The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
Tag: malaysian plane
U.S. Stocks Tumble On News Of Malaysia Airlines Crash

U.S. Stocks Tumble On News Of Malaysia Airlines Crash

New York (AFP) — U.S. stocks sank Thursday as news of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crash in Ukraine and suggestions it was shot down sparked worries of an escalating conflict with Russia.

Near 1700 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 43.74 (0.26 percent) to 17,094.46.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 9.58 (0.48 percent) to 1,971.99, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 32.29 (0.73 percent) to 4,393.67.

The three indices pared back earlier losses triggered by the crash reports, which were followed by statements by Malaysia Airlines that it had lost contact with a Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and by the Ukrainian president, who said the plane may have been shot down.

“We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky,” Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement.

Other markets also moved on the news. Prices of U.S. Treasury bonds, viewed as a refuge in times of crisis, jumped.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.48 percent from 2.54 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.30 percent from 3.35 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

The VIX volatility index, a proxy on market anxiety, jumped 14 percent to 12.54.

Equity markets in Britain, France, and Germany also fell sharply.

The plane crash in rebel-held eastern Ukraine comes at a sensitive moment in a regional crisis that has stoked tensions between Russia and the West.

On Wednesday, the U.S. and the European Union strengthened sanctions on Moscow, with President Barack Obama criticizing Russia for its “continued provocations in Ukraine.”

Fighting between the Western-backed Kiev government and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine has left scores of civilians killed since the weekend.

The Russians responded angrily to the sanctions, calling the latest punishments “blackmail” and threatening retaliation.

The plane crash is “really bad news, much more serious than the sanctions announced yesterday by Washington,” said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets.

“This calls into question the security of air routes in this part of the world and other sensitive regions” like the Middle East, Volokhine said.

“Air travel is very important for the economy,” he added. “This is very destabilizing for travelers and investors.”

Shares of U.S. airlines dropped, including American Airlines (-1.9 percent), Delta Air Lines (-1.7 percent), United Continental (-1.5 percent).

Shares of airline manufacturer Boeing were up 0.1 percent.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those on board the Malaysia Airlines airplane lost over Ukrainian airspace, as well as their families and loved ones,” Boeing said in a statement.

“Boeing stands ready to provide whatever assistance is requested by authorities.”

AFP Photo/Spencer Platt

Interested in economic news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Putin, Obama Discussed Malaysian Plane Crash In Ukraine

Putin, Obama Discussed Malaysian Plane Crash In Ukraine

Moscow (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama spoke about the Malaysian passenger jet crash in east Ukraine, the Kremlin said Thursday.

“The Russian leader informed the U.S. president about an air-traffic controllers’ report that came just before their phone conversation that a Malaysian plane crashed in Ukraine,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

AFP Photo/Jewel Samad

Interested in world news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!

Debris Spotted From Aircraft Could Be From Missing Malaysian Plane

Debris Spotted From Aircraft Could Be From Missing Malaysian Plane

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times

BEIJING — Aircraft flying off the coast of Australia on Friday reported their first sightings of debris that could have come from the long-missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

Although satellite imagery has captured possible debris, it was the first time in 10 days of air searches that anything of interest had been spotted and raised hopes that the often bumbling and misdirected multinational search might actually be honing in on its elusive target.

Earlier in the day, Australia acknowledged that the search teams appeared to have been looking in the wrong place and moved the search area 680 miles to the northeast.

“Five aircraft spotted multiple objects of various colors during Friday’s search,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement late Friday.

“Photographic imagery of the objects was captured and will be assessed overnight. The objects cannot be verified or discounted as being from MH370 until they are relocated and recovered by ships.”

The agency said a New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion had spotted a number of objects that were white and light-colored, while Australian planes had also seen “blue/grey rectangular objects” as well as some colorful floating objects in another area about 327 miles away.

A Chinese Maritime Administration patrol ship, Haixun 01, will attempt to retrieve the objects Saturday for closer inspection, the agency said.

The search location was changed after a new analysis of radar data from the South China Sea and Malacca Strait suggested the plane was moving faster than previously thought, and probably did not travel as far.

“It indicated that the aircraft was travelling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance the aircraft travelled south into the Indian Ocean,” the Australian agency said earlier Friday.

The new search area is about 1,250 miles west of Perth, Australia, roughly 300 miles closer to land, allowing planes to spend more time over water searching. Weather conditions and currents are also less rugged there.

“This is the normal business of search and rescue,” said John Young, head of the maritime agency at a press conference on Friday in Canberra. “Refined analysis takes you to a different place. I don’t call the original work a waste of time.”

Flight 370 disappeared on March 8 during a red-eye flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane carried 239 passengers and crew. Investigators now believe the flight made virtually a 180-degree turn shortly after takeoff, heading southwest into the Indian Ocean. The pilots of the flights as well as passengers are under investigation in the still-unexplained rerouting of the plane.

Because of the three weeks that have elapsed, investigators believe the wreckage may have drifted over a wide swath of the South Indian Ocean.

“This is an extraordinarily difficult search, and an agonizing wait for family and friends of the passengers and crew,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Friday. “We owe it to them to follow every credible lead and to keep the public informed of significant new developments. That is what we are doing.”

The Australians said that 10 aircraft and five ships participated in Friday’s search.

The U.S. Navy said it was sending a second P8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to help in the mission. Other aircraft are provided by Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

AFP Photo/Malaysian Maritime Enforcement

Satellite Spots 122 Objects In Malaysia Jet Search Area

Satellite Spots 122 Objects In Malaysia Jet Search Area

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times

BEIJING — Malaysian authorities said Wednesday they were encouraged by new satellite images provided by France showing 122 floating objects off the Australian coast that could be debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The discovery bolstered hopes of finding the wreckage in the choppy seas 1,500 miles southwest of Perth. Twelve airplanes, from the United States, Australia, China, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, were being dispatched over the area in hopes of directing ships that might pick up the debris for analysis.

The latest satellite photos were provided by Airbus Defense and Space and were taken on Sunday. One object was 78 feet long — similar to debris spotted earlier on an Australian satellite — while others were brightly colored, possibly indicating they were life preservers or rafts.

“This is still the most credible lead that we have,” said Malaysia’s transportation minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, at a news conference Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur. “It corroborates that there is some form of debris. If we can confirm it came from MH 370, we can move on to the next phase of deep sea surveillance, search and rescue.”

“Hope against hope,” he added, a nod to Chinese families of passengers who have not accepted Malaysia’s conclusion that the Boeing 777 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

In Beijing, the increasingly militant families held a press conference outside the Lido Hotel where they are being accommodated, accusing the Malaysian government of concealing the truth about the plane which disappeared March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

“Malaysia Airlines tried to deceive people all over the world,” yelled 30-year-old Wang Zhen, whose parents were both passengers on the missing plane. “We hope we can expose the lies of Malaysia Airlines to the world and hope they can keep their promise soon.”

During a briefing with Malaysian ambassador to Beijing Iskandar Sarudin, families demanded that the Malaysian government retract its conclusion — announced Monday night by the prime minister — that the flight was lost and that there are no survivors.

The hysteria in China is being fueled in part by rumors circulating on microblogs that the flight is being held by hijackers and that Malaysia has refused to pay ransom.

Indirectly chastising the Chinese, Malaysia’s Hussein noted that Australian relatives were behaving in a manner that is “very rationale” and that “we in Malaysia also lost our loved ones.”

Australia is leading the multinational search effort for the missing plane.

“The crash zone is as close to nowhere as it’s possible to be, but it’s closer to Australia than anywhere else,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday.

He said he believed the debris spotted by satellites came from the missing plane. “Bad weather and inaccessibility has so far prevented any of it being recovered but we are confident that some will be.”

Xinhua/Zuma Press/MCT