'MH370 flew at an altitude of 5,000 ft; used 'terrain masking' to avoid radar detection'

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian authorities are probing new information that the missing plane with 239 people on board dropped to an altitude of 5,000 feet or possibly lower to evade radar detection after it turned back midair. The investigating agencies have now released a new map of the area that would be combed in the hope of finding the lost jet. A total of 26 countries are now involved in a global rescue or search effort to trace the missing jetliner. It is also being said that the final message transmitted to the ground control was said by the co-pilot. Earlier, investigating officials have expressed their concern over the fact that the pilot of the plane replied a calm goodnight even after one of the signaling system on board the plane stopped working. According to details by Malaysian defese ministry, the last message from the cockpit of MH370- 'All night, good night’ came after a signaling system on board a plane had stopped working. Investigators are also speculating that the voice in the message is not that of the pilot but someone else. The plane was being flown by Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and his first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27. The new search areas have been demarcated in two arcs- the northern arc stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand; and a southern arc stretching from Indonesia to Indian Ocean. The information was provided by Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein in a news conference. The investigations will be headed by China and Australia in the southern region. Investigators are poring over the Boeing 777 flight MH370 profile to determine if it had flown low and used "terrain masking" during most of the eight hours it was missing from the radar coverage of possibly at least three countries, the New Straits Times reported today. The officials are looking at the possibility whether the plane -with 239 people on board including five Indians and one Indian-Canadian - had taken advantage of the busy airways over the Bay of Bengal and avoided suspicion of military radars. "The person who had control over the aircraft has a solid knowledge of avionics and navigation, and left a clean track. It passed low over Kelantan, that was true," the paper quoted officials as saying. The plane "would appear to be just another commercial aircraft on its way to its destination," it said. "It's possible that the aircraft had hugged the terrain in some areas, that are mountainous to avoid radar detection." This technique is called terrain masking and is used by military pilots to fly to their targets stealthily, using the topography to mask their approach from prying microwaves. The officials said this type of flying is considered very dangerous, especially in low-light conditions and spatial disorientation, and airsickness could easily set in. "While the ongoing search is divided into two massive areas, the data that the investigating team is collating is leading us more towards the north," sources said. Prime Minister Najib Razak last week said authorities are trying to trace the plane across two possible corridors - in the north to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean. Officials involved in the multi-national investigation said the probe would also focus on regions with disused airports equipped with long runways. "There are two likely possibilities - either the plane landed somewhere and the engine was shut down or it crashed." "As soon as the first country comes up with evidence of the flight's position after its last confirmed position (320km northwest of Penang), we will be able to refine the search and better determine its possible location," the officials said. The mystery of the missing plane from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing since March 8 continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have not succeeded in tracking the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadgets. In the picture, a woman adds her message on the clothes of a model during an art performance in support of the passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 at the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.