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          Bad Weather Forces Suspension of Search for Malaysian Plane

   by VOA News

   Bad weather is forcing the suspension of the search for a missing
   Malaysian jetliner, which authorities have now concluded crashed in the
   southern Indian Ocean.
   The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said high waves, strong winds
   and dense clouds are preventing airplanes and ships from searching the
   area, 2,500 kilometers west of Perth.
   The search for the plane, which had 239 people on board, will be
   suspended for 24 hours. It will resume Wednesday, if conditions
   improve.
   Late Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said a new analysis
   of satellite data indicates the flight "ended" in the remote region,
   far away from any land.
   Malaysian authorities provided few other details at a news conference
   Tuesday, further angering relatives of those missing, some of whom
   protested in Beijing.
   Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya acknowledged "we do not know
   why, [and] we do not know how" the tragedy occurred. But he said there
   is no evidence of any survivors.
   ''
   "It's very evident that the aircraft ended its flight in the middle of
   the south Indian Ocean. We just have to follow the evidence being
   presented to us. What we did yesterday was to share that as quickly as
   possible to the next of kin," said Yahya.
   Malaysian authorities have given no exact location for the suspected
   crash and no wreckage has been found, though satellite photos and
   surveillance aircraft have spotted possible debris.
   Australian Defense Minister David Johnston said Malaysia's analysis is
   the "best information we've got right now," but cautioned the flight
   remains "a mystery" and that "virtually everything is speculation"
   until debris is recovered and identified.
   "It is a very, very difficult task and can I tell you this deployment
   that you can see behind me, and all of the aircraft that I have named,
   is probably one of the largest efforts you'll ever see in terms of
   maritime surveillance and joint operations from China, Australia,
   Japan, New Zealand, United States, Korea, etc." he added.
   In Beijing, around 100 Chinese relatives of those missing protested
   outside the Malaysian embassy, holding signs and demanding to be told
   the "truth." In some cases, they called Malaysian government officials
   "liars," and "murderers."
   At least 200 police cordoned off a street in front of the embassy,
   forcing journalists from the area and obstructing their view of the
   rare demonstration. Some protesters briefly clashed with police after
   being prevented from reaching nearby journalists.
   "What are you doing? I want to go and find those Malaysians. Who am I
   supposed to wait for? Why have I been waiting an hour already? I've
   been waiting for 18 days. What's the point?" asked one protester.
   Two-thirds of the plane's passengers were Chinese. Beijing has accused
   Malaysia of not providing complete information in its search for the
   plane.
   The conclusion that the plane crashed is based on an analysis of
   automated signals sent from the jet to a satellite belonging to
   Inmarsat, a British company.
   The signals continued for several hours after the plane's other
   communications systems mysteriously stopped working, providing
   investigators with a rough location of where the jet flew.
   However, a final conclusion about what happened on flight MH370 likely
   cannot be made until the plane's flight data recorder, or "black box,"
   is located.
   The U.S. Navy on Monday said it is sending a black box detector to aid
   in the search for the plane. The Navy said the "Towed Pinger Locator"
   could detect the missing airplane's black box to a depth of about 6,100
   meters.
   The Malaysia Airlines passenger jet disappeared March 8 while on a
   flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Investigators are not ruling out
   anything, including catastrophic mechanical failure, pilot sabotage or
   terrorism.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/bad-weather-forces-suspension-of-search-for-malaysian-plane/1878497.html