Yet another day passes and still no sign of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The ongoing mystery has been mired daily by confused and conflicting claims about the course and path of the flight before it vanished, leaving all options open in explaining its disappearance and current location.
And while the fact of a missing aircraft for this many days in a seemingly totally mapped and surveillable world breeds fascination, it's worth noting that the jet's discovery remains inevitable. The hows, whats and wheres remain chillingly unknown.
Malaysian officials on Thursday denied reports that claimed the plane may have mysteriously kept flying for four hours after its last reported contact. Indeed, experts commented that the possibility that the plane flew for hours undetected is perhaps more unbelievable than the fact that it remains unlocated. Alleged sightings of debris by a Chinese satellite have also been dismissed after search crews found no evidence at the reported sites.
Another mysterious detail has emerged from claims by family members of missing passengers. Nineteen families have signed a joint statement saying that passengers' cellphones connected after the flight had been reported missing. In each case, the phone would ring, but the call would be hung up. One phone reportedly rang as late as Sunday morning. However, telecoms experts say this might simply be an effect of networks searching for the phones, not a sign that the devices remain connected.
Meanwhile, as more time passes, the search for the flight must cover a greater area. Every attempt at understanding so far has come to nought. "There is no real precedent for a situation like this. The plane vanished," Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, commented.
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