Mystery surrounds co-pilot's final words

"All right, good night" were the last words from the cockpit of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

 

These words have come under intense scrutiny in the recent days over whether they were said by the pilot or someone who was not supposed to be in the cockpit.

 

However, Malaysian authorities said today preliminary investigations show that these last words were from co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid (left).

 

"Initial investigations indicate that it was the co-pilot who basically spoke the last time, it was recorded on tape," MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya told a press conference at Sama-Sama Hotel, KL International Airport.

 

This final conversation took place just 11 minutes before MH370 disappeared from Malaysian air traffic control radar at 1.30am on March 8.

 

Did something happen to the co-pilot in those 11 minutes or was the co-pilot part of something devious? [View timeline of final communication here]

 

These questions have prompted the international media to cast a spotlight on whether MH370's communication system, the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (Acars), was turned off before or after the final cockpit communication.

When was the Acars switched off?
 

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday the Acars was turned off before the last cockpit communication with the control tower - now deduced to be with Fariq.

 

That statement, which was clarified to be inaccurate today, had raised questions as to why Fariq did not indicate anything amiss to the control tower, despite the Acars being turned off even though it should not have been.

 

Jauhari (right) said today it could not be established whether the Acars was turned off before or after Fariq's communication.

 

"The last Acars transmission was 1.07am. We don't know when the Acars was switched off after that but it was supposed to transmit every 30 minutes and the next transmission did not come through," he said.

 

That means the next Acars transmission - that did not take place - should have been at 1.37am.

 

This indicates the Acars could have been turned off at any time before or after 1.19am, but still between 1.07am and 1.37am, which is the time of the final communication with the control tower.

 

This latest information gives Fariq the benefit of the doubt, but does not shed light on what happened in the next crucial 11 minutes when the plane lost communication and deviated from its path.

Pilot was not a stand-in

The plane's transponder, a key communication device tracked by air traffic controllers, could not be picked up at 1.21am by Vietnamese air traffic controllers as scheduled.

 

Jauhari also denied that the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah (left) was a last minute replacement for the flight.

 

"The roster used was according to schedule," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Hishammuddin who was also present at the press conference confirmed that pilot suicide was among several angles that are being investigated in investigation of the flight's passengers by the police.

 

However, he declined to state whether the investigation thus far found whether the pilot and co-pilot were suffering from any personal problems.