A Malaysian official who is part of the investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 confirmed that the passenger jet was hijacked.
The unnamed official said, however, that it was still unknown why the aircraft, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was taken on March 8.
When asked by the Associated Press about the possibility of a hijacking, the official replied, “It is conclusive.”
The South China Morning Post reported today that the hijacker might be one or both of the pilots, or at least someone with flying expertise and experience.
The AFP also reports a senior military official saying that Malaysian investigators now believe that Flight MH370 may have been redirected towards the Indian Ocean by someone with a working knowledge of modern jetliner flight and radar positions.
The Wall Street Journal suggested the technical expertise required to silence the many communications systems onboard MH370 might point to the hijacking being an inside job.
Yesterday, Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin refused to confirm speculation, but said Malaysian authorities are not dismissing the possibility Flight MH370 having ben hijacked, as new leads suggest the aircraft may have been deliberately set on a new heading.
Local and US sources are now also convinced that the aircraft recorded by military radar as having flown west across Peninsular Malaysia and towards the Indian Ocean was Flight MH370.
Story: The Malay Mail Online
