As the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight carrying 239 passengers expands, so does the mystery surrounding the bizarre disappearance.
On Monday, authorities confirmed that two large oil slicks found off the southern tip of Vietnam and believed to belong to the missing flight did not, in fact, come from the aircraft. A piece of debris that was also spotted — believed to be a door or a flotation device — also did not originate from the plane.
With no physical evidence, authorities investigating the disappearance are left scratching their heads over the fate of Flight MH370, but new clues suggest the doomed flight may have tried to return to Kuala Lumpur during its journey.
Air force chief Rodzali Daud said military radar indicated that Flight MH370 “may have made a turn back,” but did not say how far it got. “We are trying to make sense of this,” Daud said.
That theory, along with speculation that the cause of the crash ranged from catastrophic mechanical failure to terrorism (fanned by a flight manifest which showed two passengers had flown with stolen passports) is still being investigated, but in the meantime military ships and aircrafts from a half dozen nations are continuing their searching for the Boeing 777.
According to CBS:
The U.S. Navy has provided the USS Pinckney, a guided missile destroyer that carries two MH-60R helicopters, and a P-3C Orion with long-range search, radar and communications capabilities.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this tragic event,” the Navy said in a statement.
Authorities are telling family members of the missing flight’s passengers to expect the worst. At Beijing’s airport, authorities posted a notice asking relatives and friends of passengers to gather at a hotel to wait for further information.
We’ll keep you updated with the latest developments as they come in.
SOURCE: CBS | VIDEO SOURCE: News, Inc.
