New Evidence Suggests That Plane Disappearance Was A Deliberate Act

Two U.S. officials believe the shutdown of two separate communications systems from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 happened at different times, indicating the disappearance was less likely the result of a catastrophic failure and more the result of a "deliberate act," according to a new report from ABC News.

Sources speaking with ABC believe the data reporting system was shut down at 1:07 a.m., while the transponder — sending out location and altitude data — was shut down at 1:21 a.m.

U.S. investigators are "convinced that there was manual intervention," one source told ABC, indicating an accident is not the reason the plane vanished.

If the disappearance of the plane were a result of a catastrophic failure, such as an explosion or engine malfunction, the systems likely would have stopped transmitting at the same time or within a much shorter period. But a 14-minute delay raises even more questions.

Further, investigators suspect the missing flight stayed in the air for about four hours after it reached its last confirmed location, according to Andy Pasztor of The Wall Street Journal. While the main systems were shut down, satellites picked up faint electronic "pings" of technical data from the flight, then on a path far off its original course to Beijing, according to Reuters. 

That's led the search-and-rescue effort for the missing aircraft to now expand to the Indian Ocean, where there is "a strong likelihood" the flight may ultimately be found at the bottom, according to CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr, citing a senior U.S. official.

'A Number Of Possible Scenarios'

"It's my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive, but new information, an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean and we are consulting with international partners about the appropriate assets to deploy," White House spokesman Jay Carney told the WSJ. "There are a number of possible scenarios that are being investigated as to what happened to the flight, and we are not in a position at this time to make conclusions about what happened, unfortunately." 

With an accident becoming less likely (but not entirely ruled out), the scenarios for what happened could come down to a hijacking or actions taken by rogue crew members. One person close to the investigation told The Wall Street Journal that there could be a third possibility: The plane could have been diverted "with the intention of using it later for another purpose."

"That's been a possibility right from the start," Patrick Smith, an airline pilot and author, told Business Insider's Michael Kelley. "It's very unlikely, but I suppose it's conceivable."

NOW: Here's everything we know up to this point on MH370

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