Frustration mounted on Monday over what has become one of the most perplexing aviation disasters in history, as the search for a vanished Malaysia Airlines passenger jet dramatically expanded in its third day.
Hopes for a breakthrough were dashed when Malaysian authorities said oil found on the ocean surface had been tested and found not to have come from the jetliner. Various pieces of flotsam picked up in the vicinity of the plane’s last known location were also found to be unconnected.
“This unprecedented missing aircraft mystery — as you can put it — it is mystifying,” Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation, said at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur.
“To confirm what happened that day on this ill-fated aircraft, we need hard evidence,” he said. “We need concrete evidence. We need parts of the aircraft for us to analyze, for us to do forensic studies.” He added, “We are every hour, every minute, every second, looking at every inch of the sea.”. . .