MH370 relatives rage as Malaysia probes "deleted" data

Chinese relatives of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are stopped and escorted away by Malaysian police from entering the media centre before the start of a press conference at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on March 19, 2014. (AFP/Mohd Rasfan)

KUALA LUMPUR: Angry Chinese relatives tried to gatecrash Malaysia's tightly controlled daily media briefing on the missing plane on Wednesday in chaotic scenes underlining the frustrations surrounding the 12-day search.

Shouting and crying, a handful of relatives of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 370 unfurled a banner reading "Give us back our families". They accused Malaysian authorities of withholding information and doing too little to find the plane.

The dramatic scenes unfolded just before Malaysian officials arrived for the briefing, in which they announced no progress in determining what befell the plane.

"They give different messages every day. Where's the flight now? We can't stand it anymore!" one woman wailed as reporters mobbed her and other relatives.

Shortly afterwards, Malaysian officials held a shorter-than-usual press conference at which they indicated an investigation was zooming in closer on the pilot.

Authorities said investigators had discovered that data had been deleted from the home flight simulator of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah about one month before the plane vanished early on March 8. But they cautioned against a rush to judgement.

"Some data had been deleted from the simulator and forensic work to retrieve this data is ongoing," said Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Zaharie, a 33-year veteran of the airline, was highly regarded by his peers. But suspicion has clouded him since investigators concluded that the plane's communication systems were manually disabled and the plane deliberately diverted by a skilled aviator.

Hishammuddin said Malaysia had received background checks on all but three of the plane's 227 passengers from their home countries, with no apparent red flags.

"So far, no information of significance on any passengers has been found," he said.

The aircraft also carried 12 crew.

The international quest to find the Boeing 777 came up empty again, 12 days after it mysteriously vanished, with the Malaysian government acknowledging red tape was slowing a massive search.

Relatives of passengers have become increasingly agitated at the failure of the airline and Malaysian government to explain what happened, especially the families of the 153 Chinese nationals aboard.

But Hishammuddin had nothing new to offer in terms of the search for the plane across a huge arc of land and sea the size of Australia.

Indonesia acknowledged earlier on Wednesday it had only just provided clearance for surveillance aircraft from Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia to overfly its territory, while saying its own vessels await instructions from Kuala Lumpur.

Hishammuddin confirmed that some search resources were "awaiting diplomatic clearance to begin operations".

"Once we receive formal clearance, we can then speed up the deployment of assets along the search corridors," he said.

The clock is ticking down on the 30 days during which the aircraft's black box will transmit a signal.

In a further sign of miscommunication, the Thai air force revealed on Wednesday that its military radar had picked up what appeared to be Flight MH370 just minutes after it was mysteriously diverted.

It went unreported by the Thai military for nine days and only emerged following a check of radar logs on Monday.

Air Marshal Monthon Suchookornat said the same plane was picked up again later swinging north and disappearing over the Andaman Sea, but Thailand saw no need to notify Malaysia.

Malaysia has been criticised for not responding quickly to radar indications that the plane veered north and west, losing valuable time in tracking it.

Malaysia has sought help from more than two dozen countries in the form of radar and satellite analysis, as well as surveillance vessels and aircraft.

Recognising the need to cede some operational control in a search effort beyond Malaysia's capacity, Hishammuddin said Australia and Indonesia had agreed to take the lead in the southern corridor across the Indian Ocean.

China and Kazakhstan would do the same in a northern corridor stretching from northern Thailand into South and Central Asia.

But many of the countries involved are not used to such close cooperation -- especially when it comes to sharing possibly sensitive radar data.

India's navy has suspended its search in the Andaman Sea for several days, citing a lack of instructions.

Paul Yap, an aviation lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore, said Malaysia faced a giant challenge coordinating the search and getting partners to share sensitive data that could divulge a country's radar capabilities.

"I wouldn't like to be in Malaysia's shoes," Yap said.