The mobile phone of Fariq Abdul Hamid, the 27-year-old co-pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, was on and made contact with a cell tower in Penang.
A U.S official told CNN that the signal was detected about 400 kilometres from where the flight transponder last sent a signal, and the phone was searching for service roughly 30 minutes after the plane made a sharp turn westward.
This followed reports by the New Straits Times (NST) that the first officer tried to make a call while the plane was in flight.
"As far as I know, no, but as I said that would be in the realm of the police and the other international (authorities) and when the time comes that will be revealed. But I do not want to speculate on that at the moment," said Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
However, the U.S official familiar with the investigation of the missing plane said that no other mobile phone signals were picked up by the Penang tower.
Meanwhile, efforts to find the aircraft beneath the choppy surface of the southern Indian Ocean have been intensified with a U.S Navy-contracted submersible diving towards the sea floor.
However, just six hours of searching for underwater debris, Bluefin-21 returned to the surface due to a built-in safety feature, according to the Joint Agency Coordination Centre in Perth, Australia.
It is however unclear how much of the 5 kilometer by 8 kilometer search area the Bluefin scanned and it might take up to two months to scan the entire search area, said the report.
Another possible lead in the plane’s disappearance was the detection of an oil slick by the Australian ship Ocean Shield on Sunday evening.
A two-liter sample had been collected for examination but will take a few days to analyze.
A total of 12 aircraft and 15 ships were involved in Monday’s search effort on the surface, covering a 47,600-square-kilometer area, might be among the last said Houston.
"The air and surface search for floating material will be completed in the next two to three days in the area where the aircraft most likely entered the water," Houston said.
The search was hyped up last week when Navy-owned pinger locator and sonobuoys detected sounds that could have been from the plane’s black boxes, or data and voice recorders.
However, after weeks of silence, the likely hood of the batteries powering the beacons are dead is high, with the 30 day deadline passed.
Shein Shanin
Tue Apr 15 2014
27-year-old co-pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Fariq Abdul Hamid. -File Photo
Mahkamah tolak permohonan pemilik akaun media sosial mulakan semakan kehakiman
Mahkamah Tinggi menolak permohonan pemilik akaun media sosial untuk mendapatkan kebenaran bagi memulakan prosiding semakan kehakiman terhadap MCMC.
KOM beri tiga atlet kebebasan pilih SUKMA atau kejohanan dunia
KOM memberi kebebasan kepada tiga atlet muda kebangsaan, untuk memilih sama ada mewakili negeri ke SUKMA atau menyahut cabaran negara pada Kejohanan Olahraga Dunia Bawah 20 tahun (B-20) 2024.
Anggota polis didakwa terima rasuah beri tembakau kepada tahanan lokap
Seorang anggota polis berpangkat koperal berhadapan dua pertuduhan menerima rasuah sebagai balasan membawa masuk barang terlarang kepada tahanan lokap.
SPRM sahkan tiada penyelewengan, rasuah dikesan dalam projek NTC setakat ini
SPRM mengesahkan tidak menemui sebarang penyelewengan serta rasuah setakat ini berhubung cadangan projek pembinaan National Training Center (NTC) di Putrajaya yang dianggar bernilai RM25 juta.
WEF: Perdagangan Malaysia, Arab Saudi boleh diperkukuh menerusi kerjasama - Tengku Zafrul
Kerjasama Malaysia-Arab Saudi dengan saling memanfaat kekuatan antara satu sama lain dapat menyokong pertumbuhan perdagangan dan pelaburan.
Jalan berlubang, penunggang motosikal dapat ganti rugi RM721,000
Akibat kemalangan tersebut, plaintif mengalami kecederaan di bahu, lengan, jari dan kepala.
Selamatkan Gaza: Gaza semakin hari semakin memburuk
Peperangan di Gaza semakin hari semakin memburuk. Setakat ini dilaporkan lebih 37 ribu warga Gaza telah terkorban kerana serangan demi serangan daripada rejim Zionis.
Ia membawa kepada berlakunya krisis kemanusiaan di Gaza ketika ini.
Di Mesyuarat Khas wef yang berlangsung di Arab Saudi..krisis ini menjadi antara tumpuan.
Kita terus bersama dengan Najib Aroff dan Ashwad Ismail yang mengikuti mesyuarat ini di Arab Saudi.
Ia membawa kepada berlakunya krisis kemanusiaan di Gaza ketika ini.
Di Mesyuarat Khas wef yang berlangsung di Arab Saudi..krisis ini menjadi antara tumpuan.
Kita terus bersama dengan Najib Aroff dan Ashwad Ismail yang mengikuti mesyuarat ini di Arab Saudi.
Letupan bom Sungai Golok: Empat anggota keselamatan Thailand cedera
Empat anggota keselamatan Thailand cedera apabila terkena letupan bom di Sungai Golok, Thailand, malam tadi.
Berang tidak bantu angkat tong gas, penghantar barang dibelasah, motosikal dirosakkan
Suspek menyerang mangsa dengan topi keledar sehingga menyebabkan mangsa mengalami kecederaan di dahi.
Arahan tutup pasar malam waktu Maghrib tidak babitkan peniaga bukan Islam
Arahan penutupan sementara hanya membabitkan peniaga Islam bagaimanapun turut menggalakkan peniaga bukan Islam sekiranya mahu berbuat demikian.
Pampasan insurans RM50,000 untuk keluarga Mohammad Shahrulnizam
Perbadanan Putrajaya akan menyerahkan pampasan insurans berjumlah RM50,000 kepada keluarga Allahyarham Mohammad Shahrulnizam Ahmad Nazari.