** Saturday 8th March
**
12.41am
Flight MH370 takes off from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia headed for Beijing Capital Airport. There were 12 crew and 227 passengers on board - two of whom were travelling under stolen passports. The planed was heading across the South China Sea towards South Vietnam. The last communication heard from the plane was 'All right, roger that' to a message from Air Traffic Control.
1.20am
About 40 minutes after take off, air traffic control lost contact with the plane. However there is some confusion here as originally air traffic control said that they lost contact with the aircraft later, at around 2.40am. 1.20 seems more likely considering the aircraft's last recorded position which was about 120 nautical miles off the coast. No emergency calls were made.
1.30am
Unconfirmed sightings of a low flying plane off the east coast of Malaysia by two eye witnesses.
2.40am
Air force chief has claimed at this time the plane's position was picked up as being near the tiny island of Pulau Perak in the Malacca strait - North-West of Kuala Lumpur.
A New Zealander working on an oil rig off Vung Tang in South Vietnam said he saw a burning object some 200 miles in a South East direction which further widens the search area.
Where the confusion lies
The plane was 'lost' as it left Malaysian and entered Vietnamese airspace. Malaysian air control confirmed it was handing over to Ho Chi Minh City Control, but minutes later the flight was lost.
Do some people know more than they are letting on?
Malaysian Airlines have angered families of the passengers - as many feel they are withholding information. Many think this is likely, because information they are in possession of may reveal secrets about Chinese and American surveillance activities in the area.
Why did no one make any emergency calls?
It could be that either there was a sudden, catastrophic event such as a bomb explosion, collision or accidental explosion which means there would've been no time to do this. Or it could be that there was an emergency situation and they were concentrating on rectifying it rather than communicating with the outside world. On Air France 477, which suffered a high-altitude stall and crashed into the Atlantic, this is exactly what happened.
Why is the search area so large?
Because of the confusing and sometimes contradictory information about the last known position of the plane, the search is focusing both east and west of Kuala Lumpur. In the Malacca Strait as well as the South China Sea. Malaysia has also requested assistance from India in searching the Andaman Sea, which is further North.
Could it have been a terrorist attack?
No one has ruled this out, but then no group has claimed responsibility either. It is felt that the two Iranian men who boarded with stolen passports were likely seeking asylum in Europe, though again no one has ruled out that they could have had other intentions.
Why hasn't any wreckage been found?
So far all possible wreckage and oil slicks have been found to be unrelated to the airliner. Black boxes or flight recorders emit ultrasonic signals that can be detected underwater and from several hundred miles, but without knowing a more precise location of the plane when it went down, nothing has been found of it as yet.