MH370 Following is the updated chronology of missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370:
March 8 - A search and rescue (SAR) operation for the missing aircraft was launched at 5.30am, involving 15 Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft, including four Hercules C130, a CN 235, four EC 725 and two Augusta helicopters, and nine ships comprising six from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and three from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
- MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya confirmed the disappearance of the aircraft at 7.30am.
The passengers comprised 38 from Malaysia, China (153), Indonesia (seven), Australia (seven), France (three), America (three), New Zealand (two), Ukraine (two), Canada (two), Russia (one), Italy (one), Taiwan (one), Holland (one) and Austria (one).
March 9 - Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said search area is extended from the South China Sea to the Melaka Strait. Several countries including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and the United States deploy their men and assets to aid the search.
- The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) radar recorded the plane, as later confirmed, heading towards the west coast of the peninsula through the Malacca Strait before it went missing 200 nautical miles off Penang's northwest at 2.15am.
- DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman confirmed that two passengers boarded the aircraft with fake passports under the guise of an Italian and Austrian who had earlier reported their passports were stolen.
March 10 - Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak pledged that the government will do its best in the SAR operation for Flight MH370.
- MMEA received test results from the oil slick spotted off Vietnam's coast, which came back negative for jet fuel. The oil was used as fuel for cargo ships.
March 11 - Malaysian police and Interpol disclosed that the two men travelling on stolen passports were Iranian nationals Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 19, and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Erza, 29, with no apparent links to terrorist groups.
They were believed to be trying to migrate to Europe.
March 12 - Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein clarified a number of issues: the possibility of Flight MH370 flying pass the Malacca Strait, cooperation of foreign aviation experts and Flight MH370 manifest.
Four passengers who did not check-in were replaced by four passengers from the waiting list. All passengers boarded the aircraft. No luggage was removed from the plane.
The two Iranian men entered and left Malaysia by Flight MH370, using the same passports.
March 13 - Hishammuddin dismissed claims that the missing aircraft may have flown for about four hours past the time it disappeared from the tracking systems.
- No link in satellite images: China's civil aviation chief said there was no proof that floating objects in the South China Sea captured in satellite images on Sunday were connected to the missing MAS plane. Chinese authorities also say the satellite images were mistakenly issued.
March 14 - International search expanded westwards towards the Indian Ocean.
The United States (US) Navy Seventh Fleet's USS Kidd arrived in the northwestern section of the Melaka Strait to assist in the search efforts.
- The authorities were looking at four to five possibilities on how a missing Malaysian airliner’s transponders could possibly shut down, says Hishammuddin.
March 15 - The prime minister said he cannot confirm reports of a hijacking and maintains all possible causes for the plane's disappearance were under investigation.
- Najib said the FAA, NTSB, AAIB and the Malaysian authorities are working separately on the same primary radar data that was obtained from the data service provider, and the last confirmed communication between the plane and the satellite was at 8.11am on Saturday, March 8.
The prime minister says Flight MH370's communication system and transponder were switched off when the plane reached the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and between the Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, respectively.
Najib announced that the plane was flown for hours in a manner "consistent with deliberate action" after dropping off the primary radar.
He says the plane's last communication with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors: a northern corridor stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand or southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
Najib said SAR mission enters a new phase, in the northern and southern corridors. Australia and Indonesia lead search in their own regions. A total of 26 countries are involved in the search.
Najib said that SAR ended its operations in the South China Sea.
March 16 - Hishammuddin said no ransom demanded over the missing Flight MH370. Hence, the police are looking into four aspects of investigation.
On the SAR, he said Malaysian officials were liaising with 15 countries along the northern and southern corridors for assistance, in relation to the missing aircraft.
All MAS ground staff, engineers involved in handling the MH370 aircraft were under investigation by the police.
- Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar ( left ) said missing MH370 was investigated under Section 130 (C) Penal Code for hijacking, terrorism and sabotage offences, Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and Aviation Offences Act 2003.
Police seized flight simulator from the house of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing MH370.
March 17 - Hishammuddin said the SAR multinational operations involving 26 countries have begun in southern and northern corridors.
- The defence minister pledges to review the nation's radar system once
the SAR operation for the plane was completed.
March 18 - Hishammuddin said the SAR operation area for the missing MH370 covers the so-called southern and northern corridors - a total of 2.24 million square nautical miles.
- He said the search operation focused on four tasks; gathering information from satellite surveillance; analysis of surveillance radar data; increasing air and surface assets and increasing the number of technical and subject matter experts.
- Three million people joined in one of the largest crowd sourcing efforts led by satellite operator DigitalGlobe to scour 24,000km for MH370 SAR area as more images are added daily, including areas in the Indian Ocean.
March 19 - Hishammuddin dismissed a report claiming that a missing Malaysian airliner was sighted flying low over the Maldives.
- Five relatives of Chinese passengers onboard the missing flight cause a commotion when they try twice to gatecrash the media centre at the Sama-Sama Hotel.
March 20 - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot called Najib Abdul Razak at 10am, to say that objects possibly related to MH370, spotted in the southern Indian Ocean, located about 2,500km southwest of Perth.
- Hishammuddin said the SAR operation continues despite the Australian finding, until further verification can be made.
March 21 - Malaysia was still waiting for information from the Australian authority on whether the objects sighted in the southern Indian Ocean Thursday, were related to the missing flight MH370.
- Hishammuddin said International intelligence agencies did not find any unusual items from the passenger manifest of the missing flight MH370.
- Hishammuddin said background check on the sole Ukranian passenger on board of missing flight MH370 had been cleared by Ukraine's authority.
March 22 - The communication transcript that allegedly took place between the missing MH370 and air traffic control (ATC) the night it was reported missing on March 8, has been classified as inaccurate and invalid, said DCA.
- Hishammuddin said Chinese satellite spotted a floating object measuring 22.5 metres by 13 metres.
- Hishammuddin said No sightings of objects identified by Australian authorities some 2,500km southwest of Perth.
March 23 - Hishammuddin said Malaysia had relayed new satellite images from the French authorities to the Australian rescue co-ordination centre.
- Hishammuddin said as of 2.30pm Malaysia time, Australian officials informed Malaysia that they have not made any new sightings regarding MH370.
March 24 - Hishammuddin said more than 100 people have been interviewed by police, including the MH370 pilot's family.
- At 10PM, Najib announced that data released by Britain's Inmarsat satellite concluded that the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER (Flight MH370) ended in the southern Indian Ocean, West of Perth.
- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) expressed profound regret that its MH370 aircraft ended in the southern Indian Ocean, as announced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
- Bernama
