Missing MH370: Flight simulator’s info erased

PUTRAJAYA: Most of the information from Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s private flight simulator has been erased.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told the daily press conference at the Sama-Sama Hotel here that most of the data in the simulator had been erased on Feb 3, but experts were now trying to recover the data by tracing the forensic footprint.

The IGP’s statement debunks a report in a daily which reported that five landing sites had been discovered in the MH370 pilot’s flight simulator.

The daily reported on Tuesday that the simulator showed five landing sites in the northern and southern corridors of the ongoing search and rescue operation.

The sites were Sri Lanka, Maldives, Diego Garcia and two in India.

Asked to comment on the report, the IGP said: “It is false.”

He said forensic experts, including Cyber Security and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as well as their foreign counterparts were working on recovering the deleted data log.

“We took away the simulator on Sunday and discovered there were three games in the device – Microsoft Flight Simulator 10 (FSX), Microsoft Flight Simulator 9 (FS9) and X-Plane 10.

He added that Capt Zaharie’s family had given their full cooperation in the investigation.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also confirmed that most of the information had been erased.

“However, investigators may be able to recover some of the erased data,” he told a press conference yesterday.

He clarified that police were not out to prosecute Capt Zaharie or apply pressure on any family member.

“All actions are aimed at producing a complete investigation so we can discover the reason or cause behind the missing plane,” he said.

On co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, Dr Ahmad Zahid said police had not uncovered anything to indicate he was involved in a deliberate act of steering the plane off course.

He added that police had completed background checks on all 237 people on board the flight but more detailed checks were still being conducted.

Dr Ahmad Zahid also confirmed that the two Iranians who boarded the flight using stolen passports had been cleared of any terrorist link.