Malaysia says evidence of final ‘ping’ from MH370 at 8.19am

The graphic shows the final location of MAS flight MH370 as concluded by experts based on data from the Inmarsat satellite. - The Malaysian Insider graphic, March 25, 2014.
Satellite data that confirmed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, missing for more than two weeks, had crashed in the Indian Ocean included a final electronic signal at 8.19am (Malaysian time) on March 8, that is still being investigated, Malaysian acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today.

"There is evidence of a partial handshake between the aircraft and ground station at 0019 UTC (GMT)," Hishammuddin told a news conference.

"At this time, this transmission is not understood and is subject to further ongoing work."

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on Sunday that groundbreaking satellite-data analysis by the British company Inmarsat had revealed that MAS flight MH370, which vanished while flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, had crashed thousands of kilometres away in the southern Indian Ocean.

Preliminary analysis of the satellite "pings" had only been able to place the plane's final position in one of two vast arcs stretching from the Caspian Sea to the southern Indian Ocean. – March 25, 2014.