Pilot's Last Words Revealed as the Hunt for Malaysian Flight 370 Continues

Search teams now scouring waters hundreds of miles southwest of the plane's last known location.
3:00 | 03/12/14


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Transcript for Pilot's Last Words Revealed as the Hunt for Malaysian Flight 370 Continues
This is a special group. I'm Michelle Franzen in New York with this ABC news digital special report -- five and the mystery deepens the investigation into that missing Malaysian airliner. Is now running. On frustrating baffling circles. Devin -- reports. Today the search is widening its desperate investigators chase down any possible lead on flight 370. Search teams are now scouring waters hundreds of miles southwest from the plane's last known location. Malaysian authorities say military radar spotted something at 2:15 AM Saturday over the strait of Malacca where -- we reportedly. He proved that. -- -- -- -- -- -- What we are not sure where that isn't this. American radar experts from the FAA and NTSB are now being called in to review the tape. Let them look at it in a scientific way and health. The world if they really think that this radar data showing the airplane moving off to the west was was real data. Meanwhile another possible lead from an oil rig worker off the coast of Vietnam in an email he says he saw a burning object in the sky. Today search planes checked the area but no sign of the missing -- triple seven or its 239. Passengers. It's an excruciating. Wait for families of the missing. There's bad ideas for what. It's just disappeared up the price of. And if we -- just some breaking for something. Would -- -- -- probably. They're for the first time we now know the pilot's last recorded words no hint of any danger he simply told Malaysian air traffic control all right good night. The plane flew north over the ocean. Devin Dwyer ABC news New York. And we want to go now to our Washington bureau ABC news's David Curley who was also been tracking in this story this odd bizarre story David. We hear from now that from a Malaysian investigators that military radar spotted something it earlier to 58 am over the strait of Malacca. Why does it take until today -- that's the repeal. That's the best question probably you've -- actually it was real several days ago but. They -- finally come around to say they're not really sure what it is. And they did not invite experts from either the United States or Europe or China to come in and look at their radar data. Until today. And so now the Americans are looking at this there's a couple officials over there one of them actually has very good expertise from the NTSB who. Used to work as a air traffic controller knows -- very well. Who should have looked at that data today it wouldn't surprise me. If after the experts get a take a look at this that they actually say that was just a ghost and we have spent the -- and a -- two days. Searching far west in places that they shouldn't have been looking. And the Malaysian government of course coming under great scrutiny over this investigation. And rightfully so and what happened with the top military official destructing a media report saying he was misquoted or taken out of contacts you just saw some of that from the news conferences who originally the report came out that. They thought that it did they think because of this radar that they're seeing. Here's what happens on an aircraft it has transponders that sends out a signal and it tells the -- -- time. Malaysian air flight 37 -- here's where I am. So what happened was -- -- -- -- transponder was no longer transmitting. Or they were out of radar area. And which is the more likely scenario that they flew out of the radar coverage areas see you can't see the transponder is no radar out there in the middle of the South China Sea. Now what they have extrapolated it sounds like is that the plane made -- turn and because they saw something on the radar -- -- transponder. Over the strait of Malacca now that could that have been a ghost on the radar I'm no expert in it but the experts are looking at it now. The problem is -- the Malaysians by not bringing in the experts as quickly as possible. Have really had folks spinning their wheels are spinning their rotors these helicopters and planes looking -- places where we may be wasting our time and resources. And you know India is now involved in the hunt the latest to be asked to help with this what does this suggest about where this investigation might be now where -- -- think. That they have no idea where this aircraft is none whatsoever. Did -- go east didn't go west and it goes south they really have no idea I think. What will be -- -- -- if we get a sense from the American or other experts who have a chance a look at the radar. Is if it was on its course at the last time it went through radar and then start plotting -- out and they say all this other things these things you've heard from the Malaysians over the hospital days. -- really don't seem to be the case we may be able to focus this search on one specific area. One thing to remember. From Steve guinier -- -- aviation experts you know if this plane exploded in there we're gonna have a very wide debris field. If exploded or -- or -- -- hit the water and skipped you're gonna have a pretty good sized debris field if it went straight down. There may not be a lot of debris it may have basically. Pulverize itself at the surface of the water and -- there may not be a lot out there -- -- so we still don't know where we should be looking. Are they putting a lot of credibility on the that report. Out of Vietnam that they saw some something -- in the sky. Dennis is from an oil worker from New Zealand who is on -- Reagan sent an email. Saying that he saw something gather investigating I mean there because this is such a mystery everything is being investigated and because we've had so little solid information from the Malaysians it's left a lot of room for speculation and what could happen and where is this aircraft. So how much access as the US getting now to help out with the Malaysian government and and what can the US to at this point five days -- -- the gold standards are the Americans and the Europeans and it comes to investigating. Accidents we don't have. Wreckage to investigate yet so there those people don't have a lot to do but this expert who is knows a lot about radar. Finally they've invited them in. It's a question of how much access they give him there's a whole protocol that the United Nations sets out for this. And the US has standing in this investigation because the plane was manufactured. In the United States is just a matter the -- say okay here's how we're gonna move forward. This agencies going to be in charge of this decisions he's gonna have that and if the Americans get some part of that we'll start and the Europeans and Chinese we're gonna circuit and more answers. So David walk us through this with all the information that we've heard in these five days where exactly are they -- seen. Now at this moment still the Malacca strait. At this point did you know it's it's now night time again. In -- so it's going to be used to it happens the next day Thursday in Malaysia. Are they actually pulling back from the Malacca straits and over their closer to the Indian Ocean -- they bring it back over into the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea so I think in tomorrow's going to be pretty interest -- because by that time. These experts and radar haven't had a chance to look at what the Malaysians have and make some kind of recommendation that -- by the got -- writer you got -- wrong and this is where you should be looking. You know having covered these sort of investigations before is there any reason why the Malaysian government. -- would not be forthcoming in their information or have such misinformation. Yes it's had another good question. I think there is a bit of you know it's their country its airline and we shouldn't forget. The Malaysian government owns this aircraft so the government that. Is looking for -- and investigating the aircraft -- what happened and an aircraft actually owns it. And the employees who were flying it -- -- crew. So there is a bit of conflict of interest there. And you know they've not done this before and I think any country you know hates to give up sovereignty and -- to give up its jurisdiction to others. But at some point you have to realize that you don't have the expertise to do this and you need to move forward and I think we're getting closer to that that the Malaysians are coming to realize that. A long wait in the meantime David -- reporting from Washington thank you for joining us -- pleasure. And keep up with this story in real time by downloading the ABC news -- and starring this story for exclusive updates on ago. I'm Michelle president New York that's just an ABC news digital special report day five in the missing Malaysian airliner mystery.


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