BBC Online :
Australia will take control of the “southern vector” search for the missing Malaysian plane, its PM says, as a multinational effort continues.
Malaysian officials say the plane was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position.
More than 20 nations have been asked to help search for flight MH370, and evaluate radar and satellite data.
There has also been scrutiny of the last communication from the plane.
Malaysian officials said on Sunday that the last words from the cockpit – “All right, good night” – came after the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which transmits key information about the plane to the ground, had been deliberately switched off.
On Saturday police searched the homes of Captain Zaharie Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid. A flight simulator taken from the captain’s home was being re-assembled and examined at police headquarters, officials said.
Friends of both pilots – who investigators say did not ask to fly together – have expressed disbelief at the possibility of their involvement.
Investigators are also looking at passengers, engineers and other ground staff who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off in their search for clues.
Malaysia has now asked other countries around the region and beyond to review their radar playbacks, both primary (mainly military) and secondary (chiefly civilian).
This is a region where there is growing investment in advanced defence capabilities. But there may be questions for other countries too as to whether their air defence arrangements are quite as they appear, or whether there are more gaps.
The plane was apparently at one stage heading in the direction of India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands. But it has been reported that military radars there might not even have been operating, as the threat level there was perceived as low.
The plane, carrying a total of 239 passengers and crew, left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time (16:40 GMT) on 8 March.
It disappeared off air traffic controllers’ screens at about 01:20, when it was over the South China Sea.
Malaysian officials said on Saturday that according to a military radar, the aircraft then turned and flew back over Malaysia before heading in a north-west direction.
