MH370: Cockpit exchange released; air controllers dispatched in search

The last words from the cockpit of a missing Malaysian jet were a standard "Good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero," Malaysian authorities said, changing their account of the critical last communication from a more casual "All right, good night."

Malaysia on Tuesday released the full transcript of communications between the Boeing 777 and local air traffic control before it dropped from civilian radar in the early hours of March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The correction comes as Malaysian authorities face heavy criticism, particularly from China, for mismanaging the search, now in its fourth fruitless week, and holding back information. Most of the 239 people on the flight were Chinese.

Relatives of some Chinese passengers on the flight have even threatened a hunger strike, demanding more information from authorities.

"There is no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript," Malaysian acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in the statement, without giving explanation for the changes in the reported last communication.

"The transcript was initially held as part of the police investigation," he added.

Minutes after the final radio transmission was received, the plane's communications were cut off, and it turned back across Peninsular Malaysia and headed toward the Indian Ocean, according to military radar and limited satellite data.

The search is now focused on a vast, inhospitable swath of the southern Indian Ocean west of the Australian city of Perth, but an international team of planes and ships has so far failed to spot any sign of the jetliner.

"In this case, the last known position was a long, long way from where the aircraft appears to have gone," retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the operation, told reporters in Perth.

"It's very complex, it's very demanding, and we don't have hard information like we might normally have," he said.

On Tuesday, Australia dispatched airborne traffic control in a a bid to coordinate planes involved in the search and reduce the risk of collisions.

A U.S. naval officer involved in the search effort said on Sunday it could take years to find the missing plane, referring to Air France Flight 447, which crashed after taking off from Brazil in 2009. It took more than two years to locate the wreckage.

Malaysia says MH370 was likely diverted deliberately, probably by a skilled aviator, leading to speculation of involvement by one or more of the pilots. Investigators, however, have determined no apparent motive or other red flags among the 227 passengers and 12 crew members.

The transcript, released on Tuesday and shared with families of the passengers and crew, covers about 55 minutes of apparently routine conversation, beginning about 15 minutes before takeoff.

The last exchange took place at 1:19 a.m. Nothing appeared to be wrong as Malaysian air traffic controllers told the pilots they were entering Vietnamese air space and received a fairly standard sign-off with call sign in reply.

Air traffic control: "Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 good night."

MH370: "Good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero."

"Previously, Malaysia Airlines had stated initial investigations indicated that the voice which signed off was that of the co-pilot," Hishammuddin said in the statement.

"The police are working to confirm this belief, and forensic examination of the actual recording is ongoing."

Malaysia's ambassador to China told Chinese families in Beijing as early as March 12 that the last words from the cockpit were "All right, good night," which experts said was more informal than called for by standard radio procedures.

Nine ships and 10 aircraft resumed the hunt for wreckage from MH370 on Tuesday, hoping to recover more than the fishing gear and other flotsam found since Australian authorities moved the search 685 miles north after new analysis of radar and satellite data.

Houston said the challenging search, in an area the size of Ireland, would continue with the imperfect information they have.

"But, inevitably, if we don't find any wreckage on the surface, we are eventually going to have to — probably in consultation with everybody who has a stake in this — review what to do next," he said.

Using faint hourly satellite signals gathered by British firm Inmarsat and radar data from early in MH370's flight, investigators have only estimates of the speed the aircraft was traveling and no certainty of its altitude, Houston said.

Satellite imagery of the new search area has not given "anything better than low confidence of finding anything," said Mick Kinley, another search official in Perth.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will travel to Perth late on Wednesday to see the operation firsthand. He is expected to meet Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday.

Among the vessels due to join the search in the coming days is an Australian defense force ship, the Ocean Shield, which has been fitted with a sophisticated U.S. black box locater and an underwater drone.

Time is running out because the signal transmitted by the missing aircraft's black box will die about 30 days after a crash because limited battery life, leaving investigators with a vastly more difficult task.

Reuters