Conflicting reports about the last known point of contact of the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 and a false lead from Chinese satellite images, underlined the confusion and continuing difficulty in the search for the airline for the sixth day. Malaysian officials on Thursday evening said the various leads have not revealed anything positive.

Aircraft flew for 4 hours

Earlier in the day, it emerged that US investigators, citing engine data from the Boeing, were exploring the possibility that the aircraft, carrying 239 people on board, may have flown for about four hours past the time of its last contact with air traffic control, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The newspaper said the aircraft may have “stayed in the air for about four hours past the time it reached its last confirmed location...raising the possibility that the plane could have flown on for hundreds of additional miles under conditions that remain murky.”

But Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a press conference the report was inaccurate, and that Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer, and Boeing, have both said the last transmission of data was shortly before the aircraft lost contact.

Hussein said Chinese satellite images, which had purported to show “three floating objects” near a suspected crash site, had also ended up a fruitless lead as searches concluded without finding any trace of debris.

China pursuing leads

The release of the satellite images came as China’s Premier said his government would pursue all leads in the search for the aircraft.

“We will not give up on any suspected clue,” Premier Li Keqiang told reporters at his annual press conference following the conclusion of the Chinese Parliament session.

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