Picture getting clearer
‘Democracy is dead’: ‘Fanatical’ missing airliner pilot pictured wearing political slogan T-shirt as officials reveal flight MH370 could have been on the GROUND when the last satellite signal was sent
- Police investigate data from home flight simulator of captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53
- Investigators speak of his ‘obsessive’ support for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim
- Police officers fear Ibrahim being jailed could have left Shah profoundly upset
- Flight MH370 disappeared more than a week ago with 239 people on board
- Despite a huge multinational search effort, no signs of the plane or a crash have been found
- Malaysian Prime Minister said yesterday that the plane was deliberately steered off course
- FBI experts say disappearance could be ‘act of piracy’, suggesting passengers are being held
- Officials revealed the plane could have transmitted a radar ‘ping’ from the ground if it was still intact
By SIMON PARRY and AMANDA WILLIAMS and WILLS ROBINSON
PUBLISHED: 22:08 GMT, 15 March 2014 | UPDATED: 16:56 GMT, 16 March 2014
An image has emerged of the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet wearing a T-shirt with a ‘Democracy is Dead’ slogan as it has been revealed he could have hijacked the plane in an anti-government protest.
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a father-of-three, was said to be a ‘fanatical’ supporter of the country’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim – jailed for homosexuality just hours before the jet disappeared.
It has also been revealed that the pilot’s wife and three children moved out of the family home the day before the plane went missing.
It comes as FBI investigators say the disappearance of MH370 may have been ‘an act of piracy’ and the possibility that hundreds of passengers are being held at an unknown location has not been ruled out.
Officials also revealed that it is possible the aircraft could have landed and transmitted a satellite signal from the ground. If the plane was intact and had enough electrical power in reserve, it would be able to send out a radar ‘ping’.
Peter Chong (left) with best friend Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. He is pictured in a T-shirt with a Democracy is Dead slogan as police investigate claims he could have hijacked the plane as an anti-government protest
