Malaysia rejects reports over missing plane

March 14, 2014
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia on Thursday (March 13th) denied a media report that its missing airliner flew on for hours after last making contact, and said Chinese photos that raised hopes of a search breakthrough actually showed no wreckage, AFP reported.

  • Muslims take part in a special prayer Thursday (March 13th) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for people aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

    Muslims take part in a special prayer Thursday (March 13th) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for people aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

"Those reports are inaccurate," Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said of a Wall Street Journal report that data automatically sent to the ground from the aircraft's Rolls-Royce engines suggested the Boeing 777 was in the air for four hours after its last contact with air traffic control.

"Rolls-Royce and Boeing teams are here in Kuala Lumpur and have worked with MAS (Malaysia Airlines) and investigation teams since Sunday. These issues have never been raised," Hishammuddin said.

He also said China had told Malaysia that satellite photos released on the website of a Chinese state oceanic agency, apparently showing three large objects in a suspected crash site, were released "by mistake and did not show any debris".

Reader Comments
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    • ghazlan
      March 13, 2014 @ 10:03:25PM
    • Rather than rejecting outright why not give the news benefit of the doubt?

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