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09 March 2014| last updated at 02:32PM

MISSING MH370: Radar showed missing plane may have turned back

By A. Azim Idris and Adrian Lai

SEPANG: Military and civilian radar records have indicated that an air turnback could have been committed by Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and it was “highly possible”, according to top aviation and military officials.

Royal Malaysian Air Force chief General Tan Sri Rodzali Daud said the aircraft was seen making divergent movements as detected by military radar and this, in some part, was corroborated by civilian radar.
“It is possible that the plane could have deviated from its original flight path and turned (back) reciprocally,” he told reporters during the 1pm update on the flight here.
He said the Air Force was also working with several international agencies with the “right resources technicalities” on the matter, including Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane.
Rodzali however, maintained that there was no distress call from the plane before it disappeared from view.
“We are also baffled as to why there was no emergency beacon from the aircraft,” he said, adding that stakeholders in the search and rescue effort were also rethinking their approach to locate the aircraft.
Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Director-General Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman who was present at the press conference said video clips of the two men who boarded the flight with purportedly stolen passports were under probe.
Armed forces chief Zulkifeli said there were currently 40 ships and 22 aircraft scouring the search perimeter which had been widened since the revelation of a possible turnback.
An intensified search was also conducted along the Malacca Straits, he said, adding that the assets used in the effort included those from neighbouring countries and the United States and China.