damage, but quite a scare there, anderson. they recovered, though, quite well. >> poppy, thanks very much.

primary. >> the confirmed timeline looks like this -- flight 370 takes off at 12:41 a.m. acars is transmitting normally at 1:07 a.m. at 1:19, the final words from the co-pilot "all right, good night" were received by air traffic control. >> can you tell us what you were doing inside the house? >> reporter: that led investigators believe that both acars and the plane's other main transponder were purposefully turned off and focused suspicion on the pilots. >> these movements are

consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> reporter: but monday, the ceo of malaysian airlines told us flight 370's acar systems might have been functioning and weren't supposed to transmit data until 1:37, well after the pilots reported everything okay. >> the last acars transmission was 1:07, okay? we don't know when the acars was switched off after that. it was supposed to transmit 30 minutes from there, another transmission, but that transmission did not come true. >> reporter: what does that mean? john, that means that we don't know if the pilots really switched any of that off. they may have suffered some kind of mechanical failure, electronic failure aboard that aircraft and lost both of those

systems. they had nothing to do with it. we do know that shortly after that the pilot made a very sharp turn, it was called a turnback, actually, by malaysian officials a couple of days after the plane went missing. that was all the way -- a week ago saturday and when we looked at that situation, a lot of people at that time thought the pilot was trying to make it home to kuala lumpur because they had a problem. if it wasn't the pilots, if it was a mechanical failure the question is this -- how could that plane continue to fly for six or seven hours? what about the flight crew? what about the passengers? what was going on on board the plane? these are the -- these are the real mysteries of this flight and most people that are looking at this right now realize we're still a long way from the answers. what's needed? the flight data recorders. we don't have them. john? >> and maybe those flight data recorders could be on the

southern part of that arc, that very wide area that they're searching. we now know that that is the focus of this search in many ways in the indian ocean. what's the latest there, jim? >> well, we know that the search assets have been greatly increased with japan, south korea, new zealand, australia, the united states, and others bringing in all kinds of advanced reconnaissance aircrafts -- aircraft in order to search that area. indonesia and australia have divided it up. fees ya indonesia is going to look specifically at the tropical region there in the indian ocean. so we have some progress on that front. we're looking and we believe we're looking in the right place. we just haven't found it yet. john? >> it is a very big place to look. thank you, jim clancy live for us there. there has been a lot of focus on the plane's acars, jim mentioned it. it stands for "aircraft

communications addressing and reporting system" and investigators are trying to determine when exactly the system was turned off on flight 370. i guess more importantly, by who. we heard that from jim clancey. right now they simply dent know the answer. martin savage shows us what the acars does and how it works. >> reporter: with this particular airline mystery, a lot of people are learning a lot about technology that up until now most of us knew nothing about. case in point, the acars system. let me kind of try and walk and talk you through it. first of all, i can bring it up on this screen down here, watch, i'll push a bus on the. this is a simple menu and it works very much kind of like your own home computer. there's a built-in mouse, i should be able to pull up the little cursor, you can see right here. and then by clicking on those various menus it's possible to send a text message down to somebody on the ground or for flight operations on the ground to message me.

that's one way acars can work. here's another way the system can work over here. this is really the brains of the whole aircraft here. the computer. and it's been programs before we took off with everything of our flight information, everything you need to know about this particular aircraft, where it's headed, how it's flying. and once again here you see acars, i can bring up the menu and there are various functions that i can use. this is a way to communicate beyond just radio. it is another backup system for communication and in remote areas this actually can work better than radio. it's also the system that will automatically in this case about every half hour send a message about what this airplane is doing -- speed, altitude, fuel, heading. all of those aspects fed into it. so when somebody would disable it, how would you do it? there is no on/off switch. you could degrade, in other

words turn off certain functions, but you couldn't turn it off unless you went down below decks and unplugged it. unlike, say, this thing, the transponder. another important device you've heard a lot about. this is what'dize if us on radar. but it does have an on/off switch. a simple one right here. one, two, three clicks and now we're no longer identified on the radar screens. two very different but critical pieces of communication equipment on this aircraft. if they can't be disabled the same way, it means that if they were somebody knew a lot about this plane. back to you. >> thanks to martin savage for that. malaysian authorities say the evidence they have indicates flight 370 was deliberately flown off course but so far there's been no claim of responsibility by any terror group. cnn's security analysts have more on that side of the story.

>> if this was a terrorism event it's puzzling there's been no credible claim of responsibility, there've been no demands as there would be in some hijacking. there's been no overt political act as there was on 9/11 when planes flew into the trade center and the pentagon. moreover, the kinds of groups that might have the capability or intention to do this don't exist. the groups that we know, uighur separatists have tried to hijack planes without success inside china. they have done terrorist attacks inside china but not outside china largely. and they've certainly shown no capabilities for a sophisticated hijacking. the al qaeda affiliate in the area of the world where andrew is reporting from, jamar islamiya has operated in malaysia in the past but they've been under a great deal of law enforcement pressure and their once-potent capabilities have declined and overall it -- you know, it would be puzzling for this group to attack a malaysian

carrier. after all, malaysia is a majority muslim country. typically these groups have targeted western embassies or hotels so terrorism seems one of the less likely scenarios. >> thanks to peter bergen, our security analyst. we'll continue to bring you the latest on the missing missile m airliner. vladimir putin will discuss crimea when he discusses russia's parliament later today. he has signed a decree recognizing their independence. on friday russian lawmakers will consider crimea's request to be incorporated into the russian federation. today's hearing at the oscar pistorius trial is about to get under way in south africa. testimony is expected to focus on police photographs of the crime scene. on monday, a gun dealer said the olympian knew it is legal to fire at an intruder only if one is facing an imminent threat.

po oscar pistorius is charged with pre-meditated murder in the death of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, he says it was an accident. l'wren scott, the long time girlfriend of mick jagger, has been found dead in her apartment in new york. officials say she apparently committed suicide by hanger herself. she was a statuesque model who made her mark adds a fashion designer. jagger is said to be shocked and devastated by the news. reports say the rolling stones have now cancelled wednesday's concert which was scheduled to take place in perth, australia. investigators of malaysia airlines flight 370 are looking closely at the pilots. when woe come back, we'll show you why this airline veteran is under so much scrutiny. .

.zaharie.

za sari. . the latest now on the search for missing malsz airlines flight 370. the plane's pilot and co-pilot have become a key area of focus because investigators say whoever flew the boeing 777 off course appeared to know what they were doing. the flight's 53-year-old captain, zaharie ahmad shah is a father of three and has flown more than 18,000 hours. investigators have been examining a flight simulator they found at his home in kuala lumpur. co-pilot fariq hamid had been with malaysia airlines since 2007. investigators say the two did not request to work together on flight 370. so far there is no evidence to pie the pilots to the aircraft's disappearance. in addition to being a passionate aviator, the captain of flight 370 is a devoted supporter of malaysia's most vocal opposition party. we have more on the pilot's

political activities and its role in this investigation. >> reporter: the investigation continues to zero in on the two men in the cockpit, in particular the most skilled pilot, the captain, zaharie ahmad shah. so passionate about flying that he's what's known as a home simmer. he built his own flight simulator as seen in this youtube video and he talked about it online, writing on a chat site "looking for buddies to share this passion." curiously, the captain also posted a series of do it yourself videos like how to repair an ice maker. malaysian investigators are now combing through every part of the pilot's home and his life. this youtube video shows him as a loving father of three but he was also active in malaysia's volatile politics. the captain was a public supporter of opposition party leader anwar ibrahim and a

foreign the ruling party's side, a political party in control for over a years. zaharie attended anwar's pro-democracy rallies and meetings and even wore a democracy is dead t-shirt denouncing the one party rule in malaysia. for the first time, anwar tells cnn that he did, in fact, know the pilot of the missing plane can you describe how you know the pilot? >> well, he is attended some of the party meetings. and i confirm only afterwards whether he is a card carrying member of the party. >> reporter: why is that important? because just hours before malaysia airlines flight 370 took off, a court of appeals ordered anwar to prison on charges of sodomy, reversing the not guilty decision of a lower court. anwar says the sentence is a political vendetta. local press now asking did zaharie purposely down the plane

to make a political statement? is it possible a supporter of yours would be willing to take this step in order to make a political statement on the global stage? >> it can not be conjecture. it's grossly unfair to him and his family. i'm open for a full investigation. i mean, they could investigate. there was nothing of that sort. >> reporter: anwar says his political opponents are feeding that narrative to reporters. >> in order to deflect that, their own failure, their own incompetence, they now choose to attack me. >> reporter: just to throw off the scent? >> yes. i think there's a desperation of the government of the ruling leadership for the manner of the whole crisis. clearly incompetent, contradictory statements on the crisis. >> reporter: but so far there is no evidence to tie the plane's disappearance to the pilot or his politics. we could not reach the malaysian

government for comment on this. >> the fact that there were no distress signals, no ransom notes, no parties claim responsible, there's always hope. >> reporter: the transport minister did acknowledge that the captain and co-pilot did not ask to fly together and that investigators are looking into pilot suicide as a possible cause. officials also say it was the co-pilot not the captain who gave the plane's last verbal message "all right, good night." anwar stresses that his is not a fringe party, it's a mainstream political party with a number of seats in the government. he also stresses that many malaysians support him. cnn, kuala lumpur, malaysia. as investigators try to figure out what happened to the malaysian jet, the behavior, personality and psychology of crew members are being looked at very closely. but screening methods differ from country to country. airlines offer rely on the pilots themselves to report any

issues. >> reporter: they're a focus of the investigation, their homes have been searched, but so far there's no in evidence the backgrounds of the pilots to suggest any wrongdoing. still, malaysia airlines ceo says everyone in the cockpit undergoes routine psychological tests. >> going forward with will obviously look into all this and see whether we can strengthen, tighten the various entry requirements. >> reporter: current and former pilots tell us the level of psychological screening for pilots depends on their airline and its governing body. this 777 pilot says his airlines asks questions about hiss personality. "do you like your mother, do you hate your father?" things of that nature. "have you ever harm add small animal." >> reporter: he says some airlines interview the pilots' friends to see if they have psychological or emotional issues. he says many u.s.-based airlines go above and beyond what's required by the government.

the faa has strict rules saying pilots have to get psychological screening every year or six monos. they can't fly if they have bipolar disorder or similar problems. some medications are banned. but some pilots say medical screeners don't always ask about psychological issues and it's often up to pilots to report those and report any medications they're taking. >> if he or she doesn't self-report, what happens? >> if you don't self-report it's going unnoticed. typically what happens is if you have an issue, one of your crew members might recognize something like that. >> reporter: do the airlines check on pilots to see if anything's come up in their personal lives that might cause concern? financial problems? maybe a worrisome illness in the family? >> the short answer is no, not until it becomes -- it affects your job performance and your -- you know, if you miss a trip for a particular reason. >> reporter: aben says if airlines started doing that,

privacy concerns would be raised. does this mean there's a dangerous gap in the system? >> pilots are, for the most part, very mentally stable, very sound people, very determined, very professional. i don't think that you're going to need or have to have the criteria tightened up. >> reporter: mark weiss also points out many commercial pilots come straight to those jobs from the military where they've gotten regular psychological screening. brian todd, cnn, washington. as the west imposes sanctions on russia over crimea, vladimir putin appears to be moving forward with plans to annex the ukrainian republic any way. after the break we will go live to moscow. you've tried to forget your hepatitis c. it's slow moving, you tell yourself. i have time. after all there may be no symptoms for years. no wonder you try to push it to the back of your mind and forget it. but here's something you shouldn't forget.

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vladimir putin is expected to discuss crimea today when he addresses parliament. on monday he moved to recognize crimea's secession from ukraine. that comes after the u.s. and europe imposed sanctions following sunday's crimea referendum. western leaders are freezing assets and imposing travel bans on more than two dozen senior russian and crimean officials. u.s. president barack obama warns he's prepared to go even further if moscow does not back down. >> we can calibrate our response based on whether russia chooses to escalate or to deescalate the situation. now, i believe there's still a path to resolve this situation diplomatically in a way that addresses the interest of both russia and ukraine. that includes russia pulling its forces in crimea back to their bases, supporting the deployment of additional international monitors in ukraine and engaging in dialogue with the ukrainian government. >> we are expecting president putin to say more about crimea

in a few hours when he addresses the joint session of the russian parliament. we're covering these developments from moscow. fred, not quite at a cold war level yet but some of the propaganda coming out of moscow certainly sounds like it. >> yeah, it certainly sounds like it and there has been very little reaction to those sanctions by the u.s. and the e.u. in fact, there's some russian politicians coming forward and mocking those sanctions. some have gone on twitter and have said they're proud to be on the sanctions list. from what we can see here in moscow, the political process seems to be moving forward in a way that would see crimea be a part of russia very soon. this morning vladimir putin has approved a draft bilateral agreement between crimea and russia. ? that is something that is to be debated by the house of parliament here in russia later this week so certainly things are moving forward and you're right. it looks as though we might be moving closer toward maybe not a cold war but certainly a prolonged confrontation between russia and the west.

let's have a look. as most crimeans celebrate their vote to join russia, moscow is bracing for a possible new ice age in relations with the west and some of the rhetoric is troubling. this is a prominent news anchor speaking on russia's main government tv channel. >> translator: russia is the only country in the world that is really able to turn the usa into radio active ashes. >> reporter: what makes lines like this scary is that they're increasingly being heard as russian forces dig in on the crimean peninsula and seem poised to roll into eastern your crane as well. hard-liners are increasingly gaining the upper hand in vladimir putin's inner circle and believe they would win a confrontation with the west says this journalist describing their thinking. >> west has no guts, no instrument to punish russia, and probably some are saying that

the west would suffer more than russia. >> reporter: most russians are in favor of taking in crimea, even in the face of international backlash. economic sanctions could have a profound affect on russia and hit many people here in this country. at the same time, vladimir putin's handling of the crimea crisis is very popular and has caused his approval ratings to soar. experts say vladimir putin understands the costs of his ukraine policies but he believes bringing crimea back to russia will ensuring his place in history. >> president putin believes that when you make history you should not care over the cost and this is one point. the second point is that he believes that the cost won't be too much. >> reporter: but the cost could be a long-term fracture between russia and the west that might endure until long after vladimir putin has left office. so it looks as though at this point, john, there's nothing but russia asserting its position rather than backing down and deescalating. certainly we are all very

anxious to hear what vladimir putin will have to say in a couple of hours from now at that joint session of the russian parliament. john? >> coming up in about three and a half hours from now. thanks, fred. we'll take a short break here but when we come back, those with loved ones on flight 370, they can only wait and when we come back after the break we will hear from some of them. a live report coming up from beijing. also, the partner of a passenger on flight 370 says she's holding on to hope that he's still alive. we'll hear from her just ahead. i reckon a storm's a brewin'. reckon so. reckon you gotta hotel? reckon, no. reckon priceline express deals will get you a great deal. wherever you...mosey. you reckon? we reckon. vamonos the spring hotel sale is on at priceline.com. save up to 60% on any express deal hotel, when you use code: spring '14. i reckon this is one deal you won't want to miss.