Malaysian Airlines MH370: live - Telegraph
16.38 The first was a message delivered by the cockpit at 1.07am, saying that the plane was flying at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. This message was unnecessary as it repeated a call that had already been delivered six minutes earlier.
Steve Landells, a former British Airways pilot who flew Boeing 777s, told The Telegraph that this second message was not required but he did not regard it as suspicious.
“It could be as simple as the pilot forgetting or not being sure that he had told air traffic controllers he had reached the altitude,” he said. “He might be reconfirming he was at 350 [35,000 feet]. It is not unusual. I wouldn’t read anything into it.”
16.25 BREAKING: The Telegraph has obtained the transcript of the last 54 minutes of communication aboard Flight MH370.
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The final communication between the Malaysia Airlines flight cockpit and ground control can be revealed, from its taxi on the runway to its final message at 1.07am of “Alright, good night”.
The Telegraph's Jonathan Pearlman has seen the full communication record of MH370, including the crucial moments in the lead-up to the disappearance of the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers. It reveals the messages relayed between the cockpit and air traffic controllers during the period when the plane is believed by investigators to have already been sabotaged.
More to follow...