WHAT happened to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370? Ask the CIA but don’t blame us, says a former Malaysian prime minister.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad wrote in his personal blog today that — with the help of the Boeing’s advanced technology — the CIA or “certain parties” could have hijacked the aircraft remotely.
“It is a waste of time and money to look for debris or oil slick or to listen for “pings” from the black box,” Dr Mahathir said. “This is most likely not an ordinary crash after fuel was exhausted. The plane is somewhere, maybe without MAS markings.
“Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that MAS and Malaysia should take the blame.”
Dr Mahathir, who was Malaysian prime minister from 1981 to 2003, cites a 2006 article on flightglobal.com as the basis for his argument, which states that the CIA could activate an autopilot installed in order to prevent terrorists from taking control of the flight deck by force.
“They can land safely or they may crash, but aeroplanes do not just disappear. Certainly not these days with all the powerful communication systems which operate almost indefinitely and possess huge storage capacities,” Dr Mahathir wrote.
He also called into question Boeing’s involvement in the disappearance — particularly in light of a US patent issued in 2006 for a system that remotely locks out the aircraft’s pilot and guides the aircraft to land automatically.
Dr Mahathir also challenged the availability of satellite tracking data on the plane.
“MH370 is a Boeing 777 aircraft. It was built and equipped by Boeing, hence all the communications and GPS equipment must have been installed by Boeing.
“If they failed or have been disabled, Boeing must know how it can be done and surely Boeing would ensure that they cannot be easily disabled as they are vital to the safety and operation of the plane,” he said.