Timeline of events on Flight MH370
Malaysia
Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 carrying 239 people lost contact with air traffic
control some two hours after leaving Kuala Lumpur. It is still missing hours
after it had been scheduled to land in Beijing early Saturday morning. Based on
current information, here is a timeline:
Saturday,
March 8, 2014
12.40 am
- Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200 carrying 227 passengers from 14 nationalities
along with 12 crew members, took off from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.
1.22 am -
The plane was meant to transfer to Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh air traffic control
but never appeared.
2.41 am -
Malaysian air traffic control in Subang lost contact with the plane, some two
hours after it left Kuala Lumpur.
6.30 am -
The flight did not land in Beijing as scheduled.
7.24 am -
MAS announced it had lost contact with the flight.
11.14 am
- MAS held a news conference confirming the loss of contact with its aircraft.
MAS CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the last point of contact was about 120 nautical
miles east of Kota Baru, in the South China Sea area in airspace bordering
Vietnam.
1pm -
Second MAS conference scheduled but was delayed. Malaysia, Vietnam and China
are working to locate missing plane.
1.41pm -
State media reported Vietnam navy said plane crashed into sea near
Vietnam's Tho Chu island.
2.33pm -
At press conference held in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia's
transport minister said report on MH370 crash in Vietnam was 'not true'.
3.38pm -
Plane "could have" crashed into Malaysian maritime territory 153
miles off the coast of Vietnam's Tho Chu island, based on calculations provided
by Malaysian rescue authorities, a Vietnam navy officer said.
8.15pm -
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for emergency measures to locate the plane.
9.11pm -
Vietnamese search team spots two oil slicks in the sea off southern Vietnam.
10.46pm -
Reports emerge that one passenger from Italy was not on the flight, his
passport had been stolen in Thailand last year.
10.50pm -
Vietnamese search team spots column of smoke off Vietnamese coastline
Sunday,
March 9, 2014
12.04am -
Reports say a second passenger, from Austria, was also not on the flight. His
passport was stolen two years ago in Thailand. Both the imposters bought their
tickets from China Southern Airlines on a code share with Malaysia Airlines.
2.45am
- Malaysia's
Maritime Enforcement Agency intensifies search operations off the Kelantan
coast, where the missing plane was last spotted, after rescuers found a small
piece of canvas floating there.
10.02am
- Overnight search and rescue operations for the missing plane have turned
up nothing, the Malaysian authorities said.
10.42am
- Singapore's navy said it has sent two warships and a naval helicopter to
help in the six-country search for the plane. This is in addition to a
military transport plane that was deployed on Saturday.
11.20am
- Malaysian authorities are investigating the identities of at least two
other passengers on the flight, in addition to two who were found to be using
stolen passports, a security official said.
11.57am -
FBI is sending agents to probe disappearance of plane.
1.25pm -
Singapore's Ministry of Defence says two military transport planes, a naval
helicopter, two warships and a submarine support and rescue vessel are
currently involved in the search.
