(SOS) COPY PASTE YAHOO UPDATE 7:14pm]: Acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and other officials just concluded a press conference with the media. It was an intense affair, with the media far more aggressive than they had been before.
Here are some highlights from what transpired:
Q: Will search and rescue ops now move to search and recovery ops?
A: Search and rescue will continue. We still have hope.
Q: There is a lack of transparency and communication. What is Malaysia hiding?
A: What we are going through is unprecedented, not easy coordinating with so many countries, so many vessels (and such a) vast area. We will never give up hope, we owe this to the families.
Q: Did the aircraft turn back?
A: There is a 'possible' turnback. Why 'possible'? Because we are trying to corroborate with all radars, including civil radars. We have been very consistent in what we have been saying in the last few days. The target disappeared at 1:30 in the morning. Primary radar didn’t pick it up at that point in time. Defence primary radar was analyzed same day. Indication of possibility of air turn back. That’s why search was conducted in Straits of Malacca.
The last plot was at 02:15, 200miles northwest of penang. But doesn’t give identification of aircraft.
Q: You don’t seem to know what's going on. This is utter confusion.
A: I don’t think so. It’s only confusion if you want to see it as confusion.
Q: What about Boeing 777 warnings about fuselage? Are you confident about structural integrity?
A: The aircraft is airworthy.
Q: This specific plane?
A: Have to check. But this (that all aircraft be airworthy) is a policy.
Q: What about the conflicting information on the five passengers?
A: The five passengers were on board. No baggage offloaded. Those that booked that didn’t arrive were replaced from reserve (standby) list. Four didn’t turn up. Standby passengers replaced four that didn’t turn up.
On the search of unidentified aircraft, here's what they had to say:
A: The military sat down to think of areas to expand the search. We were baffled that there were no distress signals. So we decided that we should review if our air defense radar tracked this aircraft. When we looked at teh recordings, we looked at if there was a possibility the aircraft turned back. We're not sure if same aircraft, but it's in same area. We didn't track it in real time. we saw recording of data.
Q: How long with search and rescue last?
A: We won’t stop operations until we find the aircraft.
Q: Why didn't fighter jets intercept the UFO?
A: To radar operators, it is a trail of a civilian aircraft going north and not classified as hostile.
Q: What about allegations that co-pilot allowed passengers into cockpit in previous flight?
A: It is against company policy. We are against any acts which will compromise the safety of the aircraft.