The mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 continues as searchers expand their search area to the Malacca Strait which is quite a distance from the area that has been previously searched for the aircraft and its 239 passengers.

The Malacca Straits is on Malaysia’s western coast between it and Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. The search has been expanded to this area on the other side of the Malaysia because of chances that the aircraft may have turned around in an attempt to return to the airport in Kuala Lumpur or another airport after going off radar. Malaysia’s Air Force chief said previously that miitary radar suggested that the aircraft may have made a U-turn, and so every possibility is being investigated. This new turn of events has many wondering if investigators know further information that they are not revealing to the public.

Previous reports of debris and oil slicks that may have been associated with the plane have been ruled out, but fresh sightings have also been reported and have yet to be fully investigated.

Terrorist links concerning two men traveling on stolen passports has all but been ruled out. News that was released earlier this week reporting two Iranians using stolen passports has been investigated. The two men have been identified as 19-year-old Pouri Nourmohammadi and 29-year-old Delavar Seyedmohammaderza. Interpol had released photos of the two men and have investigated their pasts to find that the two were migrating to Germany. Malaysia is a known migration route in Asia, and stolen passports are routinely used by persons migrating to another country. Interpol reported that the two men traveled from Qatar on their own passports then switched to stolen passports in Malaysia to continue their journey to Germany.

Although little is known about the second man, it is not likely that the two were working together as part of a terror plot, says Interpol. Malaysian Police Inspector General Khalid Tan Sri says that the 19-year-old’s mother was aware that her son was traveling on a stolen passport and was expecting him to arrive in Germany.

“We have been checking his background. We have also checked him with other police organizations on his profile, and we believe that he is not likely to be a member of any terrorist group,” the inspector told reporters. “And we believe that he is trying to migrate to Germany.”

There is still the possibility that a hi-jacking could have occurred however, and authorities continue to investigate that possibility, as well as the possiblity of sabotage, personal disputes and the psychological condition of the crew and passengers.

Investigators are also looking for any evidence that anyone on board had taken any large life insurance policies out on themselves as this may be a possible scenario.

The 12-year-old plane had undergone maintenance just 12 days before its disappearance. The aircraft had accumulated 53,500 flight hours.