SEPANG, March 9 — Nearly 38 hours have gone by since MH370 disappeared from radar, but despite the massive search and rescue effort by Malaysian and foreign military, there is still no sign of the missing aircraft.

A total of 22 military aircraft are currently tracing the route taken by the Malaysia Airlines plane and a huge fleet of 40 ships are plying the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam, according to Malaysian Armed Forces.

The battalion is made up of mostly Malaysian military, but also includes ships and aircraft from the US Navy, the Royal Thai Navy, the Royal Thai Air Force, as well as vessels from China and Indonesia.

The search scope was widened further after the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) confirmed sighting on military radar the possibility of an attempt by flight MH370 to make a turn-back in mid-flight.

But despite the findings, at a scheduled press conference this afternoon, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman turned up with disappointing news — no confirmed sighting of MH370.

The DCA chief also told anxious pressmen, some who have been gathered at the Sama-Sama Hotel since news of the tragedy hit media headlines yesterday morning, that the next press conference would only be held at 8pm.

The authorities had previously committed to holding media conferences every two hours.

“We have nothing new to report. No new developments, there’s no findings whatsoever from our intensive search in both the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca.

“Our next press conference will be at 8pm,” he told reporters who protested in disappointment.

Aviation experts have weighed in and said the jet's disappearance is among the rarest of aviation disasters.

It was reported that the moment the air traffic control lost contact with MH370 at 1.30am yesterday morning, it was at cruising altitude in clear skies on its way to Beijing, only less than an hour after take off from the KL International Airport (KLIA).

Experts have said that this is the safest altitude for a plane, while the most inherently dangerous parts of the flight is during take-off and landing.

Meanwhile, the Boeing 777 plane has a near flawless record, aviation analysts had noted.

Earlier today, Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya also stood by the safety of the Boeing 777 fleet, calling it a “very reliable” aircraft for the airline.

The MH370 is a Boeing 777-2H6ER aircraft that was purchased in 2002, bearing the registration number 9M-MRO.

The Boeing was built in April 2002 and delivered to MAS on May 31, 2002, according to the database in Aviation Week, a global aviation industry service provider, making it nearly 12 years old.