Confusion surrounds details of missing plane, with discrepancies over time and last position, and odd reference to Mario Balotelli
Finding missing aircraft can take days or months; unravelling what went wrong can take years. But accounts from Malaysian authorities and others involved in the search operation and investigation into flight MH370 have been particularly confusing and, in some cases, contradictory.
Has any trace of the plane been found?
Several sightings of debris and oil slicks have been reported but they have so far proved to be unrelated to MH370. Crews are searching a vast area of sea and are bound to spot flotsam and slicks from vessels; establishing that they are connected to the missing flight is another matter.
Where and when was the plane last detected?
This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of all. Malaysia Airlines repeatedly said that Subang air traffic control – which covers Kuala Lumpur airport – lost contact with the aircraft at 2.40am, almost two hours after takeoff, but later revised its last known contact to 1.30am.
That appeared to make more sense, since its last recorded position was 120 nautical miles off Kota Bharu on the east coast and online flight data showed it at that spot about 40 minutes into the flight, at roughly 1.20am, heading towards Vietnam across the South China Sea. The pilot of another aeroplane closer to Vietnam said that just after 1.30am he relayed a call to MH370 at the request of Vietnamese air traffic control and heard mumbling at the other end but then lost the connection.
There are also two unconfirmed sightings of a low-flying plane off the east coast at about 1.30am, though Les Westbrooks, associate professor of aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, warns: "Eyewitness accounts are notoriously bad."
Officials said the plane might have turned back and there is a report that Singaporean authorities detected a rapid descent - which could have affected whether it was picked up on radar screens. Flightradar24.com said its coverage was limited to 30,000 feet (9,100 metres) in that area.
But it was still unclear why search teams were combing the Malacca Strait, on the western side of the peninsula, until the air force chief told local media on Tuesday that military radar had picked up a signal showing the plane near the tiny island of Pulau Perak off the west coast – hundreds of kilometres north-west of Kuala Lumpur – at 2.40am; the time initially indicated by Malaysia Airlines.
It is possible that officials were, and remain, uncertain as to whether they really detected MH370.
Westbrooks noted that if the aeroplane was experiencing problems, its instruments might not have been able to respond to the radar. He said that given the size of a 777, the radar would be able to identify the presence of an object even without a response.
Who were the four passengers with suspect identities?
Only two are known to have been travelling on stolen passports. Both are thought to be Iranian, probably seeking asylum in Europe, Interpol's secretary general has said.
There was confusion earlier because the Malaysian home minister had described them as appearing to be Asian but was then contradicted by the civil aviation chief, who appeared to suggest that one of the men looked like the black Italian footballer Mario Balotelli. Most journalists present took that to mean that he was black, although the Ministry of Transportation later clarified that the civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, had been trying to emphasise that ethnicity did not indicate nationality.
The Malaysian transport and defence minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said this week that authorities were looking at two more possible cases of suspicious identities, telling reporters: "All the four names are with me."
Malaysian authorities have not given any further information since then. Chinese state media said one of the passport numbers on the manifest belonged to a man from Fujian, eastern China, who was safe and well – but a different name, also Chinese, was listed alongside the number. The man told police that his passport had not been lost or stolen.
What about people who checked in but did not board the flight?
On Monday, the civil aviation chief said five people checked in but did not board and their baggage was removed accordingly. On Tuesday, the inspector general of police said that everyone who was booked on to the flight had boarded - though he then contradicted himself by saying one person had missed the flight because they got the wrong day. Malaysia Airlines says that four people were booked but never checked in.
