Co-pilot 'delivered last message'

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya Monday told a press conference on Monday that it was most likely the 27-year-old co-pilot who voiced the last message "All right, good night" from the cockpit of the missing plane.   [Special coverage]

He also said the sign-off to air traffic control was made at 1:19 am, while the last transmission of the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was at 1:07 am.

Investigations into the identity of the person who deliberately changed the course of the plane made no headway, while the pilot and co-pilot still remain the focus of the probe. Malaysian police visited the homes of the pilot and co-pilot on Saturday.

The new phase of search and rescue operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane with 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard has started after ending the search in the South China Sea over the weekend, announced Malaysian authorities on Monday.

Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's acting transport minister, said on Monday that countries including China, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Kazakhstan have initiated search operations.

Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak declared on Saturday that the MH370's diversion from its route to Beijing was a deliberate action by someone on the plane, and the Boeing 777's last communication with satellites was either in the northern corridor or southern corridor.

Maps released by the Malaysian authorities showed that the northern corridor covers parts of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Najib held a telephone conversation on Monday. During the talks, Li said factors complicating the incident have been rising, and he hoped Malaysia could provide China with more detailed data and information, including those from third parties, in a more timely, accurate and comprehensive manner, according to a statement posted by China's foreign ministry.

Malaysia's Director General of the Department of Civil Aviation Abdul Rahman further explained that the scope of northern and southern corridors were determined through calculations of the Boeing 777's minimum and maximum speeds from the Straits of Malacca, the last point that the missing plane was detected.

"The minimum speed ended in Laos and the maximum speed ended at the edge of the Caspian Sea on the north corridor," he said. "On the south route, the minimum speed ended in the east of Sumatra and the maximum speed went to the south of Indian Ocean."

The official said the findings were verified by experts from the US, the UK and China.

According to the transport ministry, the number of countries involved in the search operation has increased to 26, with the United Arab Emirates being the latest to join.

Malaysia's foreign ministry has sent diplomatic notes to all countries involved and requested radar and satellite information from countries in the search corridors.

Hishammuddin said on Monday that the southern corridor has been divided into two sections, with Australia and Indonesia leading operations in their respective regions as demarcated by the International Civil Aviation Organization.