Crew, Passengers Now The Focus Of Missing Malaysia Airline

In the country's most dramatic and definitive remarks since a passenger jet simply disappeared one week ago, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said authorities are now focusing their investigation on the crew and passengers of Flight MH370.

For the first time, police searched the home of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, on Saturday, looking for evidence that he may have been involved in foul play.

The prime minister also confirmed reports that someone deliberately shut off the jetliner's communications system and its tracking functions, then steered the passenger plane due west, the opposite direction of its intended destination of Beijing. The flight sent satellite signals for more more than seven hours after taking off, and could have still been flying, he said. The new satellite data does not show the jet's location, he said, and it could be anywhere from Turkmenistan to the southern Indian Ocean.

Earlier, The Associated Press had quoted an unnamed Malaysian official as saying there was "conclusive" evidence the flight had been hijacked. But Najib said Saturday that had not been decided.

"Despite media reports that the plane has been hijacked, I wish to be clear: We are still investigating all possibilities," he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

New data shows the last satellite "ping" from the plane came at 8:11 a.m. last Saturday, nearly seven hours after the errant jetliner turned back and crossed the Malay peninsula, Najib said.

"In view of this latest development the Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board," he said.