@oldoberon
US government snr official rate it "not wholly reliable".
See for yourself on CNN
Malaysia Flight 370: 10 of the most compelling questions - CNN.com
The analysis, conducted by the United States and Malaysian governments, used radar data and satellite pings to calculate that the plane diverted to the west, across the Malayan Peninsula, and then either flew in a northwest direction toward the Bay of Bengal or southwest into another part of the Indian Ocean. Malaysian military radar registered dramatic changes for Flight 370 in altitude -- going up to 45,000 feet, before descending to 23,000 feet -- and cut an erratic path as it flew across Malaysia in what are some of the last known readings of the plane's location, according to a senior U.S. official.
The same official, who is familiar with analysis of the data and declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the information, cautioned that this assessment is not definitive. The readings may not be wholly reliable because of the distance the plane was operating from the radars that detected it, the official said.