in which the relatives have been taken to. "Don't you all have families?" one is reported to have asked. A statement from Malaysian Airlines says it has sent another team of "caregivers and volunteers" from Kuala Lumpur who are expected to arrive in Beijing later tonight.

Flight MH370 passengers

• 153 Chinese including one child
• 38 Malaysians
• 7 Indonesians
• 6 Australians
• 5 Indians
• Four Americans including one child
• Three French
• Two each from New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada
• One each from Russia, Italy, Taiwan, Netherlands and Austria

Sources: BBC News, Malaysia Airlines

Edit: Article updated

Edited March 8, 2014 by shamu726

[humble3d]

Some governments would not hesitate to take out an entire airplane to terminate one person thereon... :(

[shamu726]

Some governments would not hesitate to take out an entire airplane to terminate one person thereon... :(

Let's not devolve into paranoia just yet.

It could just be a mass alien abduction :eek: -_-

Let's hope it's just some mechanical problems and not what we fear. :beg:

Edited March 8, 2014 by shamu726

[nanana1]

http://my.news.yahoo.com/mas-aircraft-goes-missing--says-airline-023820132.html

UPDATE [12:37]: Tuoi Tre, a leading daily in Vietnam, reports that the Vietnamese Navy has confirmed the plane crashed into the ocean.

According to Navy Admiral Ngo Van Phat, Commander of the Region 5, military radar recorded that the plane crashed into the sea at a location 153 miles South of Phu Quoc island.

When contacted, Malaysia Airlines declined to confirm or deny the reports, saying that the Malaysian authorities are working together with the Vietnamese government on the matter.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that China has dispatched two maritime rescue ships to help locate the missing plane.

Edited March 8, 2014 by nanana1

[Shadowx]

We can hope and pray for their safety

[majithia23]

Stuart Grudgings and Anuradha Raghu Reuters

3:27 a.m. CST, March 8, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew crashed in the South China Sea on Saturday, Vietnamese state media said, quoting a senior naval official.

The Boeing 777-200ER flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing had been missing for hours when Vietnam's Tuoi Tre news quoted Admiral Ngo Van Phat as saying he had asked boats from an island off south Vietnam to rush to the crash site.

If the report is confirmed, it would mark the U.S.-built airliner's deadliest crash since entering service 19 years ago.

Malaysia Airlines had yet to confirm that the aircraft had crashed. It said earlier in the day that no distress signal had been given and cited early speculation that the plane may have landed in Nanming in southern China.

Flight MH370, operating a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, last had contact with air traffic controllers 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu, Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement read to a news conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia and Vietnam were conducting a joint search and rescue, he said but gave no details. China has also sent two maritime rescue ships to the South China Sea to help in any rescue, state television said on one of its microblogs.

"We are extremely worried," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Beijing before the Vietnamese report that the plane had crashed. "The news is very disturbing. We hope everyone on the plane is safe."

The flight left Kuala Lumpur at 12.21 a.m. (11.21 a.m. ET Friday) but no trace had been found of the plane hours after it was due to land in the Chinese capital at 6.30 a.m. (5.30 p.m. ET Friday) the same day.

"We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370," Jauhari said.

Malaysia Airlines said people from at least 14 nationalities were among the 227 passengers - at least 152 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French and three Americans. Two infants were among the passengers.

If it is confirmed that the plane has crashed, the loss would mark the second fatal accident involving a Boeing 777 in less than a year and by far the worst since the jet entered service in 1995.

An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-200ER crash-landed in San Francisco in July 2013, killing three passengers and injuring more than 180.

Boeing said it was aware of reports that the Malaysia Airlines plane was missing and was monitoring the situation but had no further comment. The flight was operating as a China Southern Airlines codeshare.

An official at the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said the plane had failed to check in as scheduled at 1721 GMT while it was flying over the sea between Malaysia and Ho Chi Minh city.

(This version of the story corrects number of Indonesians, Indians onboard after airline issued new breakdown of nationalities)

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, Jonathan Standing and Natalie Thomas in BEIJING, Nguyen Phuong Linh in HANOI and Alwyn Scott in NEW YORK; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-malaysiaairlines-flight-20140307,0,6253650.story

[shamu726]

No immediate sign of missing plane off Malaysia coast, official says

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian naval vessels saw no immediate sign of wreckage when they reached the maritime area off the country's northeast coast where a missing Malaysia Airlines flight last made contact on Saturday, a senior rescue official said.

Malaysia has sent three maritime enforcement ships and a navy vessel to the area, backed by three helicopters, a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency official told Reuters.

"Our aircraft asset spotted an orange speck in the sea where the last signal came from. We sent a vessel to search the area and it was confirmed that it was nothing," the official told Reuters.

Beijing-bound flight MH370, operating a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, last made contact with air traffic controllers 120 nautical miles off the east coast Malaysian town of Kota Bharu, the airline's top official had said earlier.

Source: Reuters

[nanana1]

Thanks for the updates ! :angelnot:

Edited March 9, 2014 by nanana1

[shamu726]

UPDATE [9:41pm]: Three big news agencies (Vietnam Television Station, Tuoi Tre News, VNExpress) said that:

• 4:30 PM, an AN26 aircraft detected a sign similar to oil streaks 20km in the sea. This oil streak is managed by VN.
• Then, AN26 aircraft spotted a smoke from the sea but not clearly defined. 5:20 PM, AN26 aircraft found that smoke is another oil streak, near Tho Chu islands of VN.
• VN Navy ships are trying to approach 2 oil streaks.
• Maybe at midnight, VN Navy ships can approach the oil streaks.

Full story (Vietnamese).

For the passenger manifest of MH370, click here.

Edited March 8, 2014 by shamu726

[nanana1]

HO CHI MINH CITY (REUTERS) - Vietnamese rescue planes have spotted a column of smoke off its coastline along with large oil slicks, but it was not clear if they were connected to a missing Malaysia Airlines carrier, a transportation ministry official said on Saturday.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER plane carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew went missing off the Vietnamese coast early on Saturday as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and was presumed to have crashed.

"Vietnam rescue airplanes saw two oil spills and one smoke column in the area around 250 km west of Tho Chu island, but we can't confirm it's from that Malaysia plane," Pham Quy Tieu, vice minister of transportation, said.

"We sent two maritime boats and some military boats there to clarify, each boat with about 20 people. The oil spills are about 15km long. Those boats will be there in about three to four hours."

There were no reports of bad weather and no sign why the Malaysia Airlines plane would have vanished from radar screens about an hour after take-off.

A large number of planes and ships from several countries are scouring the area where the plane last made contact, about halfway between Malaysia and the southern tip of Vietnam.

[nanana1]

VIENNA (REUTERS) - An Austrian reported to have been aboard the Malaysia Airlines plane missing off the Vietnamese coast is safe at home and his passport was stolen, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Vienna said on Saturday.

"Our embassy got the information that there was an Austrian on board. That was the passenger list from Malaysia Airlines. Our system came back with a note that this is a stolen passport," he said.

Police found the man at his home.

The passport was stolen two years ago while he was travelling in Thailand, the spokesman said.

[nanana1]

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - An Italian man, whose name was listed as having boarded the MAS flight MH370 that was reported missing on Saturday, was not on board the plane.

According to reports, someone else had used the passport of Luigi Maraldi to board the plane. He is alive and well in Thailand on a holiday.

Italy's foreign ministry functionary, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Mr Maraldi had reported his passport stolen on Aug 1 last year.

According to Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, Mr Maraldi returned home after his passport was stolen and had a new one issued.

[dMog]

terrorists attack american interests....

[shamu726]

FBI Sends Agents to Assist In Investigation

SEPANG, March 9 — CNN’s Christine Amanpour reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is sending its agents to Malaysia “to support the investigation into the disappearance of Flight MH370”, as air search operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane continued.

Meanwhile, Department of Civil Aviation Director-General Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said today that operations commenced at seven this morning with three aircrafts.

He added that sea operations had continued all night but no sign of the missing MH370 aircraft was found.

“So far, there is no report of any sighting,” he told reporters at the Sam Sama Hotel here.

http://my.news.yahoo.com/air-search-operations-mh370-continued-morning-three-aircrafts-014800946.html

Edited March 9, 2014 by shamu726

[shamu726]

Two more Europeans passengers with suspect identities onboard missing MH370

Authorities have yet to confirm the identities of two more European passengers on flight MH370, adding to two others using stolen passports in the Malaysia Airlines plane which vanished over the Malaysia-Vietnam maritime border yesterday.

The Malaysian Insider understands that all four had bought their flight tickets from China Southern Airlines, the Malaysia Airlines codeshare partner for the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route.

"The background checks with the embassies are being done but these two cannot be confirmed," a source told The Malaysian Insider, adding that both were from the same country.

The Daily Telegraph's Beijing correspondent Malcolm Moore wrote in his Twitter microblog that the Chinese airline had sold seven tickets for the redeye flight, which carried 239 people, including 12 crew members, when it vanished.

More than half of the passengers, 153 to be exact, are Chinese nationals. There are 14 other nationalities on the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, including 38 Malaysians.

Malaysian authorities have downplayed the significance of those flying on stolen passports, with Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi saying last night that they could not reveal too many details about security.

"We have reviewed the closed-circuit television video footage pertaining to passengers and their baggage.

"So far, we are satisfied with everything," Aziz said, adding that the authorities were not ruling out any possibilities at this juncture.

Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya cautioned against further speculation over those with suspect identities.

"These are reports which we need to form. As far as we are concerned, it is just a report.

"We are working foreign embassies to ensure we can confirm the report... Speculations have begun since this morning and every speculation has been squashed," he was quoted as saying by the Malaysiakini newsportal.

http://my.news.yahoo.com/two-more-europeans-passengers-suspect-identities-onboard-missing-005206266.html

[shamu726]

Edited March 9, 2014 by shamu726

[oliverjia]

at least 4 fake passports were used during boarding process. Mostly likely terrorism is involved.

[shamu726]

Rescue teams looking for flight have widened their search area, the Malaysian transport minister says.

They are investigating the possibility the plane turned back after losing contact, Hishammuddin Hussein said.

He said investigators were checking the entire passenger list and that counter terrorism units have been informed.

Air and sea rescue teams have been searching an area of the South China Sea south of Vietnam. Mr Hussein told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that this area had now been widened.

"We are looking at the possibility of an aircraft turn-back," he said. "Different locations will have to be identified."

Vietnamese navy ships have reached two oil slicks which were spotted earlier, but they found no signs of wreckage.

Suspect'

Mr Hussein said that at least four names on the passenger list were "suspect", but the whole manifest was being investigated.

Mr Hussein said international agencies including the FBI had joined the investigation and that all angles were being examined.

"Our own intelligence have been activated, and of course, the counterterrorism units... from all the relevant countries have been informed," he said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26502843

[nanana1]

Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: Debris spotted but unclear if it's from MH370, says Chinese official

Published on Mar 09, 2014

12:59 PM

By Esther Teo & Rachel Chang In Beijing

Some debris has been spotted in the seas between Malaysia and Vietnam but it is unclear whether it came from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Chinese official said in Beijing on Sunday.

Mr Li Jiaxiang, chief of Civil Aviation Administration of China, was speaking at the sidelines of the tail-end of China's ongoing National People's Congress (NPC), or its annual national parliament meetings, where thousands of delegates have gathered in the Chinese capital.

"We are still unclear about the exact situation and position of the plane, and hold hope that the passengers are miraculously alive," he said, according to a report by China News.

"It is also unclear at the moment if the plane was involved in a terrorist attack," he added.

The Boeing 777-200 is a "mature plane model" and it is rare for it to have gone missing for more than 30 hours, said Mr Tang Jun, general manager of AVIC Aircraft Corporation, also on the sidelines of the NPC.

"Since we are unable to get any signals from the plane, the likelihood that it might have broken up in pieces mid-flight is high. If so, the main causes could be a thunderstorm or adverse weather conditions or possibly explosives on the plane," he was quoted as saying in the same report.

Meanwhile, state-run Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday that two warships of the Chinese navy, "Jinggangshan" and "Mianyang", are on their way to the area where the missing plane may have crashed.

Chinese Maritime Police 3411, a 4000-tonnne vessel, was on duty in nearby sea areas and could be the first Chinese vessel to arrive on the scene early Sunday afternoon, state media said.

Family members of the flight's passengers are currently staying at Crowne Hotel Beijing Lido, accompanied by about 100 staff from Malaysia Airlines who arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The media has not been informed or any other press conference and the situation has been described as tense as relatives anxiously wait for news with a middle-aged woman, overwhelmed with emotions, fainting at the hotel lobby.

[shamu726]

UPDATE [1.20pm]: Department of Civil Aviation clarifies earlier statement by the Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, saying only two – not four – passengers had boarded the flight using stolen passports.

CCTV footage shows the two individuals from the check-in point to departure. Footage will be used for investigations.

Malaysia Airlines says a portion of the aircraft wingtip had been repaired by Boeing and was certified safe to fly. They dismissed the possibility of a technical problem and any form of threat prior to this.

A Malaysian military radar showed trace of flight MH370 turning back before it vanished although the pilots did not issue any distress signals. Read it here.

[nanana1]

Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: MAS tells relatives of MH370 passengers in China to "expect the worst"

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has told relatives of passengers on flight MH370 to "expect the worst" as the search for the missing plane stretches to more than 36 hours.

"But I want to emphasise that as we have not found the aircraft, we will continue trying our best to search for the airplane," said Mr Ignatius Ong, spokesman of the airlines, at a press conference at a Beijing hotel on Sunday.

He said both naval and air forces are working to locate the plane.

MAS is working with the Malaysian embassy in Beijing to facilitate visa applications for those who want to fly to Kuala Lumpur, he said, adding that the next of kin of all passengers have been contacted.

Mr Ong declined to answer questions about the number of passengers on the flight who were said to be using fake passports.

Media reports have said there were four such passengers.

But in Malaysia, the authorities said on Sunday they have CCTV recordings of two passengers who were said to have used false passports to board the Beijing-bound flight.

Department of Civil Aviation director-general Azaruddin Abdul Rahman said there were only two such passengers, not four as earlier reported by the media.

Earlier, two men - an Italian and an Austrian - had confirmed that they were not on the flight despite their names appearing on the manifest. Their passports were reported stolen in Thailand up to two years ago.

Mr Ong also said that the FBI has not contacted the Beijing command centre.

US media reports have said the FBI is sending agents and technical experts to assist a team probing the disappearance of the plane.

On rumours that one of the passengers' phone rang when a relative dialled the number, Mr Ong said this information has been passed on to the Malaysian and Chinese authorities. But he added that he has personally called the number and there was no ringing tone.

Meanwhile, about 100 family members have signed a petition claiming that MAS is "hiding the truth" over the missing plane.

[Reefa]

Thanks for keeping us updated all..

[iih1]

we can imagine if we have some relative there, we hope and pray for their safety
hopefully it's not the terrorists attack. and thanks for update.

[nanana1]

Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: Vietnam reports object in sea that may be from plane

PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - A Vietnamese navy plane has spotted an object suspected of belonging to a Malaysian jetliner that went missing early on Saturday with 239 people on board, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said on its website on Sunday.

The authority said it was too dark to be certain the object was part of the missing plane, and that more aircraft would be dispatched to investigate the site, in waters off southern Vietnam, in the morning.

Malaysian officials had earlier said no wreckage had yet been found, despite a search involving 34 aircraft and 40 ships.

Edited March 9, 2014 by nanana1

[Shadowx]