Missing MH370: What is known about the plane's route so far

Missing MH370: What is known about the plane's route so far

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak disclosed new information on the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS)

Flight MH370, which disappeared one week ago on March 8. Here is what happened early that Saturday morning:

12.41am: The Boeing 777-200 jetliner carrying 239 people takes off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing.

1.07am: MAS says it received the last communication from the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which showed that everything was normal.

Time unclear: Just before the aircraft reached the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the ACARS was disabled.

Time unclear: Malaysian air traffic controllers in Kuala Lumpur hand over communications to their Vietnamese counterparts in Ho Chih Minh City.

The last words heard from the cockpit were: "Alright, goodnight."

1.20am: Last known civilian radar contact with MH370.

1.21am: Near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft's transponder was switched off.

1.23am: Vietnam informs Malaysia that it cannot contact the plane.

1.31am: The plane loses contact with air traffic control about 160km from Kota Baru.

2.15am: A military defence radar picks up an unidentified blip 322km north-west of Penang. Yesterday, Datuk Seri Najib confirmed that it was MH370.

8.11am: Last confirmed communication between the plane and a satellite.

Investigators have determined that this took place in one of two possible corridors: a northern corridor from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.


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