Wild Weather Halts Search, Malaysia: Missing Jet Crashed at Sea

Local Editor

Wild weather halted the search Tuesday for wreckage from the Malaysia Airlines jet that crashed into the Indian Ocean, frustrating attempts to determine why it veered off course and bring closure to grieving relatives.

The air and sea mission for MH370 was suspended for the day due to gale force winds, driving rain and huge waves, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority which is coordinating the multinational hunt southwest of Perth.
It was another body blow for relatives, whose hopes were extinguished Monday when a somber Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said new analysis of satellite data placed the flight's last position "far from any possible landing sites."

"It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean," Najib said.
The plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard - two thirds of them Chinese - en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The announcement touched off deep despair among relatives in both cities.

In Beijing, family members who have gathered in a hotel throughout the crisis, repeatedly raging at the airline over the agonizing 17-day wait for information, were crushed when the carrier finally broke the news at a meeting in the hotel's ballroom.

Some burst out, sobbing uncontrollably, held by fellow family members while others collapsed and were taken away on stretchers. Others quietly wiped away tears.

The premier said Monday's conclusions were reached based on new analysis of satellite data by Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, and the satellite telecommunications firm Inmarsat.
He gave no specifics such as precisely where the plane may have been lost.
Numerous recent sightings of suspected debris, by satellites as well as aircraft crisscrossing the region, had fueled the belief that the plane crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Confirmed wreckage - to say nothing of the black box and its flight data - are yet to be found.

Malaysia believes the plane was deliberately diverted by someone on board. But the absence of firm evidence has fueled intense speculation, competing theories, and tormented the families of the missing.

Leading scenarios include a hijacking, pilot sabotage or a sudden mid-air crisis that incapacitated the flight crew and left the plane to fly on auto-pilot until it ran out of fuel.

The last known contact with MH370 was made over the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam. For reasons unknown, it backtracked over the Malaysian peninsula.

The search swung deep into the Indian Ocean last week after initial satellite images depicted large floating objects there, and a flurry of debris sightings continued into Monday.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he hoped retrieving the suspected debris "will take us a step closer to resolving this tragic mystery."
The US Navy has ordered a specialized device sent to the region to help find the "black box" of flight and cockpit voice data.

Australia said the search for debris grew to 10 aircraft on Monday, with two Chinese military aircraft joining Australian, US, and Japanese planes. Chinese, British and Australian naval vessels are also involved.

As part of an investigation into the crash, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said police have interviewed more than 100 people, including families of both the pilot and co-pilot.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team