SEPANG, March 17 — Initial investigations have indicated co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid to be the voice who said “All right, good night", the final words transmitted from the missing flight MH370, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said today.

The national flag carrier’s chief also said that the last transmission from the jetliner’s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) — which sends data on the plane’s health — was sent at 1.07am on March 8, and that the message “all right, good night” was sent at 1.19am, but stressed that it was unknown when exactly the ACARS communications system was switched off.

“Initial investigations showed it was the co-pilot who spoke the last time on tape,” Ahmad Jauhari told a press conference here today.

When asked if the recording has been examined to see if the speaker sounded stressed, Ahmad Jauhari said he was unable to reveal such information at this point.

The MAS chief also explained that after the 1.07am ACARS transmission, the Boeing 777-200 was supposed to send the next transmission half an hour later at 1.37am, but that this message was never sent.

When asked if this meant that the plane’s ACARS could have been turned off after the 1.19am “all right, good night” message, Ahmad Jauhari said it was uncertain when exactly the communications system was turned off.

Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was reported yesterday as saying that the plane’s communications system was disabled before someone in the cockpit uttered the last words sent from MH370.

Malaysian authorities have classified the investigation into the plane that disappeared from civilian radar, en route to Beijing on March 8, under Section 130C of the Penal Code, which deals with hijacking, sabotage and acts of terrorism.

Hishammuddin also said at today’s news conference that the authorities are looking into the possibility that either Fariq or MH370’s main pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, may have tried to commit suicide.

Ahmad Jauhari said that MAS is currently on “code tango”, which means that the airline is working in an environment of “heightened security”.