now because malaysia radar system appears to be a jail broken iphone attached to a dream catcher, therele information to report last week but i'm happy to say that did not stop my colleagues in the 24 hour news game from yanking theories out of their ass-dar. jim? >> one theory is it flew in the shadow of another plane and so on the radar it was picked up just as one moving object. >> i think this is a well-funded high-tech hijack operation and it's sitting somewhere in the jungle. >> my favorite theory, the 5% theory is that because of some secret passenger with some secret cargo, the aircraft was hijacked and landed someplace. >> the answers just run out. >> that is the theory of the zombie plane. >> i really don't like the term zombie play, than connotes a sinister aspect to it i prefer to call it a ghost plane. >> another theory getting tons of attention focus on the bizarre new miracle coincidences, for example,s the flight number 370. the flight disappeared on the third month, 7th day of the year, and malaysia airline flies nearly 37,000 passengers every day. >> that's right. flig

point for people who say oh, that plane can't escape national military radar systems, well, it apparently sailed right through malaysia's radar system and nothing happened. it's also an example of what we lose in terms of time and investigative lead by the united states having come back. there's a point where you shouldn't be entirely polite and you need to go to the malaysians and say, you've got to tell us what you know, we'll help you out however you can. you've got to start sharing intelligence and start sharing with us. we've had the satellite images of what were supposed to be images of wreckage of the plane. we're the ones who can really do this. we should have been in it earlier. >> i couldn't agree more. thanks so much. >>> and coming up, could the pilots or hijacker have land ed this plane? i'll ask a pilot who has actually flown 777s next. and what do you think happened to the missing >>> welcome back to our special two-hour edition of "justice." the world watches as an investigation in to missing malaysian airlines flight. 0. could one of the pilot or hijacker landed the plane? if so, where might it be. form

when the plane was first lost it was at the extreme end of the radar system from malaysia. so we are talking about 250 nautical miles and the aircraft was at 35,000 feet to. fly under the radar it will have to fly -- know the range of the radar and then fly to the height for that range. so as it's approaching, say, pakistan, it's going to have to go lower and lower and lower. and i doubt a plane of 200 tons could get under the radar. >> jim tilmon, i promise we will get you in. does the united states believe we are in a threat right now because of this? that we are vulnerable? >> well, they don't when you speak to u.s. officials. one reason they don't is they have not established a terror link to this attack. they haven't ruled it out but they haven't established that connection. they are not triggering the reactions we would see if there is a terror link there. but lawmakers are looking at possibilities to close some holes here. when we have a whiff of a plot out there. you remember the tooth paste tube explosives or refined shoe bombs, things we have been reported in the l

. >>> and officials say the missing malaysia airlines plane continued to ping satellites for hours after it disappeared from radar. sources say two systemsaircraft shut down sequentially, raising the prospect of a malicious act. >>> millions of people are searching for malaysia flight 370, many from the comfort of their own home or office. carter evans explains how the hunt for the missing passenger jet has gone viral. >> basically we're looking for anything that stands out. >> reporter: l.a. filmmaker craig santee has spend 12 hours scanning satellite images on the website. in your search so far what have you found? >> so far i've found 12 fishing vessels, and i've found about 11 things that i cannot explain what they are, but they don't look natural. >> reporter: the images come from five satellites owned by colorado-based digital globe. they're covering the same areas being searching by boats and plays. shay harnoy is the contributor. >> we have people from all time zones, all languages all trying to solve this mystery. >> reporter: so far they've searched 1.2 millions of images. >> we're putting them together using our statistical al

system allowing next gen to do away with radar. we don't have the coordinated software. a system like next gen could not have saved malaysia airlines mh370. that was fitted with adsb, which is how we know most about its movements. if next gen comes together, by 2020 it will be virtually impossible to lose track of a commercial flight in the united states. >> that new technology can help to shorten route, save time and fuel and reduce traffic delays. >> a ruling that says college athletes are employees of a university. the decision opening up a debate on how schools should pay the athletes. >> and crocodile danger down under. the hunting restrebzs in place -- restrictions in place, even though the population is >> taking a live look here at a hostage situation unfolding in los angeles, where it is about 11:30pm. a man is reportedly holding six former colleagues of his work place hostage in the china town area of los angeles. we'll follow it as news warrants. >> the national labour relations board ruled that college football players from north western university are ability unionize, essentially saying they are employees tha

>> speaking to an expert today, i understand malaysia within the last year upgraded their radar system so if we can put -- so if we can put on the table that they had the very latest state of the art, then you get into whether it worked or didn't work based on the operator. at 1:30 in the morning was it on, was anybody looking at it? having spent a whole host of my life during those very, very dark hours, i can understand how there might be somebody who won't necessarily be the number one guy who's got his head or her head in the game at that very moment. >> but with this upgraded -- >> that's conjecture too. >> let me ask you, though, with that upgraded system, is there a recorder on there or if you go out to get a cup of coffee and you miss the blip crossing the screen, you missed it? >> you might miss it at that moment, but all that would be downloaded and that would be available for forensics. >> you could go back forensically. interesting. thank you so much, appreciate your insight. all you gentlemen stick around. >>> coming up, the flight simulator in the pilot's home. to some th

radar systems. the confusion is that malaysia said no, we talked to rolls royce, we don't have any data, which makes if the acar is turned off. >> and we'll wait to see where the plane has been. there are other things that happened sean, pilot incapacitation -- >> wouldn't it be more likely, the pilots, once they go wheels up, they're boom, the wheels are up, they're there in case something wrong happens? right? >> in a lot of cases. >> you want it on auto pilot because it is a much more precise way of flying and certainly you will save a lot of fuel and time with that. so you put it on automatic pilot. yes, the fact that it went off track, the transponders were off, if nothing else that has to be a suspicion. who was in the cockpit until you get the voice recorder and the flight data recorder, you can't really know. >> we didn't get the flight data from the air france accident for two years. >> and if you remember in that case it was a malfunction in the case that caused the crash and the pilot error incorrect iing . >> hey, guys, very informative, we'll have more on the plane and the interview wit

radar equipment. malaysia airlines chief executive has said that the plane's a cause system which transmits engine nicer in real time could've been switched off before or after the loss of mobile communication with the plane the communication came from the car upon us at one nineteen am a s e s constitution. one little step we don't know where the dogs once you stop after that. it was supposed to be consummated. it means home and got the constitution the president did not fall into that one. one was. with the sea salt. any kind weekend and next to it. as far as to why they call the department of education understand according to the brecon he was what won ninety nine percent. you'll love it. it was the cold weather woo hoo this is over the last time he recorded over the cornerstone of it it was correct. umm days. a good enough. this research continues there are so soft the more human side to this story. malaysians up and down the country are uniting of spaces that are been transformed into areas where they can run down of the woods and prayers. these two bowls of hope of being created find a read among

malaysia's prime minister najib razak fold reporters today. >> two of the communications systems on board flight 370 were turned off apparently deliberately. one after the other. then he confirmed that military radar had indeed picked up flight 370 as it changed course and flew westover malaysia before turning to the northwest. >> this is consistent with deliberate actions by someone on the plane. >> reporter: even though the main communication systems had been disabled, najib said the plane continued to ping a satellite, the last signal from the plane came at 8:11 a.m., 7 and a half hours after it took off. >> due to the type of satellite data we are unable to confirm the precise location of the plane. >> reporter: where it went is the next part of the puzzle. the key question as the search continues, which direction did the plane go? how far and were pilots involved? >> despite media reports that the plane was highjacked, i wish to be very clear we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused flight 370 to deviate from its original flight path. >> reporter: malaysia's prime minister said that the investigation will be refocusing on people on board the plane, including the pilots a

malaysia airlines flight 370. what was unrecovered overnight on a radar system and what remote fishermen in malaysia saw and herd.> better late than never. >> from outrage to appreciation decades later. it is wednesday, march 19th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. our colleagues at komo-tv, abc's affiliate in seattle, are in mourning today after a fatal crash involving the station's helicopter. >> the fully fueled chopper was lifting off from the station's roof when it suddenly dropped to the street below and exploded not far from the city's famous space needle. abc's lana zak is there. >> reporter: good morning, john and marci. i'm here in the komo-tv complex. districtly above me is the helicopter launch pad. we're about 200 yards from the space needle, where tour groups and school children would often congregate. people say it's a wonder more weren't caught by these tragic events. in the shadow of the seattle space needle -- >> we have report of a helicopter into the space needle. cars involved on fire. >> reporter: the chop

are digging deeper into why two key communications systems on malaysia airlines flight 370 were shut down before the plane disappeared from civilian radar. u.s. officials say the boeing 777 continued to ping satellites for more than four hours indicating the plane continued to fly and raising the possibility that whatever happened was deliberate. >> i question as to who might have been in the cockpit at the time when that aircraft had the -- particularly the transponder turned off and the heading change. >> reporter: u.s. experts belief unidentified blips on military radar moving back across the malaysian peninsula into the strait of malacca represents the missing boeing 777 flying way off course. >> we are now looking very closely with our [ indiscernible ] to get whatever information off satellite. >> reporter: as part of the ever expanding search, the uss kidd has a new assignment, east and west of the andaman islands. >> we are pushing into the south china sea and further into the indian ocean. >> reporter: the plane was carrying enough fuel to fly another 2500 miles leaving a lot more territory for search crews to try and cover. no

. >> two indicator systems have been deliberately shut off and then the jet did head back across malaysia before missing off of radar. but now we know from a signal that the jet changed course again, either north or south. and then it soared on for another six hours, a vast amount of land and water for search crews to cover. >> this is akin to finding the titanic and being able to bring some stuff up. >> the latest revelations deepening the anguish and uncertainty for the families of the missing passengers. >> we don't know what we can trust and what we should do, said this woman. we feel very helpless and frustrated. >> the u.s. experts say the answers likely lie at the bottom of the indian ocean. >>> to the crisis in ukraine where officials report 60 russian troops have advanced beyond crimea and seized a national gas distribution center. today e.u. criticized the succession referendum and it was put to a vote to show the strength of the opposition to moscow's trachover of crimea. >> if russia compounded what it has done in crimea by crossing into southern ukraine, that would be an outrageous escalation, at the ve

recognise the outcome. >> new information regarding malaysia airlines 370 says there is evidence that someone on board tampered with the radar system. that means whatever happened to the plane may not have been an accident. the investigation honing in on who was on board. scott heidler has more. >> these are developments announced by prime minister najib razak on saturday, focussing on two areas. the first is there was evidence that there was action on the flight 307 to shut down the transponders. there was confirmed satellite information, forensic study shows that the aircraft entered two sky-highways. a northern and a southern one. >> the northern one going from that's land up to kazakhstan. the southern from indonesia up to the southern parts of the indian ocean. that indicates someone on the aircraft in poilting experience and coerce a turn of direction. or possibly that the aircraft went into sky highways, but was deliberate action like the prime minister said. a shift back to the investigation of the passengers, crew. could they have been involved in a hijacking. it has been floated as a possibility. that kind of information

malaysia jet lines jet liner. the disappearance may have been intentional. two communications systems on the boeing 777 shut down separately before the plane vanished from civilian radar. the plane had enough fuel to fly another 2500 miles and it continued transmitting signals to satellites for four hours. military radar picked up blips moving across malaysian peninsula. >> normal investigation becomes narrower with time, i understand, as new information focuses on the search, but this is not a normal investigation. >> reporter: a search is expanded into the indian ocean but there is still no sign of the plane since it disappeared last saturday. searchers from 13 countries and 60 ships and 50 aircrafts are involved in the effort. people all over the world are also trying to help, part of a virtual search using satellite images. the images come from five satellites owned by digital globe in colorado. it's crashed several times because so many users are logging on. >>> crews are new york are working on the assumption there could be survivors from the explosion. eight people died in the blast. the city's fire commissioner says nobody else is missing but he adds a search

radar services in s vietnam and malaysia and civil is services. you have for example iran has significant integrated defense system. if anything goes on whether it be the traffic anales or whatever they talk to each other. >> that's a lot of information. >> the malaysian military says that they know that the 777 was flying. why didn't they do anything about it? >> you know, to be honest with you if it doesn't have a score on it and as we have brought out on the program it wasn't physically interrogated. >> we don't know why doesn't the malaysian military say that plane was flying here, here, here and here. they are the ones that gave it to us. >> i have questioned that. as soon as the second radar goes off, you have got all sorts of traffic which is being picked up by radar. you get ships traveling that are picked up on radar. you have jets flying 320,000 feet. you would discern which blip would be an incredibly hard thing to do. >> all right michael. a lot of questions still remain. thanks for being with us. coming up where is this flight 370 and behind the missing airliner's disappearance. that's next. test test

there's evidence malaysia flight 370's u-turn was premeditated it was programmed before the system went down. it's one of several developments this morning including new radar data from thailand. let's get to duncan live in london. duncan, good morning to you. was that u-turn manually programmed from the cockpit. >> good morning, betty. it certainly looks that way. investigators searching for flight 370 believe someone turned the plane west. nbc news has learned the program might have been programmed into the on board computer 12 minutes before the program said good night to air traffic control. sources say the plane's u-turn manually programmed into the computer was transmitted by the acars data system to ground at 1:07 a.m. that indicates the u-turn was premeditated, programs before acars went down and before the trans ponders went dead. the question is, why would they do that? some pilots would do that in event of an emergency. the searches at the homes of the plane's captain and co-pilot have not turned up anything suspicious. 11 days since 370 went missing and a search continues across an area roughly two-thirds the size of the united states. >>> it is

malaysia airlines about the jet that's still missing. u.s. officials say the airliner was programmed to veer west during flight by someone with knowledge of its computer systems. a newly released radarata support the theory at this plane turned west. crews from 26 nations are taking part in massive search that covers more than 2 million- miles with no sign of the plane. it's now the longest such disappearance in modern aviation history. >>> police rushed to the scene of a deadly helicopters crash near seattle's space needle. after the flames were out two lives were lost and the third person hospitalized with critical injuries. the crash happened moments after the helicopter took off. stunned witnesses who watched the disaster unfold describe an almost unbelievable scene. >> rescue vehicles rushed to the scene of the fiery crash just before 8:00 this morning. witnesses describe seeing the helicopters belongs to km television take off, suede, then drop -- sway, then drop on to the street. >> does that look right? right as i said that he stopped short and it just came down and it hit. >> i heard the boom and i looked up and two seconds later the flames started spreading out. >> when i

are digging deeper into why two key communications systems on malaysia airlines flight 370 were shut down before the plane disappeared from civilian radar officials say the boeing 777 continued to ping satellites for more than four hours indicating the plane continued to fly and raising the possibility that whatever happened was deliberate. >> i question as to who might have been in the cockpit at the time when that aircraft had the particularly the transponder turned off and the heading change. >> reporter: u.s. experts believe unidentified blips on military radar moving back across the malaysian peninsula into the strait of malacca represents the missing boeing 777 flying way off course. >> we are now looking very closely with our [ indiscernible ] to get whatever information off satellite. >> reporter: as part of the ever expanding search, the uss kidd has a new assignment, east and west of the andaman islands and u.s. surveillance aircraft are conducting night missions. >> we are now pushing further east into the south china sea and further into the indian ocean. >> reporter: the plane was carrying enough fuel to fly another 2500 mi

radar and communication systems. >> thank you. >>> it's been a week since malaysia airlines flight 37 0 vanished.he mystery began on saturday march 8 at 1:30 a.m. malaysian time when air traffic controllers suddenly lost radio contact with pilots about an hour into the overnight flight from kuala lumpur to beijing. malaysia airlines announces that it was handing over the flight to the vietnamese air control just before all contact was lost. the final words from the cockpit, all right, good night. adding to the signs that everything appeared normal, not a single distress call was made from those two pilots. >>> tensions building in ukraine ahead of tomorrow's vote deciding the fate of the crimea region. russian officials say three people have been killed, many more wounded in violence between pro russian and pro ukrainian activists in ukraine. they're waving flags and banners that say hands off ukraine in anticipation of tomorrow's kremlin backed referendum in crimea. >>> and this has the united states drafts resolution on ukraine declaring tomorrow's vote illegal was actually blocked by a russian

relationship between the military radar services in s vietnam and malaysia and civil air traffic services. you have for example iran has significant integrated defense systemg goes on whether it be the traffic anales or whatever they talk to each other. >> that's a lot of information. >> the malaysian military says that they know that the 777 was flying. why didn't they do anything about it? >> you know, to be honest with you if it doesn't have a score on it and as we have brought out on the program it wasn't physically interrogated. >> we don't know why doesn't the malaysian military say that plane was flying here, here, here and here. they are the ones that gave it to us. >> i have questioned that. as soon as the second radar goes off, you have got all sorts of traffic which is being picked up by radar. you get ships traveling that are picked up on radar. you have jets flying 320,000 feet. you would discern which blip would be an incredibly hard thing to do. >> all right michael. a lot of questions still remain. thanks for being with us. coming up where is this flight 370 and behind the missing airliner's disappearance. that's next. [ male announcer ] le

systems were turned off deliberately one after the other. then, he confirmed that military radar had indeed picked up flight 370 as it changed course and flew west over malaysia before turning to the northwest. >> this movement is consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. >> reporter: though the main communication systems had been disabled, the plane continued to ping a satellite. the last signal came seven hours after it took off. >> due to the satellite data, we are unable to confirm the precise location of the the plane. >> reporter: where it went is the next puzzle. and which direction the plane went, how far, and were pilots involved. police searched the home of one of the co-pilots. they did not answer any questions. investigators are focusing on the crew looking for any evidence that could provide clues about the plane's disappearance. police also searched the captain's home. they are examining the psychological profiles of the men. 53-year-old zahari ahmad shadd. they are probing their family life and any actions they may have taken. based on what we have learned today, it opens up almost the entire indian ocean. experts say the plane

malaysia. >> i can confirm that we have received some radar data but we are not at liberty to release information from other countries. >> reporter: many believe a secret u.s. and australian radar and satellite systemin the outback may have picked up some signals about the flight. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> well, adding to the urgency in the search for the flight, the plane's voice and data recorders. they were crucial to investigators and malaysia is appealing to the u.s. to provide more of the devices that can detect the pings from those recorders. we get more on that from renee mar marsh. >> reporter: these two hints in the indian ocean may be the best hint yet. but even if they are from the missing plane, the real key to understanding what happened could still be miles away at the bottom of the ocean and it's call, but time is running out. >> so the minute this is no longer broadcasting things become much more difficult. >> reporter: the cockpit voice recorder stores at least two hours of audio and the data recorder contains at least 36 hours of instrument data. both crucial to understanding what happened. transmitters on the recorders send out a locating tone, but that only lasts fo

malaysia airline ir. sources tell nbc news that the boeing 777 may have flown for four hours after it dropped off the radar. that is based on signals sent from the engine's satellite communication system, designed by rolls-royce. leaders have yet to see that information. >> since the media report, rolls-royce and boeing specifically. as far as rolls-royce and boeing are concerned, those reports are inaccurate. >> just yesterday, the chinese media reporteded that government satellite captured images of a possible crash site. malaysian officials say they went to the site and found nothing. rescuers from 12 nations including the u.s. are now taking part in that search, which now spans 35,000 square miles. some lawmakers are addressing some security concerns that have been raised by the missing airliner. demanding that every passport in and out of the u.s. is always checked on the interpol database. the move comes after authorities learn two men on the flight used stolen passports. there is no link that the two have tied to terrorism, but the lawmakers -- >>> no violations, but the california department of health stems from that controversial case that made national headlines. the state i

radar. they know this, because the jet was apparently pinging a satellite every hour. it's part of a monitoring system airlines can pay for to keep track of their jets in the air. malaysia airlines was not paying. but our sources say, even if the airline isn't buying the data, the jet still sends a signal to the satellite. >> based on new information, an additional search area may be opened in the indian ocean. >> reporter: flying 4 hours and 600 miles per hour, means that 370 could have traveled 2,400 miles. but it's unclear which way. the satellite pings don't give direction and would not be able to transmit from the bottom of the ocean. >> i don't think the aircraft is under water, that you'll get a valid signal coming up from the bottom of the sea. >> reporter: this latest information comes from u.s. sources, days after conflicting stories and details. remember those satellite photos from china which showed floating debris. the malaysians looked today and found nothing. and they were told by the chinese, that the images were released by mistake. with sources telling us the communications were shut down intentionally, diane, it suggests either a hijacking or pilot su

radar systems failed. which there are lots -- already been international indications, chinese are very unhappy with the way the malaysians have handled this. given the trade talks that's something that can hurt malaysia. it doesn't seem to have directly affect us right now beyond the point that all of us get on planes. i was on a plane this morning, something fundamentally upsetting that in this day and age i can take a picture with my phone you can tell where i am, by just seeing that picture on instagram, something fundamentally disturbing by the fact that very modern aircraft has disappeared we don't know a week later where it is. >> schieffer: can we talk about syria which has gotten almost no attention since these two stories have burst on the front pages and tv screens what is latest from there? >> we're at the three-year mark, very, very sad anniversary of conflict that very quickly became the civil war. it has been in some form of stand off for three years. at the moment the azad forces are not winning but not losing. they are doing better. they seized a very important rebel town just in the last 24 hours. but the rebels are going to keep fighting. they are looking as always for additional we

the malaysia military says radar data shows the plane making a you turn and heading west. a wall street journal report claims the plane's communication systement transmissions after the plane disappears. and the families of the passengers say they have called their relatives cell phones, and that those phones are ringing. lisa stark is in washington, d.c. with us. a lot of developments today, what are you hearing? >> well, tony, first of all, as you said mrs. no sign of this jet. this many days after it vanished. it is a huge mystery, unprecedented one aviation follower said to me, the search area may now be expanding. they were searchin searchin that original area. that's when the flight path would have taken it. they are not sure, so they are expanding the search westward, they are looking toward the indian ocean, here is white house spokes mapp. >> it is my understanding that based on new information, that's not necessarily conclusive, blue new information, an additional search area may be open. and we are consulting with international partners about the appropriate assets to deploy. one of those the u.s.s. kid, one of two navy destroyer

radar. they know this because the jet was apparently pinging a satellite every hour. it's part of a monitor system airlines can pay for to keep track of their jets in the air. malaysia airlines was not paying. but our sources say, even if the airline is not buying the data, the jet sends a signal to the satellite. >> based on some new information, an additional search area may be opened in the indian ocean. >> reporter: tonight, american ships are on the move. looking for the 777 jetliner even farther away from its flight path. saying there's an indication the jet went down in the indian ocean. the indication comes from u.s. investigators in malaysia, who have now pored all over that radar and other data. so, the search grid is getting bigger and could get much bigger. even though in jet may have sent pings to the satellite, it's unclear which way the jetliner was flying. the satellite pings do not give direction and would not be able to transmit from the bottom of the ocean. >> i don't think if the aircraft is under water, that you'll get a valid signal coming up from the bottom of the sea up through that water up to the satellite. >> reporter: with our sources tel

terms of the transponder and the other ground radar system, they were both turned off, then the plane continued after turning in an almost v back towards malaysia. that's the latest indication from investigators. it was sending out what they are calling pings. it wasn't communicating with satellites but imagine that if you were driving a car that had xm sirius radio, even though you are not using it, there is a ping that is sent up to the slight l satellite letting them know it's there in case you do want to activate. as a result, they are concentrating their search more towards the indian ocean. as they move out and broaden the range, the idea here is they heard pings for up to five hours after last contact which is why you see this circle going as far out as close to india because this is where they believe the plane could be, within this area. this u.s. navy is now sending a carrier to the indian ocean to assist with the search for this plane. why a carrier? because they have the helicopters, it's a base they can use for going and flying over the areas that they want to search. by the way, the u.s. navy is not using sonar to search under wat

malaysia airlines flight 370. but the little that is known points to a possible criminal act. sources say two communications systems on the plane stopped working in the moments just before the flight vanished from civilian radar screens. a data a data link that transmits messages shut down, and so did the transponders which sent detailed information about the plane's speed, altitude and position. sources say the two systems failed, one after the other, as malaysia airlines flight 370 was flying at 35,000 feet. veteran crash experts say a cascading series of electrical faults may cause that type of sequential failure. but it's also possible someone on the plane deliberately turned the systems off. in any case, investigators say it appears the jet did not immediately crash. communication satellites picked up a number of pinging signals from the jet over a four-hour period, a strong indication the plane remained in the air for quite some time. sources say it's also possible the plane may have spent some of that time on the ground with its engines still running. investigators say it's not clear precisely where the jet flew, but u.s. radar experts believe it turned west off its flight path. of unidentified blips m

international standards that airports in malaysia and most other countries use don't require what is in the u.s. considered a pretty basic check. just like the radar systemrt of a hodgepodge system internationally, the security system also has a lot of holes in it. >> michael scherer, thanks so much for those details. joining us no u, msnbc aviation analyst john cox. a former airline captain. and currently the ceo of safety operating systems. john, question for you. because if this debris is actually parts of the plane, then that would suggest perhaps that it went into the ocean. so when a plane like this were to meet the ocean going as fast as it would have been, would that cause the plane to break? would meeting the sea floor cause the plane to break? >> no. what we've seen in past cases is as the airplane touches down in the water, it'll break apart. sully sullenberger's landing in the river was a very rare event where the airplane didn't physically break into a lot of smaller pieces. that was because it was under full control in daylight on calm water. and he was able to get the airplane very much slowed down. it was a nice piece of flying. but the -

happenedoff from malaysia to vietnam have on the losing of the squawk number or squawk number -- it's a number, right, guys? >> it really depends on the system how they are set up if they are radar to radar the vietnam holders wouldn't know what it was because he this wouldn't see it any more. it would get the radar control zone. >> they know triple 7 is that correct? >> as part of the emergency response assuming there is a response what would you expect from the country whose military has seen this plane pretty much fall off the radar? >> we are not really seeing much. it is great i am sure an air force general knows his business, but knowing the airline business and what happened to this i am not sure that they handle this thing correctly. when i need someone an expert, my company does a lot of expert within in aviation investigation and when we need somebody who knows something about the business i go and find the guy who actually invented or designed that transponder and take him with me to court. so these folks in malaysia should have gone to the didn't have that going? >> that brings me to the issue a little later in the show. who is on first. who is doing what. what is th

radar systems with the plane's flight number, height, speed and correction. this is when malaysian air traffic controllers say they lost contact between malaysia and vietnam. believed around the same time, someone in the plane's cockpit made the final voice check-in with air traffic control. "all right, good night" were the final words from the cockpit. at 2:40 a.m., even though the plane wasn't transmitting information, malaysian military radar tracked it over the strait of malaga, hundreds of miles off course and in the opposite direction. that was the last time it showed up on radar. but a satellite detected it at 8:11 a.m., more than seven hours after takeoff, during routine handshakes or electronic connections the satellite makes with aircraft below. it wasn't enough to pinpoint the exact location of the plane, but suggests it is within a large geographic arc that extends north as far as kazakhstan and south over the indian ocean. more than a week after takeoff, the location of flight 370 is still a mystery. >> malaysian police have now searched the homes of both the pilot and copilot of the airliner. this as the investigation into the missing plane f

system characteristics of aircraft. >> reporter: when the malaysia air jet disappeared from radar after the transponder went dark inmarsat'scontinued to pick up pings from the 777 for several hours. it was that signal that led the company's engineers to determine two potential arcs one to the north and the other to the south. the arcs were the basis for the massive search efforts. company engineers compiled data never to find the missing jet sousing sound waves to find the plane's pings to determine location in relation to the satellite. >> in addition to the technique which is considered the velocity of the aircraft. >> reporter: the sold doppler effect makes an approaching vehicle sound different from one moving away. based on that process typically used in space research inmarsat concluded that flight 370 tracked along the southern arc towards one of the most remote areas in the world and likely crashed into the sea. chris mccloughlin is inmarsat's senior vice president. >> we hope this will be the last to contribute to find the location of a commercial airliner off a single piece of data. >> reporter: inmarsat said its

malaysia airlines flight. sources tell abc7 news whatever happened was likely not an accident the data recording system and transponder were quote, unquote, turned off and likely still flying four hours after it lost radar contact. they believe this was a maintenance system kept trying to make contact to relay data several times in hours following the disappearance. abc news reporter brandy hit brings us the latest. >> reporter: a week of searching the uss kid is searching to the indian ocean >> new information, an additional search area may be open in indian ocean and we're consulting about appropriate access to the port. >> it's near where abc news joined a search and rescue operation where radar identified an unidentified ping. >> every theory thus far turned up nothing including these images incorrectly identified as showing plane debris. this area now covers 27,000 miles from and faa and national transportation safety board is been brought in to help. >> they'll be able to analyze in scientific ways to bring in new techniques >> distraught family members are anxious to accurate information on what happened to the 239 missing passengers and crew. it will take uss ks kidd 24 hours to read the informa

that means the coverage of radar, the various systems that are in place will not be the latest, the most up to date necessarily. one example was the information that malaysiaot carry all of the information that they could have gotten from the pings that continued to occur. so that particular part of the world has vast oceans. so if the plane went into the ocean there you are going to have a very, very difficult time finding it. there are also a number of countries that are covered by jungle. they have rough terrain. there is just many numbers of airports. it's just going to be a real viper's nest to try to figure this out. >> so you are not dismissing the idea that this could have landed, this could be on land? >> absolutely not. the only thing that i'm close to dismissing is that it was some sort of an accident, something that happened on the aircraft that caused all of this. i can't think of anything. however, when it comes to whether the pilot decided to commit suicide, that is still on the table for me and also very much sot that they could have flown somewhere in order to do something at a future date. >> jim, we've got 19 days left before the black b

radar was a deliberate act. >>> continuing coverage now of the mysterious disappearance of malaysia airline flight 370. tonight there are new reports in the united states that the plane's communication systems may have been shut down separately and possibly deliberately by someone in the cockpit. another theory being explored is that the plane flew for several hours after its last contact. katherine harris reports that the search could extend much father all the way to the indian ocean. >> reporter: sources say u.s. investigators have now fully discounted the possibility the jet moved for several hours after the transponder went dark and data including signals transmitted by the aircraft are being evaluated in that light. asked about the possibility, the white house spokesperson said it's speculation. >> an additional search area may have been opened and we've been asking about the proper assets to deploy. >> reporter: u.s. investigators were considering the jet was diverted with inat the in -- intent to use it later. they will comb through the cargo records. >> i think one of the things that has not yet been investigated is what cargo was aboard this aircraft. it's possible that there was

malaysia flight 370. relatives of some passengers say they will go on a hunger strike if the airline does not give them more information. thailand said the radar might have detected the plane minutes after the communication systemse turned off. >>> veterans of three wars, 24 were honored the medal ofhon. only three are still alive. they served in wars decades ago but were overlooked because of race and religion. >>> a new study loowarns of a looming retirement crisis. the study found fewer than half workers even tried to calculate how much they will really need. those are the headlines. i am john seeinginthaller. an inside look at the world's most dangerous drug cartal and its other business, organ harvesting. "consider this" is next. >>> new information once again deepens the mystery of what happened to the missing malaysian airlines plane. we will have the latest on what may have been done to the autopilot. >>> a forther south american president condemns violence in venzuela. is most of what we thought we knew about eating saturated fats wrong. the controversial call to land a bachelor before their bachelor's degree. i am antonio morrow. welcome to "consider this." here is more on what's