Don't Blame MAS, says Dr Mahathir

PETALING JAYA: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday suggested that Boeing and the Central Intelligence Agency should be questioned over the missing Flight MH370.

"Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and Malaysia should take the blame," he said in his blog Chedet.cc.

In his 11-paragraph long post, Mahathir expressed his viewpoints and theories on the situation and stressed that something was out of place and that the media would not post anything about Boeing or CIA.

"They can land safely or they may crash, but airplanes do not just disappear. Certainly not these days with all the powerful communication systems which operate almost indefinitely and possess huge storage capacities,” Mahathir said.

Stating that he believes the tracking system on the plane was intentionally disabled, Mahathir questioned on where was the data of the plane, which was supposed to have been recorded by the satellite.

"MH370 is a Boeing 777 aircraft. It was built and equipped by Boeing, hence all the communications and GPS equipment must have been installed by Boeing.

"If they failed or have been disabled, Boeing must know how it can be done and surely Boeing would ensure that they cannot be easily disabled as they are vital to the safety and operation of the plane," he said.

He added that in 2006, Boeing received a US patent for a system that, once activated, removes all control from pilots to automatically return a commercial airliner to a pre-determined landing location.

He cited Flightglobal.com article by John Croft dated Dec 1, 2006, stating that the ‘uninterruptible’ autopilot would be activated – either by pilots, on board sensors or even by radio or satellite links by government agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency, if terrorists attempt to gain control of the flight deck.

"Clearly Boeing and certain agencies have the capacity to take over 'uninterruptible control' of commercial airliners of which MH370 is one," he said.

Mahathir said attempts to detect the plane by looking for debris and oil slick was a waste of money, adding that this was not an ordinary crash and that the plane was  somewhere, maybe without MAS’ markings.

"Boeing should explain about this so-called anti-terrorism auto-land system.

"I cannot imagine the pilots made a soft-landing in rough seas and then quietly drown with the aircraft," he added.

The Star