Malaysia Plane Crash: 20 All-Electric Car-Linked Green Tech Passengers On Board, Names Released

Update: March 8, 2014 7:30 P.M. ET

Austin-based high-tech eco-friendly company Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) has confirmed that 20 of its employees were confirmed passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Twelve are from Malaysia and eight are from China. The company’s key product solutions includes electric vehicles.

“The entire Freescale Semiconductor community is deeply saddened by this news,” the company said in a written statement Saturday afternoon, adding it will provide more information as it becomes available.

“At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families,” said Gregg Lowe, president and CEO, Freescale. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event.”

The company has assembled counselors and other professionals through Freescale’s Employee Assistance Program, with around-the-clock support for those impacted by this tragedy.

Names of all of the passengers is on the manifest here.

Freescale Semiconductor

“Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) is a global leader in embedded processing solutions, providing industry leading products that are advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets,” the company says on its website and in its statement today. ”… our technologies are the foundation for the innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more connected.” 

Freescales ays its “key applications and end-markets include: automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next generation wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances and smart mobile devices. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world. www.freescale.com

Freescale and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm Off. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © 2014 Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.

Update: Malaysia Plane Crash Terrorism Probed

U.S. officials told NBC News on Saturday they are investigating terrorism concerns after two people listed as passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet turned out not to be on the plane and had reported their passports stolen – one a year ago and the other two years ago.

Luigi Maraldi, 37, was the only Italian on a passenger manifest released by the airline after the Malaysia jet disappeared over the South China Sea.

His father, Walter Maraldi, however told NBC News from Cesena, Italy: “Luigi called us early this morning to reassure us he was fine, but we didn’t know about the accident. Thank God he heard about it before us.”

Luigi Maraldi is vacationing in Thailand, according to his father. He said that Luigi Maraldi’s passport was stolen one year ago.

The foreign ministry of Austria confirmed to NBC News that police made contact with another citizen on the passenger list, and who reported his passport stolen two years ago while traveling in Asia.

Update: Malaysian papers report Malaysian Flight MH370 crashed

The airline said in a statement early Saturday they are attempting to locate the Boeing 777 after it lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2:40 a.m. There was no distress signal before the plane, with 239 passengers, went down. One report said seven people on board had stolen passports, while it is confirmed that two people had stolen passports.

Vietnamese Navy confirmed that Malaysia Flight MH370, from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, crashed into the sea off Tho Chu island.

Tuoi Tre quoted Navy Admiral Ngo Van Phat, Commander of Region 5, as saying that military radar reported that the plane crashed into the sea at a location 246km south of Phu Quoc island.

“The plane lost contact in Ca Mau province airspace before it had entered contact with Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control,” a statement posted on the official Vietnamese government website said.

The plane was meant to transfer to Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control at 1.22am Malaysian time but never appeared, the statement reported by AFP said, citing a senior Ministry of Defence official.

The Ministry of Defence launched rescue efforts to find the plane, coordinating work with Malaysian and Chinese officials.

 The missing Malaysian Airlines flight was carrying 152 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, 12 Indonesians, and three American among other nationalities, seven with stolen passports, according to latest reports.

The aircraft had left Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am and was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6.30am.

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Original Story:

Worst Feared: Vanished Malaysian Plane Passengers Stole Passports, Oil Slick Found 

CNN and other outlets are reporting that several of the 239 people on board the missing commercial Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 were using stolen passports of citizens from Austria and Italy. As many as seven people on board had stolen passports. 

Italian foreign ministry says no Italian was on missing Malaysia flight, despite one Italian listed among passengers.

 Austrian foreign ministry says an Austrian citizen reported to be on Malaysian flight is safe in Austria. 

Three Americans are among the 239 passengers and crew aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

The search for the commercial jetliner that seemingly vanished without warning between Malaysia and Vietnam continued into last night as dark fell on Asia, officials said.

Nobody knows what happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Air traffic controllers lost track of soon after it left Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur on its way to Beijing.

Families and loved ones of the 239 passengers and crew aboard expected the worst as they await significant development. 

Last night, those family members and loved ones in Beiging were not at the airport waiting. Only press and reporters were there. They were then moved to a hotel for a press conference.

The area of search is focusing in the South China Sea, where Malaysian airspace and Vietnamese airspace meet.

“We have no idea where this aircraft is right now,” Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji said on CNN’s “AC360.”

Later Saturday morning, however, Vietnamese authorities found a 12-mile long oil slick in the Gulf of Thailand, the first sign that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may have crashed. The plane, which disappeared en route to Beijing, had 239 passengers on board

Bits and pieces of information have begun to form, such as stolen passports, but it remains unclear how they fit into the bigger picture of the missing plane.

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