Lawmaker: Missing airliner may have landed in southeast Asia, for use as ‘weapon’
The theory that the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was hijacked and diverted -- possibly to Indonesia -- to be used as a "weapon" in a future attack gained traction Monday from the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
Rep.
Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News that the two most plausible scenarios at
this stage are that Flight 370 ran out of fuel and crashed into the Indian
Ocean, or that the plane has already landed "somewhere in southeast
Asia" as part of a terror plot.
"It
could have landed somewhere, filled with explosives and then sent somewhere
else to cause some great damage, and I think we have to look at all
possibilities right now," McCaul told Fox News.
The
theory that the missing plane is being housed in a secret location is one of
dozens that have emerged since the Boeing 777 disappeared. But with the
international investigation now focusing on sabotage and foul play, the
possibility of a terror link remains on the table.
"We
do have to use ... imagination. This is one of the most mysterious flights
probably since Amelia Earhart's disappearance," McCaul said, while
acknowledging "no one really knows the truth behind the
motivation."
McCaul
also confirmed that FBI agents were on the ground on Sunday, and that the
computer hard drives of the pilot and co-pilot are currently being reviewed.
McCaul said that should lead to new information.
Meanwhile,
McCaul and other officials are calling on Malaysian authorities to give FBI
investigators greater access to help with the probe.
New York
Republican Rep. Peter King complained on Sunday that the Malaysian government
was "not cooperating."
Much of
the frustration is being directed toward Malaysian officials, who apparently
waited nine days after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared March 8 over
the Indian Ocean to search the pilot and co-pilots' home -- though Malaysian
officials are now challenging that claim.
King said
the pilots should have been the focus from the start. King told ABC's
"This Week" that more intelligence agencies need to be hands-on in
the probe. He wants the NTSB, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and
the international police agency Interpol to be more involved in the
investigation, which includes a search over 5 million square miles for the
craft and its "black boxes," which hold key data to help solve the
mystery.
Since
last week, the search for the missing Malaysian jet has pushed deep into the
northern and southern hemispheres as Australia on Monday scoured the southern
Indian Ocean and China offered 21 satellites to respond to Malaysia's call for
help in the unprecedented hunt.
Malaysian
authorities say the jet carrying 239 people was intentionally diverted from its
flight path during an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8
and flew off-course for several hours. Suspicion has fallen on the pilots,
although Malaysian officials have said they are looking into everyone aboard
the flight.
Malaysian
police confiscated a flight simulator from the pilot's home on Saturday and
also visited the home of the co-pilot in what Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu
Bakar initially said was the first police visits to those homes. But the
government -- which has come under criticism abroad for missteps and
foot-dragging in their release of information -- issued a statement Monday
contradicting that account by saying police first visited the pilots' homes as
early as March 9, the day after the flight.
Investigators
haven't ruled out hijacking, sabotage, pilot suicide or mass murder, and they
are checking the backgrounds of all 227 passengers and 12 crew members, as well
as the ground crew, to see if links to terrorists, personal problems or
psychological issues could be factors.
For now,
though, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said finding the plane
was still the main focus, and he did not rule out finding it intact.
Fox News' Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to
this report.
