Police Hunt Mystery Woman who made Final Phone Call to Doomed Jet Captain as
First Picture Emerges of his Estranged wife and Family
- Call was made to Captain Shah just hours before he took off in MH370
- Pay-as-you-go phone which made the call was bought with fake ID
- Fake ID was used to get around security measures put in place after 9/11
- Increases fears Captain Shah may have links to terrorism
- Investigators will soon question the captain's estranged wife in detail
Daily Mail UK, 23 March 2014
Family man: Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah with his wife Faizah Khan and two of their three children
The two-minute call was made just hours before MH370 took off. It was made from a pay-as-you-go phone bought with a fake ID. The female caller used the ID to get around security measures put in place after 9/11 in a bid to tackle terrorism. The revelation increases fears that Captain Shah may have links to extremist groups.
The captain's estranged wife, pictured with her ex-husband and two of their children, will soon be questioned in detail by the investigation. Chinese satellite imagery, inset, has created a new focal point for the international search for the missing plane, right before it disappeared
The captain of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 received a two-minute call shortly before take-off from a mystery woman using a mobile phone number obtained under a false identity.
It was one of the last calls made to or from the mobile of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah in the hours before his Boeing 777 left Kuala Lumpur 16 days ago.
Investigators are treating it as potentially significant because anyone buying a pay-as-you-go SIM card in Malaysia has to fill out a form giving their identity card or passport number.
Introduced as an anti-terrorism measure following 9/11, this ensures that every number is registered to a traceable person.
But in this case police traced the number to a shop selling SIM cards in Kuala Lumpur.
They found that it had been bought ‘very recently’ by someone who gave a woman’s name – but was using a false identity.
The discovery raises fears of a possible link between Captain Zaharie, 53, and terror groups whose members routinely use untraceable SIM cards.
Everyone else who spoke to the pilot on his phone in the hours before the flight took off has already been interviewed.
Hunt: The mystery object in a Chinese satellite image, inset, some 80 miles from the previous search zone
Today, planes and ships were scrambled to find a pallet and other debris in a remote patch of the southern Indian Ocean as the search resumed for the missing jet.
The pallet was spotted by a search plane yesterday, but has not been closely examined. Wooden pallets are commonly used in shipping, but can also be used in cargo containers carried on planes.
It was the latest in a series of clues experts and searchers are trying to pin down to solve the mystery of what happened to Flight 370 when it disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.
In a separate development, The Mail on Sunday has learned that investigators are now poised to question Captain Shah’s estranged wife in detail.
They have waited two weeks out of respect, but will now begin formally interviewing Faizah Khan following pressure from FBI agents assisting the inquiry.
Searching: Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss (right) and Dan Gillis, senior search and rescue
officer involved in the search, look at monitors at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's centre in Canberra
Although the couple – who have three children – were separated, they had been living under the same roof.
A source said: ‘Faizah has been spoken to gently by officers but she has not been questioned in detail to establish her husband’s behaviour and state of mind in the days leading to the incident.
‘This is partly for cultural reasons. It is not considered appropriate in Malaysia to subject people in situations of terrible bereavement to the stress of intensive questioning.’
The softly-softly approach has been challenged by the team of FBI agents working with Malaysian police. They have pointed out that she may hold ‘vital clues and information’ to Zaharie’s mental state.
‘The whole world is looking for this missing plane and the person who arguably knows most about the state of mind of the man who captained the plane is being left alone,’ said a source close to the FBI team.
The source added: ‘If we want to eliminate the chief pilot from the inquiry, we must interview her in detail to find out what his state of mind was.’
The mystery caller emerged when Malaysian investigators examined the phone records of both Zaharie and his co-pilot, 27-year-old Fariq Abdul Hamid.
Investigators were keen to trace the caller and interview them, although they have stressed that the fact the SIM card was registered to a non-existent ID card does not necessarily indicate a criminal or terrorist connection.
Political activists in Malaysia sometimes use SIM cards bought with bogus identity cards if they fear that their phones may be bugged by the country’s authoritarian ruling party.
Up and away: A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion takes off at RAAF Pearce Base
to join the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in Perth, Australia
Looking: Crew on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, searching for the missing flight in the southern Indian Ocean
The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that Zaharie is an avid supporter of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a distant relative, and may have attended a controversial court hearing where Anwar was jailed for five years. It took place only a few hours before the flight.
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The whole world is looking for this missing plane and the person who arguably knows most about the state of mind of the man who captained the plane is being left alone'
Source close to FBI team
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The timing of the call has intensified scrutiny on Zaharie as investigators struggle to establish whether the ****pit crew, a catastrophic accident or hijackers are to blame for Flight MH370’s disappearance.
Meanwhile FBI experts in the US are continuing to examine the hard drive of a flight simulator seized from Zaharie’s home after it emerged that programs he used on it had been deleted.
Zaharie used the home flight simulator to practise extreme landings, including on remote Indian Ocean islands such as the US air base in Diego Garcia, investigators have revealed.
Good luck: Ground crew members wave to a Japanese Maritime Defense Force P3C patrol plane as it leaves the
Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang heading for Australia to join the search and rescue operation
Looking: This graphic shows the approximate position of the objects seen floating in a Chinese satellite image in the southern Indian Ocean on which the AMSA is concentrating its search
The hard drive was flown to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, at the end of last week after Malaysian investigators failed to retrieve the deleted files, which they suspect may have been ‘buried’ in an elaborate process to cover the user’s tracks.
The delay in handing the computer hard drive to the FBI has proved to be a source of friction between the Malaysian and US investigators, the source close to the FBI said, adding: ‘We have the technology to do this work quickly and effectively and they simply don’t.’
Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday said investigators are coming under increasing pressure as they are aware that time is running out – the black box voice and data recorder only transmits an electronic signal for about 30 days before its battery runs out.
But he claimed a thorough investigation of the plane’s cargo manifest had not shown ‘any link to anything that may have contribution to the plane’s disappearance’.
'Wreckage’ spotted...80 miles from previous site of debris
By IAN GALLAGHER
A mystery object has been spotted in the Indian Ocean search zone – 80 miles from an earlier sighting of debris.
Measuring 74ft by 42ft, the object appears in a new image taken by a Chinese satellite.
Ships have been sent to investigate but a ferocious cyclone was yesterday hampering efforts to locate the possible wreckage.
The news came two days after debris was detected 1,550 miles south-west of Perth in Australia.
An Australian Orion aircraft was sent to scour area where satellite imagery pinpointed possible debris
The satellite picture of the possible debris was handed over by China and given a new focal point for search
Since the announcement, Australian search teams scouring the remote area reported seeing a number of small objects including a wooden pallet.
Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein revealed the image at a press conference
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion plane with specialist electro-optic observation equipment was diverted to the location, arriving after the first aircraft left, but reported sighting only clumps of seaweed.
The Chinese satellite discovery was revealed yesterday by Malaysia’s acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein at a press conference.
He made the announcement after being handed a handwritten note.
He said: ‘The Chinese ambassador has received satellite images of floating objects in the southern corridor and they will be sending ships to investigate.’
China is one of 26 nations involved in the search for flight MH370. Most of those on board the aircraft were Chinese nationals.
The Xinhua state news agency said the latest image was taken by China’s Gaofen-1 satellite at about 4am GMT on March 18 and showed objects some 80 miles ‘south by west’ from the first site.
The announcement came after the first Australian Orion aircraft to make a sortie over the target zone returned without success.
Flying Officer Peter Moore, the Orion’s captain, said a combination of ‘less than ideal’ weather and sea conditions had closed in on the flight.
He said they covered their entire search area but had not seen any evidence of wreckage.
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DESERT ISLAND PLANE CRASH COMPUTER GAME IS SHELVED
The latest release of a war-themed computer game – centred on a passenger plane that crashes on to a desert island in the South China Sea – has been delayed as the search for missing flight MH370 continues.
Battlefield 4 Naval Strike, an update for the Battlefield 4 game which has sold millions of copies worldwide, was due for release last week – but has now been put back until Tuesday.
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RELATED:
Now France says it has satellite images of objects that could be from missing MH370 airliner as police seize crew's bank records
- Malaysia Airlines 370 went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board
- Images 'taken close to where Australia and China took photos of debris'
- Air and sea searches since last Thursday in remote area of Indian Ocean
- Australia PM Tony Abbott: 'We've now had number of very credible leads'
23 March 2014
France today provided Malaysia with satellite images of objects that could be from a passenger jet that went missing more than two weeks ago.
It is the latest word of such images that officials are hoping will help solve one of the world's great aviation mysteries, after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing with 239 people on board.
The pictures are thought to have been taken close to areas of the Indian Ocean where Australia and China provided satellite photographs of objects that could be debris from MH370.
Meanwhile, it was claimed that police have seized the personal financial records of all 12 crew members of the flight MH370 - including bank statements, mortgage documents and credit card bills.
Working: Leading Seaman Luke Horsburgh stands watch during his duty as Quartermaster on the bridge
of the Australian Navy ship HMAS Success after it arrived in the search area for missing MH370
Mystery: Solid matter is pictured floating in the southern Indian Ocean, seen from a Royal New Zealand
Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft yesterday, searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370
Ramped up search: Chinese relatives (centre) of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 leave
after a meeting with airline officials at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing
Detectives have also got hold of the mobile and landline phone records of the crew, along with details of their computer use and online habits, reported The Sunday Times.
Air and sea searches since last Thursday in a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean to determine whether the objects were from the missing jet have been unsuccessful.
Malaysia's Ministry of Transport said the images had been sent to Australia, which is coordinating the search about 1,550 miles south-west of Perth.
The images could be another clue in the growing mystery over Flight 370, with the search moving from seas off Vietnam when the plane first went missing to areas now not far from the Antarctica.
There, planes and a ship were scrambling today looking for a pallet and other debris to determine whether the objects were from the missing jet.
Possible sighting: A photo released by Chinese broadcaster CCTV shows a new satellite image of a
large floating object in the Indian Ocean that could be related to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
Diagrams: Mike Barton (right), Rescue Coordination Chief, shows Australian Deputy Prime Minister
Warren Truss (left), maps of the Indian Ocean search area for the missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft
Squadron leader Brett McKenzie takes notes of other search aircraft on the windshield of a Royal New Zealand
Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says 'three significant developments' have offered
'increasing hope' of finding MH370, as the search continues in the southern Indian Ocean
The pallet was spotted by a search plane yesterday, but has not been closely examined. Wooden pallets are commonly used in shipping, but can also be used in cargo containers carried on planes.
Quote:
'Today is really a visual search again, and visual searches take some time. They can be difficult'
John Young, Australian Maritime Safety Authority
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Mike Barton, chief of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's rescue coordination centre, told reporters in Canberra that the wooden pallet was spotted by a search aircraft yesterday.
He added that it was surrounded by several other objects, including what appeared to be strapping belts of different colours.
A New Zealand P3 Orion military plane was then sent to find it but failed, he said.
A new hope: Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein holds up the note on
which he was passed the information about the Chinese satellite sighting in the southern Indian Ocean
Hand-written: A close up of the note passed to Mr Hussein. It is understood that the '30m' figure is incorrect
Radar specialists are pictured aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft
searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean
‘So, we've gone back to that area again today to try and re-find it,’ Mr Barton said. An Australian navy ship was also involved in the search.
Quote:
'We have now had a number of very credible leads and there is increasing hope - no more than hope, no more than hope - that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft'
Tony Abbott, Australian Prime Minister
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‘We went to some of the expert airlines and the use of wooden pallets is quite common in the industry,’ Mr Barton said.
‘They're usually packed into another container which is loaded in the belly of the aircraft. ... It's a possible lead, but we will need to be very certain that this is a pallet because pallets are used in the shipping industry as well.’
In Australia, eight search planes departed from a military base near Perth to scour an area about 1,550 miles away in an extremely isolated part of the southern Indian Ocean.
A graphic from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), shows the approximate position of the objects seen floating in
a Chinese satellite image in the southern Indian Ocean, and the area where a civilian plane reported sighting possible debris
Reporting: Journalists wait for Chinese relatives of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
outside the hall, during a meeting with airline officials at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing
Satellite images, the most recent released by China yesterday, have showed large objects floating in the area that experts want to check to see if they came from the jet.
SEARCH TEAM IN 'HIGH SPIRITS'
The captain of an Australian Air Force Orion touched down back in Perth tonight with no sightings of the MH370 wreckage, but 'in high spirits still' about finding the missing aircraft.
Speaking at RAAF Base Pearce just before 8pm local time, Flight Lieutenant Russ Adams said his crew used the latest satellite imagery and co-ordinates of images in their search.
The Orion conducted today's search in poor weather conditions which 'deteriorated since our last sortie... cloud down to the surface [and] at times we were enclosed in cloud'.
Lt Adams praised his crew for working over the Indian Ocean 'as a team' over ' a long day'.
'I can't be more proud of the girls and boys,’ he said. ‘The pilot and co-pilot performed extremely well. We were down at 300ft. The guys definitely shone.'
Lt Adams said there was reason for optimism. 'We might do ten sorties, but when you do that eleventh sortie and you find... islands with people alive on it.'
Air and sea searches since Thursday have not produced any results.
John Young, manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's emergency response division, said today's search was mainly relying on human eyes.
‘Today is really a visual search again, and visual searches take some time. They can be difficult,’ he said.
Mr Barton said while the weather was not as good at the start of the day with sea fog and low cloud, it was due to clear up later.
Despite the frustrating lack of answers, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was upbeat.
‘Obviously we have now had a number of very credible leads and there is increasing hope - no more than hope, no more than hope - that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft,’ he told reporters in Papua New Guinea.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it had refined the search based on the latest clue from the Chinese satellite showing an object that appeared to be 72ft by 43ft.
Flight Lieutenant Jason Nichols on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, takes notes as they search
for debris from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 earlier today in the southern Indian Ocean
RAAF Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine looks out from an Orion as he scans for signs of debris or wreckage
A Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force personnel looks out of their Lockheed P-3C Orion
aircrafts before leaving for Australia to help with the search operations for MH370
It said the object's position also fell within yesterday's search area but it had not been sighted.
Today's search has been split into two areas within the same proximity covering 22,800 sq miles. These areas have been determined by drift modelling, the AMSA said.
Malaysian Defensee Minister Hishammuddin Hussein put a message on his Twitter account asking those in churches around the country to offer a ‘prayer please’ for the passengers and crew on Fight 370.
More than 300 Malaysian cycling enthusiasts rode their bikes to the Kuala Lumpur airport to remember the people onboard the jet.
Searching: Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss (right) and Dan Gillis, senior search and rescue
officer involved in the search, look at monitors at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's centre in Canberra
Flying Officer Peter Moore, the aircraft's captain, said a combination of 'less than ideal' weather and sea conditions had closed in on the flight
Two Chinese Ilyushin IL-76s aircraft sit on the tarmac at RAAF Pearce base ready to join
the search missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean
Acting Prime Minister of Australia Warren Truss speaks to the media at the RAAF Pearce Base,
where he said the search for MH370 would continue 'while there's still hope' and until officials were certain it was 'futile'
The cyclists decorated the bikes with small Malaysian flags and stickers that read ‘Pray for MH370.’
The latest satellite image is another clue in the baffling search for Flight 370, which dropped off air traffic control screens on March 8 over the Gulf of Thailand with 239 people on board.
‘China hopes that these data will be helpful for searching and rescuing efforts,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement. The missing plane had been bound for Beijing.
After about a week of confusion, Malaysian authorities said pings sent by the Boeing 777-200 for several hours after it disappeared indicated that the plane ended up in one of two huge arcs.
These were a northern corridor stretching from Malaysia to Central Asia, or a southern corridor that stretches toward Antarctica.
Mr Truss walks with RAAF Wing Commander James Parton and RAAF Group Captain Craig Heap:
Mr Truss dismissed a suggestion the Australian Government had waited too long to act after revealing the satellite photos
Difficult time: Relatives of passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are seen coming out of
a conference room wearing t-shirts reading 'Pray for MH370 Come Back Home Safely', at a hotel in Beijing
A RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft from 92 Wing on the flight line at dusk at RAAF base Pearce in Perth,
Western Australia, yesterday, after completing a search sortie for Flight MH370
A Royal Australia Air Force AP3C Orion leaves RAAF Pearce Air Base in search of MH370.
The flight went missing more than two weeks ago carrying 239 passengers and crew on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing
The discovery of the initial two objects by a satellite led several countries to send planes and ships to a stretch of the ocean southwest of Australia.
Two military planes from China have arrived in Perth, and the AMSA said they would join the search tomorrow. They join Australian, New Zealand and US. aircraft. Japanese planes are also expected soon.
Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation for what happened to the jet, but have said the evidence so far suggests it was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca, with its communications systems disabled.
They are unsure what happened next. Police are considering the possibilities of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board