Zee Media Bureau
Kuala Lumpur/New Delhi: Even as the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 has moved closer to India`s east coast, a BBC report on Friday said that there is a high possibility that before disappearing the Boeing 777-200 may have been flying for more than five hours.
It is believed the plane was sending automated signals to a satellite system long after radar contact was lost, the report said.
Flight MH370 vanished last Saturday night with 239 people on board.
In yet another twist to the mysterious disappearance of the plane on March 8, the Malaysian authorities have sought Indian assistance to scour an expanse of more than 9,000 sq km in the Bay of Bengal.
Search operations for the Malaysian jetliner, which mysteriously disappeared last Saturday, moved closer to the Chennai coast with India today readying to deploy its assets in the Bay of Bengal following a fresh request from Kuala Lumpur.
Conflicting reports compounding the mystery of the missing Flight MH370 continued to surface today with one report suggesting that the plane turned back after it lost radar contact and flew over Malaysia.
Another report quoting an unnamed US official said investigators were probing whether it was an act of piracy with the possibility of someone diverting the aircraft.
As joint search operations by 13 countries including India intensified, aviation experts reasoned that the Boeing 777-200 could not have flown undetected over such a long distance.
Widening its search in the Indian Ocean, Malaysia today sought radar data from its neighbours and India.
The request from Malaysia came a day after India joined the massive search operations by deploying six aircraft including its latest special surveillance P-8I plane and three helicopters under `Operation Searchlight`.
