The plane, captained by a veteran MAS pilot, had relayed no indications of distress, and weather at the time was said to be good.
Questions have also swirled over how the two passengers boarded the jet on stolen passports, sparking an investigation into possible links with terrorism and a probe into the sale of passports in Thailand – where the documents were stolen over the past two years.
Two European names – Christian Kozel, an Austrian, and Luigi Maraldi of Italy – were listed on the passenger list, but neither man boarded the plane.
Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told AFP that the man identified as using one of the passports is a non-Malaysian who was identified using airport video surveillance.
Home Minister Zahid Hamidi reportedly said Sunday that the two passengers who used the passports looked Asian in appearance.
“I am still puzzled how come (immigration officers) cannot think: an Italian and Austrian but with Asian facial features,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama.
The United States has sent an FBI team to help investigate the passengers, but US officials stressed there was as yet no evidence of terrorism.
Malaysia Airlines shares lost 20 percent at one point Monday as the market reacted to the jet’s disappearance, although clawed back most of those losses to close down 4.0 percent.
The incident is a serious blow for the carrier, which has haemorrhaged cash for several years amid mounting competition from low-cost rivals such as AirAsia.
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