Missing Boeing 777 mystery: Fresh leads emerge

Rolls Royce and Boeing are cooperating and they did not receive any transmission after 0107 am local time on Saturday, he said.

“That was the last transmission,” Ahmed said.

Deepening the mystery, The Wall Street Journal reported that US investigators suspect that the jet flew on for four hours once it lost contact with air traffic controllers.

The suspicion is based on data from the plane's engines that are automatically downloaded and transmitted to the ground as part of routine maintenance programmes.

On the suspected floating debris images by Chinese satellites, Ahmed said a plane sent to look for them could find nothing.

“The Chinese satellite images were released by mistake,” he said but did not elaborate.
The minister said unless any debris was found “we cannot think we have moved forward in the probe.”

Vietnam also said its aircraft and ships have not found any debris said to have been spotted by Chinese satellites.