Here's Who Is Being Brought up as a 'Chief Suspect' in the Missing Malaysian Plane Incident

Though the official search for the missing Malaysian airplane is on hold, that doesn't mean the investigation isn't ongoing.

In fact, according to the U.K.'s Sunday Times, the captain of the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on March 8, was called a "chief suspect." This news came after the other 238 people on board were cleared by police, the newspaper reported.

This doesn't mean that a mechanical failure is being ruled out, but only that if the plane's disappearance was caused by a person, Captain Zaharie Shah is the most likely suspect, according the Times' sources.

Photos of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, top right, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, who were onboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (AP/Lai Seng Sin)

"The police investigation is still ongoing. To date no conclusions can be made as to the contributor to the incident and it would be sub judice to say so. Nevertheless, the police are still looking into all possible angles," a spokesperson for the Malaysian police told the Times."

With this comment, Clive Irving for the Daily Beast called the Times' information about Zaharie "just the latest example of contradictory and unsubstantiated information from unnamed sources leaking from Kuala Lumpur."

The Independent's report out of the U.K. also included the perspective of a friend of Captain Zaharie, who said "none of us believe any of the allegations" made against him. This isn't the first time since the plane's disappearance that Zaharie was named as a suspect.

The report also noted that police searched Zaharie's home a couple of months ago and took a flight simulator from it.

This general view shows the residential complex where missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 pilot Zahari Ahmad Shah lives in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur on March 16, 2014. Malaysia said on March 16 that police had searched the homes of the pilots of the missing jet and examined a home flight simulator after revelations that the flight was deliberately diverted triggered a full-scale criminal probe. (AFP/Getty Images)

"He has never hidden the fact that he has a simulator at his house," Peter Chong, a friend of Zaharie, said. "It's in Facebook, everybody's proud of it. I've been invited many times to try it out, but I have not had the chance.

"When I asked him before why he has built the simulator in his home, it is because that is his hobby," Chong continued. "He enjoys flying and he wants to share the joy of flying with his friends. Having a simulator at home is just the perfect way to do it."

On this simulator, investigators found simulations that were deleted on Feb. 3, but it was not clear if this was considered unusual.

When asked about the simulator, the Times reported a police spokesman said, "the leads uncovered so far are still being investigated.”

(H/T: Business Insider)

[instory-firewire]