Will the agony ever end for MH370 families? Now search teams think they may be looking in the wrong place for debris amid fresh rumour it may have LANDED
- Sources with the search team say the aircraft may have landed somewhere, rather than crashed into the Indian Ocean as previously believed
- If no debris is found in the next few days the team may shift search focus
- Fits with alleged sightings of MH370 at the time of disappearance
One
of the sources told the New Straits Times: 'A communications satellite
is meant for communication...the name is self explanatory.
'The reason investigators were forced to adopt a new algorithm to calculate the last known location of MH370 was because there was no global positioning system following the aircraft as the transponder went off 45 minutes into the flight.'
The source added that the international team was looking at adding more ships and aircraft to the existing search area in the Indian Ocean - as well as widening the area because there were fears that searchers had been 'looking for the plane in the wrong place'.
'We can't focus on one place too long as the ocean is very big, although the search team has been following the leads received and analysed.
'It is by luck if we find the wreckage using the Bluefin-21 (the US-owned underwater search vehicle).
'There is no physical evidence and we are totally depending on scientific calculations since day one, including the pings.'
With the search now into its 45th day, Malaysian authorities are hoping more countries will come forward to share their crucial satellite and radar data.
The paper said it understood that the team had not been receiving as much information from countries as it had hoped.
Suggesting that national security of various countries was involved, the source added: 'We have mainly been provided with selective data.'
The source said that because the information potentially involved the national security of the country from which it was requested, only partial raw data had been provided, making it difficult for Malaysian authorities to get the full picture.
'The data involved would be official information, so the (foreign) country cannot simply give it to us on paper or in soft copy - they will select only the ones that can be revealed.'
The Malaysians had asked the US government to view data collected by its secret base, Pine Gap, in the Australian outback.
But the request had been denied, sources said, after the US had said that no contact had been made with MH370.
'We can't be forcing them to show us the data, as they had already said there was nothing,' one source said.
'The reason investigators were forced to adopt a new algorithm to calculate the last known location of MH370 was because there was no global positioning system following the aircraft as the transponder went off 45 minutes into the flight.'
The source added that the international team was looking at adding more ships and aircraft to the existing search area in the Indian Ocean - as well as widening the area because there were fears that searchers had been 'looking for the plane in the wrong place'.
'We can't focus on one place too long as the ocean is very big, although the search team has been following the leads received and analysed.
'It is by luck if we find the wreckage using the Bluefin-21 (the US-owned underwater search vehicle).
'There is no physical evidence and we are totally depending on scientific calculations since day one, including the pings.'

A map of the search area, which is 5,700 feet
off the coast of Perth. The area that had been search, as of Sunday 20th
April is shown in grey

A source told the New Straits Times that if they
were to find debris from the jet it would be down to 'luck' and they
might need to expand the search

Sources said that while the plane could be on land, the possibility of a specific country hiding the plane was 'absurd'
With the search now into its 45th day, Malaysian authorities are hoping more countries will come forward to share their crucial satellite and radar data.
The paper said it understood that the team had not been receiving as much information from countries as it had hoped.
Suggesting that national security of various countries was involved, the source added: 'We have mainly been provided with selective data.'
The source said that because the information potentially involved the national security of the country from which it was requested, only partial raw data had been provided, making it difficult for Malaysian authorities to get the full picture.
'The data involved would be official information, so the (foreign) country cannot simply give it to us on paper or in soft copy - they will select only the ones that can be revealed.'
The Malaysians had asked the US government to view data collected by its secret base, Pine Gap, in the Australian outback.
But the request had been denied, sources said, after the US had said that no contact had been made with MH370.
'We can't be forcing them to show us the data, as they had already said there was nothing,' one source said.

The search is currently in its 45th day and
sources told the New Straits Times that the search team might be looking
in the wrong place

A Chinese relative of a passenger on the missing
flight reacted to news at a meeting at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing
yesterday
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