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World & Nation

Malaysian military: Missing jet veered far off course in last hour

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The mother of a Flight MH370 passenger reacts at a memorial service in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  (Anthony Kwan / Getty Images)
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A relative of a Chinese passenger from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight speaks to reporters outside the Yonghegong Lama temple in Beijing.  (Goh Chai Hin / AFP/Getty Images)
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Passengers’ relatives wear T-shirts that say, “Tell me the truth, where is MH370?” in Beijing.  (Andy Wong / Associated Press)
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Cheng Liping, center, holds up a sign begging for information on the whereabouts of her husband, who was aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, at a memorial service in Beijing.   (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times)
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Kelly Wen, wife of Chinese passenger aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 prays during an event to mark one year anniversary of the plane disappearance, during a candlelight vigil for passengers onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  (Vincent Thian / AP)
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Australian air force crews have been searching the Indian Ocean for debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.   (Richard Wainwright / Associated Press)
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Captain Peter Moore is silhouetted against the southern Indian Ocean aboard a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 over the southern Indian Ocean on Thursday.   (Michael Martina / AFP/Getty Images)
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The Bluefin-21 underwater vehicle is hoisted back aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield after successful buoyancy testing in the Indian Ocean.   (U.S. Navy / Getty Images)
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A volunteer from a nongovernmental organization called Malaysians for Malaysia gets ready to release balloons in Kuala Lumpur in honor of the passengers and crew aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.   (Rahman Roslan / Getty Images)
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A visitor at Kuala Lumpur International Airport photographs messages for the passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.  (Mohd Rasfan / AFP/Getty Images)
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Malaysian Defense Minister and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, center, Malaysia Airlines CEO Group Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, left, and Malaysia’s Department Civil Aviation Director General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman listen to questions from journalists during a media conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday.  (Azhar Rahim / EPA)
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A grieving relative at the protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.  (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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Relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.  (AFP / AFP/Getty Images)
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Selamat Omar, 60, whose son Khairul Amri was on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, reacts while watching a live broadcast of a news conference by Malaysian acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on the latest developments in the search for Flight 370.  (Joshua Paul / Associated Press)
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Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik makes final touches to a sand sculpture created as a tribute to the passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.  (ASIT KUMAR / AFP/Getty Images)
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A relative of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 at a protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.  (AFP / Getty Images)
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Relatives of passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 weep after hearing the news that the plane plunged into the Indian Ocean.  (GOH CHAI HIN / AFP/Getty Images)
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Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, at an emergency late-night news conference, announces that the long-missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 “ended in the southern Indian Ocean” with no hope of survivors.  (AFP / Getty Images)
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This combo of handout images taken on March 16, 2014 and released on March 20, 2014 by the Australian Government show satellite images of two objects -- the largest estimated at 79 feet long -- spotted in the Indian Ocean.  (AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE / AFP/Getty Images)
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Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 raise their hands to question Malaysian government officials during a news briefing held by the airlines in Beijing.  (Andy Wong / AP)
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Chinese relatives of passengers from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 leave after a meeting with airline officials at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing.  (MARK RALSTON / AFP/Getty Images)
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Filipino artists from the Guhit Visual Arts Group painted an image of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 at the Benigno Ninoy Aquino High School grounds in Makati City, south of Manila, Philippines.  (AMIEL MENESES / EPA)
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Journalists wait outside the house of Fariq Abdul Hamid, copilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.  (AHMAD YUSNI / EPA)
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Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 listen to a live telecast of a press conference by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.  (Ng Han Guan / AP)
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A map provided by the Indian Navy shows the search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.  (INDIAN NAVY / HANDOUT / EPA)
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A foam plane with messages and other cards with personalized messages are placed at the viewing gallery at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.  (Wong Maye-E / AP)
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People read message cards tied up for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, outside a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  (Lai Seng Sin / AP)
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Indonesian Search and Rescue (SAR) members conduct a search operation for the missing Malaysian Airlines airplane in the Sabang Water, near the border of Malacca straits, Aceh, Sumatera, Indonesia.  (HOTLI SIMANJUNTAK / EPA)
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Muslim men offer prayers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.  (Wong Maye-E / Associated Press)
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Students from an international school in east China pray for the passengers onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.  (ChinaFotoPress / Getty Images)
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This satellite image provided by Chinese authorities shows debris in the South China Sea believed to be remnants of the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.  (CCRSDA / AFPGetty Images)
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A Vietnamese Air Force crew member checks a map during a helicopter search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.  (HOANG DINH NAM / AFP/Getty Images)
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Malaysian police have released images of a man they say is Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, left, and a man later identified by Interpol as Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza, who both boarded the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 using stolen European passports.   (AFP/Getty Images)
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Subramaniam Gurusamy holds a wedding potrait of his son Puspanathan Gurusamy who was on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.   (MOHD RASFAN / AFP/Getty Images)
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A grieving Indonesian mother displays a portrait of her son, Sugianto Lo, and his wife, Vinny Chynthya, who were both passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.   (Kharisma Tarigan / AFP/Getty Images)
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Relatives of the passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane watch TV news in a hotel in Beijing.  (Lao Cai / EPA)
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A girl stands next to a sign at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.   (Daniel Chan / Associated Press)
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Haixun 31, center, the largest patrol vessel in the South China Sea, prepares to depart from the port for a search-and-rescue mission.  (ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)
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An officer, right, and a reporter look out a window during a search by the Vietnamese Air Force for a missing Malaysia Airlines jet.  (Hoang Dinh Nam / AFP/Getty Images)
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Luigi Maraldi of Italy, whose stolen passport was reportedly used by a passenger boarding a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, shows his current passport. Maraldi expressed surprise that anyone could use his old one.  (Krissada Muanhawong / Associated Press)
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Sand artist Sudersan Pattnaik gives final touches to a sculpture on India’s Puri Beach with a message of prayer for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane.  (Asit Kumar / AFP/Getty Images)
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A woman is helped by airport workers to a bus for waiting relatives of the missing Malaysian airliner at the international airport in Beijing  (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)
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Chrisman Siregar of Medan, Indonesia, shows a portrait of his son Firman, one of the passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that went missing over the South China Sea.  (Binsar Bakkara / Associated Press)
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A woman reacts to news of the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.  (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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A photo released by Hamid Ramlan shows his daughter Norliakmar Hamid, second right, and her husband Razahan Zamani, right, who were passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines flight.  (HAMID RAMLAN / AFP/Getty Images)
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Family members look at a wedding album of Norliakmar Hamid and Razahan Zamani, passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, in Kuala Lumpur.   (Mohd Rasfan, AFP/Getty Images)
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A relative of Norliakmar Hamid and Razahan Zamani, passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, cries at their house in Kuala Lumpur.   (Mohd Rasfan, AFP/Getty Images)
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A woman reacts at Beijing airport to the news of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.   (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahyain speaks to reporters at a news conference in Sepang, Malaysia, about the missing jetliner.   (Lai Seng Sin / Associated Press)
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A Malaysian man who says he has relatives on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight talks to reporters at Beijing’s international airport.   (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)
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A policeman stands guard outside a reception area at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for friends and relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.   (Manan Vatsyayana / AFP/Getty Images)
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Family members of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines flight arrive at a reception center at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.   (Ahmad Yusni / EPA)
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A woman cries at Beijing’s airport upon hearing the news of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, which has 239 people on board.   (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
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The arrival board at Beijing’s airport shows the missing Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur as delayed.   (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)
By Carol J. Williams
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The Malaysia Airlines flight missing since Saturday had veered hundreds of miles off its flight path by the time of its last radar tracking and appeared to be flying in the opposite direction from its intended destination of Beijing, Malaysian military sources were quoted as telling local media Tuesday.

“The surprise disclosure would in part explain the decision by Malaysia two days ago to expand the search area by 100 nautical miles to cover the Strait of Malacca,” nearly 350 miles west of Flight 370’s filed flight path, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unnamed military sources.

A local Malay-language newspaper, Berita Harian, also quoted Malaysian Air Force Gen. Rodzali Daud as saying the airliner with 239 passengers and crew on board was last detected on radar at 2:40 a.m. local time near Pulau Perak, the northern end of the busy Strait of Malacca that separates Malaysia’s west coast from the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

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Another high-ranking military official confirmed the jet’s flight path deviation and added that the plane was believed to be flying low at the time of its last detection, the Associated Press reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“It changed course after Kota Bharu and took a lower altitude. It made it into the Malacca Strait,” the Reuters news agency quoted a military official involved in the investigation of the missing jet as saying.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur early Saturday and disappeared from air traffic control screens at 1:30 a.m., less than an hour after takeoff for Beijing.

It was unclear why the Boeing 777 might have departed from its flight path or dropped to a lower altitude, as air traffic control authorities reported no contact from the missing plane’s cockpit crew in the last hour before it disappeared.

A fifth day of aerial and naval search was underway early Wednesday over a vast area of South Asian ocean and waterways.

International security officials had lately downplayed the likelihood that terrorism was involved in the plane’s disappearance, but that analysis was developing prior to the disclosures that the plane was far off course.

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Terrorism had been suspected when it was learned that two men on board were traveling on stolen passports. But investigators have since concluded that the two Iranian men had no known association with extremist groups and were thought to be traveling to Europe in hopes of gaining asylum.

carol.williams@latimes.com
Twitter: @cjwilliamslat

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World & Nation
Carol J. Williams

Carol J. Williams is former senior international affairs writer for the Los Angeles Times. A foreign correspondent for 25 years, she has won five Overseas Press Club awards, two Sigma Delta Chi citations and was a 1993 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. She has served as Times bureau chief in Budapest, Vienna, Moscow, Berlin and the Caribbean. A native of Rhode Island and irrepressible Red Sox fan, Williams speaks Russian, German, French and Spanish, and has reported from more than 80 countries. She left The Times in 2015.

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