PersonFromPorlock
The Wikipedia snippet you posted leads to some very revealing information I had overlooked, or had failed to document until now. This information brings something new an a tad revolutionary to the current altitude discussion here. The article you referenced provided sources: NYT and Reuters articles from March 14, 2014. These articles provided among the most relevant and detailed and presumably authenticated statements detailing the data from the "leaks" that existed before Malaysia laid down a blanket of silence from any but the official sources. Once we look at these articles we find that these "leaks" actually came from an "official" source: Malaysia’s air force chief, Rodzali Daud.
NYT:
"When Flight 370 lost contact with ground controllers, it was more than 100 miles from Kota Bharu and 200 miles from Butterworth, distances that he said could degrade accuracy.
But the altitudes measured as the plane crossed the peninsula would be more reliable, he said."
"Military radar last recorded the aircraft flying at an altitude of 29,500 feet, about 200 miles northwest of Penang and headed toward India’s Andaman Islands."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/wo...r.html?hp&_r=1
Reuters:
"Malaysia's air force chief said on Wednesday an aircraft that could have been the missing plane was plotted on military radar at 2:15 a.m., 200 miles northwest of Penang Island off Malaysia's west coast."
Exclusive: Radar data suggests missing Malaysia plane deliberately flown way off course - sources | Reuters
So from all this, we learn that the Malaysian radar had recorded an altitude of 29,500 feet at LKP (more likely 9,000 meters and the NYT did a translation), and we also learn that Daud had greater faith in the accuracy of the altitudes recorded over the peninsula (the altitude data we would love to have.)
I can't help but adding this:
On the same day, (March 14th), Malaysian defense minister Hishammuddin Hussein stated that those reports were false:
"I would like to refer to news reports suggesting that the aircraft may have continued flying for some time after the last contact, as Malaysia Airlines will confirm shortly, those reports are inaccurate."
Asia Times Online :: Confusion deepens over Flight 370
Three days earlier, on the 11th, Air Force chief Daud had issued his infamous retraction for statements to a Malaysian newspaper
: "I wish to state that I did not make any such statements as above, what occurred was that the Berita Harian journalist" - He was denying statements he had made on March 8th saying:
"they tracked the signal to Pulau Perak on the country's west coast."
This tells me that the NYT and Reuters chose to run their stories even in the face of the Malaysian denials!
And all through this time, a dozen nations were searching the SCS for a plane that couldn't have been there.
I believe the leaks and discount the "official version."Later they were forced to give up more information as in the Interim Report, and I suspect much of that is fudged too.