BALTIMORE, Maryland March 8, 2014 - The discovery that at least two persons listed on the passenger log of a missing Malaysian Airlines Flight are not actually on the flight but instead are home and safe, has sparked the interest of intelligence sources around the world. This news rippled through the news that the United States has dispatched the USS Pinkney, a battleship, to aid in the search, and at the same time an FBI task force was dispatched to the scene. The Pinkney is based in San Diego, but happened to be on patrol in the same part of the world where the plane is believed to have disappeared. Because it has systems that can identify even small objects at considerable distances, the Navy has ordered it to the scene of the search. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said earlier today that 15 aircraft and 9 ships of the participating countries are involved in the search, and this was before news came that the Pinkney would join the search.
Fox reported last night that top American intelligence sources say their interest is over and above the paramount interest in finding the huge airliner, a Boeing 777 jumbo jet. Fox said American Security Sources have said they are extremely anxious to view security camera recordings of passengers boarding the plane so that they can identify who was using the passports of the two men not actually on the flight. Both men, one an Austrian and one an Italian, say their passports were stolen (in separate incidents) many months ago in Thailand. The two men have no known connection to each other except for having their passports stolen in Thailand.
Planes and ships from over one half dozen countries have jumped into the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Jet with 239 persons on board in waters off the coast of Vietnam. The Malaysian Airlines flight left Kuala Lumpur 45 minutes after midnight, local time, on Saturday and was due in Beijing, China at 6:30 am local time. But between one and two hours after takeoff the plane suddenly disappeared off of radar. No mayday call of any kind has been received by flight controllers. According to the Vietnamese On-Line News Service Thanhnien, Vietnamese officials say the flight disappeared while in the air space of Vietnam's Cau Ma Province, just as it was about to come into the range of flight controllers in Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as Hanoi. A reporter from the Thanhnien Service was aboard the Vietnamese Navy's Search and Rescue Plane that discovered two "unusual" oil slicks, 10 to 20 km in length and lying parallel to each other 500 meters apart.
The Thanhnien Service in Vietnam identified the pilot and captain of the missing jet as 53-year-old Ahmad Shah. Captain Shah joined Malaysian Airlines in 1981 and is said to have 18,365 hours piloting a Boeing 777. This number of hours indicates that Captain Shah is very experienced, experts have said. His co-pilot, however, is not nearly as experienced. While the co-pilot's name has not been released, he is reported to be 27-years-old with 2,763 flight hours. This number of hours is not at all high for the kind of long flight that the missing jet was on. On such long flights, the Captain is expected to take breaks, leaving the Co-Pilot in charge and in command of the flight.
A number of veteran pilots interviewed on Fox and in various publications all say that the fact that the jet disappeared without a trace and without giving a may day call indicates that there was a catastrophic event on board. The procedure for a bare bones may day call involves pushing two buttons that are very near each other, experts said. The fact that the plane did not give even a quick may day is indicative of a catastrophy, sources said.
There was no indication as this story is posted that any other passengers were using stolen passports. China is having extreme internal problems in the south of the country. It is the kind of internal unrest that may lead to extreme measures. Because the country is always viewed as extremely difficult to leave, it immediately raises eyes when one or more persons are believed to be sneaking in to China. A passport is one of the surest forms of identification. It is recognized around the world. Getting its hands on somebody else's passport gives the thief all kinds of nefarious opportunities.
NCAA Baseball: Maryland Freshman Pitcher Mike Shawaryn recorded his second win over a Top 25 team and improved his record to 4-0 as the Terps stung the No 2 Florida State Seminoles, 5-1. The Terps tied the series at a game apiece. The weekend series are the first ACC games for both teams. After the Seminoles rocked the Terp bullpen in a 15-3 triumph on Friday night, Shawaryn immediately restored order, retiring eight of the first nine hitters he faced. From the fourth through the sixth inning he retired eight more Seminole hitters in a row. Overall, he pitched 7 and one-third innings, giving up one run and five hits.
The Terps are now 9-3 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. Florida State is now 11-2 overall and, as mentioned, has the same 1-1 ACC mark.
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