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Flight 370 Report And Recordings Reveal Little New Info

A new Malaysian government report and published cockpit recordings offer investigators few new details about Flight 370's disappearance.
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The Malaysian government released a report Thursday detailing how much information it knows about the disappearance of Flight MH370. The answer? Not much.

Malaysia's minister of transport reiterated what the government announced all the way back on March 24: The missing flight likely crashed into the southern portion of the Indian Ocean. (Via CBS / Malaysian Ministry of Transport)

So, why the report? The document, dated April 9, did reveal it took Malaysian authorities four hours to organize and launch a rescue effort after the plane initially left radar.

And with search parties coming up empty off the coast of Australia, geological survey company GeoResonance's report that the plane is in the Bay of Bengal might be gaining traction.

Despite initial dismissal, Australian officials told Sky News the report was "certainly something that needs to be looked at," and Malaysian officials even confirmed they were working to validate the company's claims.

Also recently published are the last seven minutes of Flight 370's pilots talking with air traffic control. But again, revelations are few and far between, with the recording ending in what NBC called a "routine sign-off."

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: "Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good night."

COCKPIT: "Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero." (Via NBC)

With no signs of abnormalities on the flight deck, it took Vietnamese authorities almost 20 minutes to report the flight missing. The Malaysian report closes out with a plea for better technology to track flights in real time — technology that Mary Kirby of Runway Girl Network says could come next year.

"A global air traffic control service. Space-based. When I say that, that's satellite-supported that covers the entire globe, including the poles. So this system, this service, is coming." (Via CBS)

In a week, it will be two months since the plane's disappearance. Despite heavy search efforts, authorities still have not found any actual debris.