Kuala Lumpur/Perth:
Malaysia today named a former aviation expert to lead the international probe team to find the "actual cause" of the mysterious disappearance of its jet even as the aerial hunt to find the wreckage of the plane was called off after seven weeks of fruitless search.
Former director-general of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation Kok Soo Chon has been appointed Investigator-in-Charge of the International Investigation Team set up to look into the MH370 tragedy, the Malaysian government announced.
Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Kok was the right choice as he was also a former permanent representative to the the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) council in Montreal, Canada.
He said the team, which had already commenced work, is made up of accredited representatives from various bodies, including the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB), UK Air Accident Investigation Bureau and China's Aircraft Accident Investigation Department.
The Boeing 777-200 with 239 people, including five Indians on board, mysteriously vanished on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and is now believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, where an Australian-led effort is under way to recover its black boxes and wreckage.
Malaysia believes the flight was deliberately diverted by someone on board and that satellite data indicates it crashed in the Indian Ocean, west of the Australian city of Perth.
The Malaysian government has so far been tight-lipped about its investigation into the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines jet, adding to the anger and frustration among relatives of the passengers.
"The main purpose of this team is to investigate, evaluate and determine the actual cause of the incident to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
"It is imperative for the Government to form this independent team, which is not only competent and transparent but highly credible," he said in a statement.
Boeing, Rolls Royce and Inmarsat were also included in the investigation team, he added.
Meanwhile, in Perth, over 600 military personnel from at least seven countries solemnly posed in front of search planes here today for a commemorative photo.
Some traded military patches and mulled over their disappointment in not finding the plane.
But some ships will stay on the Indian Ocean to gather any debris that might surface.
In Kuala Lumpur, relatives of missing passengers heard new details from officials, including audio recordings from the plane that had never been released to the public before.
The final words between the cockpit and a control tower were not extraordinary. But after 52 days in limbo, families say they are finally starting to get some of the answers they have been looking for since the plane vanished.
Most of the international air crews will leave the Royal Australian Air Force Base Pearce, near Perth, over the next few days, CNN reported.
The likelihood of finding any debris on the ocean's surface is "highly unlikely," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said yesterday. By now, most of the debris is probably waterlogged and has likely sunk, he said.
The Perth-based Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JAAC), coordinating the multi-nation search did not issue a statement on today's operations.
So officials are moving on to the next phase: a more intense underwater search that will use private contractors and could cost about USD 56 million.
Crews will now scour a much larger area of the ocean floor -- 60,000 square kilometers. The process could take at least six to eight months, officials said.
The Bluefin-21 underwater probe will continue scanning the ocean floor. But the submersible could not search today due to weather and very high seas.
Relatives of Chinese passengers have been furious over the perceived lack of information given by Malaysian authorities.
But today, Malaysian officials briefed scores of family members in Beijing and played never-before released audio of the plane's final chatter with a control tower.
"Malaysia three seven zero contact Ho Chi Min 120.9, good night," says a voice identified by Malaysian officials as that of a radar controller in Kuala Lumpur.
"Good night Malaysian three seven zero," answers a male voice believed to be a crew member on board.
Officials also showed family members maps of the flight's route, including a questionable turn at Penang over the Strait of Malacca. That turn sent the plane veering far off course, CNN reported.
Malaysia Airlines representative Subas Chandran said the plane likely ran out of fuel about seven-and-a-half hours into the flight.
Such details, while sobering, were welcomed by relatives.
"They are making progress," said Jimmy Wang, a member of the families' committee aimed at seeking answers.