— An impossible search —
In a reflection of the enormity of the task, the US Pacific Fleet said it was withdrawing a guided missile destroyer from the search, because the area was simply too big for such a vessel to make an effective contribution.
Two long-range patrol aircraft – a P-8A Poseidon and P-3C Orion – would shoulder the main operational burden from now on, said Fleet spokesman Commander William Marks.
“The Indian Ocean goes so far, there probably aren’t enough ships and aircraft in the world to search every inch of it,” Marks told CNN.
“If you take a map of the United States … it’s kind of like saying, all right, I want to find a person somewhere between New York and California. I just don’t know where they are,” he said.
Malaysian police have searched both pilots’ homes and are examining a flight simulator that Captain Zaharie, 53, had assembled at his home.
Associates say Zaharie was an active supporter of Malaysia’s political opposition headed by veteran politician Anwar Ibrahim. READ: Disappearance of Malaysian jet appears ‘deliberate’.
In a highly controversial case, Anwar was convicted of sodomy – illegal in Muslim Malaysia – just hours before MH370 took off.
Friends say Zaharie exhibited no extreme views, and Anwar said Tuesday he was “disgusted” by the suggestion that the captain may have sabotaged the plane as an act of political revenge.
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