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As a growing number of airplanes scoured the southern Indian Ocean in the search for Malaysia
Airlines Flight 370, authorities released new details that paint a different picture
of what may have happened in the plane's cockpit. Military radar tracking shows that the aircraft
changed altitude after making a sharp turn over the South China Sea as it headed toward
the Strait of Malacca, a source close to the investigation into the missing flight told
CNN. The plane flew as low as 12,000 feet at some point before it disappeared from radar,
according to the source. The sharp turn seemed to be intentional, the
source said, because executing it would have taken the Boeing 777 two minutes -- a time
period during which the pilot or co-pilot could have sent an emergency signal if there
had been a fire or other emergency onboard. Authorities say the plane didn't send any
emergency signals, though some analysts say it's still unclear whether the pilots tried
but weren't able to communicate because of a catastrophic failure.
The official, who is not authorized to speak to the media, told CNN that the area the plane
flew in after the turn is a heavily trafficked air corridor and that flying at 12,000 feet
would have kept the jet well out of the way of that traffic.
Earlier Sunday, Malaysian authorities said the last transmission from the missing aircraft's
reporting system showed it heading to Beijing -- a revelation that appears to undercut the
theory that someone reprogrammed the plane's flight path before the co-pilot signed off
with air-traffic controllers for the last time.
That reduces, but doesn't rule out, suspicions about foul play in the cockpit.
The new details give more insight about what happened on the plane, but don't explain why
the plane went missing or where it could be. Analysts are divided about what the latest
information could mean. Some argue it's a sign that mechanical failure sent the plane
suddenly off course. Others say there are still too many unknowns to eliminate any possibilities.