Missing Malaysia Airlines plane flew low to avoid radar detection: report

Authorities examined a flight simulator found at the home of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing plane, but initial forensics checks showed it was "clean", the paper said.

However, experts are probing deeper into the footprint of the homemade simulator.

Investigators are also probing a flight engineer who was among the passengers on the missing plane.

A Malaysian opposition leader and a close friend of Zaharie has said the pilot would have had the safety of his passengers uppermost in his mind, adding if there was foul play like hijacking then his friend would have been a victim.

Peter Chong, an aide to MP R Sivarasa of opposition PKR party,was reacting to a report in a British paper which termed Zaharie as a "political fanatic".

"Zaharie is someone who is very passionate about flying and very aware of the great responsibility a pilot bears towards his passengers and crew," Chong said.

"He is a management pilot, which means he doesn't just fly but is involved in training and examining other pilots."

Zaharie, 53, began flying with MAS in 1981 and has more than 18,000 flying hours under his belt.