AIRLINER LATEST – AT 10:05 A.M. ET:  The news has been coming quickly regarding the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner.  The government of Mayaysia now says, with a high degree of confidence, that the airliner was diverted intentionally in a criminal act, and wilfully sent on a new flight path.  And we now learn that it may have been flying for as many as seven hours after being seized.  From Fox:

Investigators trying to solve the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner have sharpened their focus on passengers and crew after concluding that the Boeing 777 had its communications deliberately disabled and was airborne for hours after it vanished, Malaysia's leader said Saturday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at a press conference that investigators now know that the airliner's communications devices were deliberately disabled and that its last signal came about 7 1/2 hours after takeoff, meaning it could have ended up as far as Kazakhstan or deep in the southern Indian Ocean.

"In view of this latest development, the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board," Najib said, stressing they were still investigating all possibilities as to why the plane deviated so drastically from its original flight path.

COMMENT:  The prime minister's statement tends to confirm reporting in The Wall Street Journal and other American news outlets.  However, before he spoke the belief was that the plane flew only four hours after its last contact.  Now the number is seven and a half hours after takeoff, or about six hours after the last contact.

The speculation continues.  Assuming this latest information is true, the plane could have reached land somewhere in south and central Asia.  However, landing a plane that large without detection by satellites would be extremely difficult.

We've been following this closely.  Obviously, there are several scenarios:  a hijack by terrorists with political motives; a hijack by others with different motives; a wilful action by a member of the crew.

Malaysia is a Muslim country.  There were Malaysians aboard the flight, but there were also a number of Chinese citizens aboard, and China has been the scene of recent Muslim terrorist acts.

March 15,  2014