Gen. Rodzali Daud, the Royal Malaysian Air Force chief, told a press conference Sunday that the military radar indicated there was a possibility the missing aircraft made a turnback, deviating from its set course.
"We have looked into the recording on the radar and realised that there is a possibility the aircraft did make a turnback," the air force chief said.
A Vietnamese helicopter discovered two oil slicks in waters off the Vietnam coast at the suspected area where the plane went missing, an official with the search operation confirmed Sunday.
The Malaysian rescue teams have expanded their scope of search and have dispatched 22 helicopters and 40 ships in hunt for the missing jetliner.
The air force chief said the plane lost contact with the ground at 1.30 a.m. local time Saturday while flying over the South China Sea.
"There was no sign of abnormalities on the aircraft," civil aviation cheif Rahman said.
Italian investigators said Saturday Luigi Maraldi, who was thought to be on the missing aircraft, is not on the aircraft as his passport was stolen in Thailand in August last year.
The 37-year-old Italian's name was on the boarding list furnished by Malaysia Airlines.
Maraldi phoned his father Walter, a resident of Italy's Cesena city, Saturday to tell him that he was not on the missing plane but safely in Thailand, Xinhua cited his father as telling the media.
