mr azharuddin said hijacking has not been ruled outand investigators are looking at all possibilities.
the plane last had contact with air traffic controllers 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the malaysian town of kota bharu on saturday.
no distress signals were received from the boeing 777-200er before its disappearance.
malaysia airlines flight 370 may have changed course and turned back toward kuala lumpur -- but there were no indications from the pilot that he was doing so, officials said at a news conference sunday.
officials said a recording on radar indicated the plane's change of course.
the latest revelation added to the questions that have puzzled authorities since the commercial jetliner, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, went missing early saturday while flying from the malaysian capital to beijing: what happened to the plane, why was no distress signal issued, and who exactly was aboard?
forty ships and 22 planes were scouring a portion of the south china sea on sunday for any sign of where the flight may have gone down, officials said at the news briefing.
