Investigators of the case of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are now focusing on a suicide attempt by the pilot or first officer as a possible explanation for the jetliner’s disappearance.
Malaysian police are sifting through the backgrounds of the pilots, flight and ground staff for any clues or motive in what they say is now being handled as a criminal investigation.
Asked if pilot or co-pilot suicide was a line of inquiry, Malaysian acting transport minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said: “We are looking at it.” But it was only one of the possibilities under investigation, he added.
According to US and Europeans security sources, intensive efforts by various governments to investigate the backgrounds of everyone onboard Flight MH370 had not, as of yesterday, turned up any information linking an individual to militant groups or anyone with a known criminal or political motive to hijack the aircraft.
Malaysian Special Branch officers searched the homes of the flight’s captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and 27-year old first officer Fariq Abdul Hamid on Saturday. Among the items taken for examination was a flight simulator Zaharie had built in his home.
Story: Reuters
