Father defends flight-engineer son on board missing Malaysia Airlines plane
Malaysian investigators say navigation skills were needed to divert plane
The father of an aviation engineer on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has vehemently defended his son, who is being investigated because his training may have equipped him with the technical knowledge and skill to control the jetliner.
Investigators were examining Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat, the Malaysian engineer, and crew members aboard flight MH370 as police renewed theories that the plane could have been hijacked, officials said.
The engineer's father, Selamat bin Omar, said his son did not have the technical knowledge to divert the aircraft from its set course from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Malaysian authorities said that someone with substantial knowledge of aviation navigation diverted the plane from its original path on March 8. The search area now spans from Kazakhstan to the south of the Indian Ocean.
"I can't change what other people think of my son, but I am 100 per cent sure he was not responsible," said Selamat, 60. "He repaired plane engines, he doesn't know how to change the route."
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