from http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/
That theory is buoyed by word from a senior U.S. official familiar with the investigation that the Malaysia Airlines plane made several significant altitude changes and altered its course more than once after losing contact with flight towers.
Malaysian military radar showed the plane climbing to 45,000 feet soon after disappearing from civilian radar screens and then dropping to 23,000 feet before climbing again, the official said.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the satellite communications system that pinged for hours stopped functioning because "something catastrophic happened or someone switched off" the system, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the jet's last known position.
The pings stopped at a point over the Indian Ocean, while the jetliner was flying at a normal cruising altitude, according to the newspaper.
That theory is buoyed by word from a senior U.S. official familiar with the investigation that the Malaysia Airlines plane made several significant altitude changes and altered its course more than once after losing contact with flight towers.
Malaysian military radar showed the plane climbing to 45,000 feet soon after disappearing from civilian radar screens and then dropping to 23,000 feet before climbing again, the official said.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the satellite communications system that pinged for hours stopped functioning because "something catastrophic happened or someone switched off" the system, the newspaper reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the jet's last known position.
The pings stopped at a point over the Indian Ocean, while the jetliner was flying at a normal cruising altitude, according to the newspaper.