An woman on a flight across the Indian Ocean may have seen
the missing
Malaysian airplane sinking into the sea the day it vanished – but
nobody took her seriously, she said.
Raja Dalelah Raja Latife, 53, was flying from Saudi
Arabia to Malaysia near the Andaman Islands on March 8, when she spotted what
she believes was flight MH370 below.
"It looked like an airplane . . . I took a
closer look and was shocked to see what looked like the tail and wing of an
aircraft on the water," she told the Malaysia's Star Online. "I had
seen several shipping liners and islands from my window earlier. Then, I saw
the silvery object."
Latife said she quickly reported the sighting to a
flight attendant, who closed her window shade and told her to go sleep.
A pilot who wished to remain anonymous later
claimed Latife was too high up to recognize objects below with accuracy.
"Along any flight path, especially a long-haul
one such as between Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur, the altitude of the plane will be
maintained at around 35,000ft once it is in the air. "This is roughly
seven miles above sea level. How can anyone see anything like a boat or ship on
the ground from so high up?" he questioned.
But Latife was so convinced, she filed a police
report – five days before search parties fanned out in the exact same area, she
said.
"I
know what I saw. I am convinced that I saw the aircraft. And I will not lie. I
had just returned from my pilgrimage," she said.
On Friday, planes and ships searched the southern
Indian Ocean but found no debris from the missing Boeing
777, Australia’s acting prime minister said.
The plane, carrying 239 people, lost contact with
ground control before vanishing on March 8, sparking a massive hunt
for the jet.
Someone shut off the plane’s transponder
around 1:20 a.m. The jet later turned west towards the Indian Ocean,
authorities said.
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