WATCH: One of the things hampering search efforts in the Indian Ocean is garbage. Each sighting of debris has peaked hopes, but the objects keep turning out to be nothing more than trash. As Robin Gill reports, it sheds light on the state of our oceans.
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- Australia to deploy flying air traffic controller over crowded skies in search for Flight 370
- Global airline group says missing Malaysian plane shows need for more security
- Relatives of missing passengers meet Malaysian delegation
- Search for plane and its 239 passengers is now in its 3rd week
“There is no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript,” Malaysian acting transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in the statement. “The transcript was initially held as part of the police investigation.”
Officials said that the last words spoken from the cockpit were “Good night Malaysian three seven zero,” and not “All right, good night” as previously reported by Malaysian authorities.
The discrepancy added to the confusion and frustration families of the missing already felt more than three weeks after the flight disappeared, and as of Tuesday, officials had not explained how they got it wrong.
Australia PM vows to continue hunt for missing plane
WATCH: Australian official says search for Flight MH370 could drag on.
Angus Houston, head of the newly formed Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), told media the search for MH370 could take a long time.
“In this particular case, the last known position was a long, long way from where the aircraft appears to have gone,” he said. “It’s very complex, it’s very demanding.”
“What we really need now is to find debris, wreckage from the aircraft,” he said. “This could drag on for a long time.”
On Monday night, the Ocean Shield, an Australian warship carrying a U.S. device that detects “pings” from the plane’s flight recorders, left Perth for the search zone, a three- to four-day trip.
Global airline group says missing Malaysian plane shows need for more security
The International Air Transport Association said the jet’s disappearance highlights the need for security improvements in tracking aircraft and screening passengers.
READ MORE: Australia PM vows to continue hunt for missing plane
The global airline group said it’s creating a high-level task force that will recommend by year’s end how commercial aircraft can be continuously tracked.
Director-general Tony Tyler told an industry conference Tuesday in Malaysia that accidents remain rare, but “we cannot let another aircraft simply vanish.”
Relatives meet Malaysian delegation
The relatives of the passengers have organized a committee that is in charge of posing questions to the Malaysian delegation.
During the daily sessions, the committee has asked the Malaysian team about technical aspects, particularly why the Malaysian Prime Minister stated the plane went down in the South Indian Sea without solid evidence to present to the public.
READ MORE: Judge tosses U.S. law firm’s legal action on missing plane
The “relatives committee” represents more than 500 family members.
Other relatives held candle-lit vigils and prayers in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
With files from The Associated Press
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