The theory comes
after it was revealed the final “all right, good night” message from the
plane’s cockpit came 14 minutes after the flight’s ACARS reporting
system was disabled.
Now Malaysian Authorities
are seeking diplomatic permission to investigate the theory that the
Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers have been flown to a Taliban
controlled area of northwestern Pakistan and Afghanistan, The
Independent reported.
It is thought the plane
may have dropped to an altitude of less than 5,000 ft to evade being
detected by radar as it flew over other countries.
An official confirmed the plane had flown at a low lever over Kelentan, Malaysia.
"It's possible that the aircraft had hugged the terrain in some areas, that are mountainous to avoid radar detection".
It
is also thought that the final message from the plane, "all right, good
night", may have been made by the co-pilot rather than the pilot.
Experts have said only a trained person would have the skills necessary to turn of the plane’s tracking system.
Following
the developments, the backgrounds of the pilots are being investigated,
as a search of one of their homes revealed a sophisticated flight
simulator.
The news comes after police searched the home of pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and his number two, Fariq Abdul Hamid.
It is understood that laptops from Captain Zaharie’s home are being studied, including a flight simulator programme.
He
was said to be a “fanatical” supporter of the country’s opposition
leader Anwar Ibrahim and had attended the trial where the politician was
jailed for homosexuality just hours before the flight.
Zaharie’s wife and three children had moved out of the family home in Kuala Lumpur the day before the plane went missing.
The
search for the missing jet now involves 26 countries with experts
examining 657 sites where the Boeing 777 could have landed.
Speaking
at a press conference this morning, Malaysia's transport minister said
two iranian passengers traveling on the flight with stolen passports
were being re-investigated, while security on Malaysian flights has been
stepped up.
Initially discounted, the hijacking theory now tops the list of possible explanations for flight MH370’s disappearance.
Experts
said deliberately shutting down the plane’s transponder, which signals
its position to satellites, suggested the crew did this voluntarily or
were forced to do so by someone else.
Major
General Affendi Buang, of the Malaysian Air Force, said: “This will tell
you something because this is something not normal that the pilot would
do.”
It has been suggested that at least three different pieces of signalling equipment were disabled.
One
of them was located outside the cockpit, implying at least two people
collaborated in the hijack. Aviation expert James Hall said hijackers
could have taken advantage of sloppy air defence in the region, adding:
“They could have been looking for the weakest link and found it in
Malaysia. They may have been trying to hijack the plane for financial
reasons or something similar to 9/11.”
Crash expert George Bibel said: “The plane changed course – that screams some kind of evil activity.”
Yesterday
the FBI broke its silence on the mystery saying the disappearance could
be an act of piracy, adding the possibility that passengers and crew
are being held for ransom could not be ruled out.
Only four weeks ago, an Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot hijacked his own plane to seek political asylum in Switzerland.
