Malaysian Press Conference 2014-03-14
(Will update post with stuff from PC)
PRE-AMBLE
- 57 ships, 48 aircraft in search, 13 countries involved, priority remains finding plane, etc etc etc
- As is standard procedure, investigation will not release information till corroboration is done. Working closely with US team whose officials are on the ground in Malaysia since Sunday. International team working on verifying radar detailed info but nothing to confirm atm
- Areas searched now includes Indian Ocean and South China Sea now, as circumstances force to widen search
- Yesterday, we rejected report re: engine data. We checked with Boeing and Rolls Royce. Quote: "Rolls Royce concurs with statement yesterday"
- Oil slicks not related to MH370
QUESTIONS - LOCAL
- Re: turnback, reiterating statement yesterday, military radar not conclusive, that has not changed
- Working closely with team from US to get satellite data. Cannot reveal information right now, still under investigation. This evening, team from Aircraft Investigation Board UK, & Rolls Royce experts arrived. Exploring possibility of satellite communication.
- Regarding hierarchy of investigation - Under protocol of international civil aviation, in this case it's still categorized as missing aircraft. If location cannot be determined, the state of registration has to spearhead investigation. (In this case, Malaysia), "We are following that protocol"
- Cannot confirm that it was not hijacking. We are very consistent in saying we are looking at all possibilities.
- Re: contacting other airlines that this happened to - We accept all assistance. However this situation cannot directly be compared as the aircraft hasn't been found (?????)
- Re: other country's radar data - question dodged
- Re: American statement about "we received data from Malaysian officials" - unless a specific name is dropped, not entertaining these questions.
- (Malay answer) - Was it a deliberate transponder shutdown? We only know the transponder shut off. Whether it's deliberate, is still under investigation.
- (Malay answer) - Seismic pings from china? - No information on that.
- (Malay answer) - How long will the search go on? - We are appreciative of local and international support - we will keep looking; this is why the search area is expanding. I'm feeling appreciative and it's hard facing the families when we have no information. On a personal level, motivation comes from the fact so many countries are involved with so much sophisticated equipment.
- Vietnamese Government cooperation has been very positive to the extent that Malaysian S&R is allowed to conduct in their waters. Whatever status they put on their operations, we are still commited.
QUESTIONS - INTERNATIONAL
- Looking at possibility of cabin crew being involved
- Search being expanded because we have not found anything in previous search area
- Regarding shutdown of communications: Four or five possibilities: It could be done intentionally, it could be done under duress, it could be done because of malfunction. Regarding foul play by crew, police's jurisdiction. Not going to speculate.
- re: "The experts from US statement said satellite pings": Counter-question - "WHO made those statements?"
- Experts still working whether ping on military radar is in fact MH370. As soon as that is verified, can focus search west. Until then, South China Sea needs to be searched too. FAA/NTSB started yesterday and said Malaysia was right to search both west and east for now.
- Pilot's home simulation - Everyone is free to have their own hobby. Quite a few pilots do have flight simulators at home. Police have not searched that home yet. Investigations regarding pilot is still ongoing.
- Why have you not searched pilot's home? - Cannot say anything until police investigation finishes. IGP looking at psychological, personal, etc.
- Regarding changing information: This is what the press conferences are for. We have rebutted a lot of 'information'. The conflicting information is not coming from our team. It's coming from speculation which we feel the public needs to know we rebutt on a daily basis.
- No confirmed plot of MH370. We are not discounting the possibility of that happening.
- Clarification: We did not outright deny flight for 5 hours. We said it's not corroborated.
- Regarding transparency and full disclosure from Boeing and Rolls Royce. Don't think it's warranted as they have been working with us.
- Complied to all AD and SVs, the airplane was flight worthy
PC end
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