The investigators are of an opinion that terrorist involvement can possibly be the reason behind the plane disappearance, according to US and European government sources familiar with the investigation. Malaysia’s Special Branch as well as spy agencies in the United States and Europe have not ruled out the possibility that it is an act of terrorism. The terrorist angle of the investigation is presently centered on an Iranian man, Mr. Ali, who ordered a Thai travel agent on March 1 2014 to book ticket for the two passengers using the stolen passports. Meanwhile, the agent has said that she booked them on the flight via Beijing as they were the cheapest tickets available, according to the Financial Times. However, Malaysian authorities have stated that the evidences appeared so far are not strongly showing that any attack has been carried out on the plane. They believe that mechanical or pilot issues could have resulted in the apparent crash of the plane, according to the US sources. Meanwhile, more than dozen of ships and aircraft from 10 countries are involved in the search operation of the plane in the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam. The Malaysian authorities are planning to extend the scale of their operations from March 11 if they fail to locate the missing plane, according to Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority.
