Malaysia Airlines tonight said it was investigating an Australian television report that a co-pilot on its missing flight MH370 had invited two women to stay in the cockpit during a flight two years ago.
The allegation was made by Jonti Roos on the programme 'A Current Affair', where she showed multiple photographs of her and a friend, Jaan Maree, inside the cockpit and the pilots apparently working the plane's controls.
Roos said she was allowed to stay in the cockpit along with her friend throughout the one-hour flight from Phuket, Thailand, to Kuala Lumpur in December 2011.
In a statement issued late tonight, the airline said it has become aware of the allegations made against First Officer Fariq Ab Hamid and it took them very seriously.
"We are shocked by these allegations," it said.
"We have not been able to confirm the validity of the pictures and videos of the alleged incident. As you are aware, we are in the midst of a crisis, and we do not want our attention to be diverted," the airline said.
The allegations came days after the mysterious disappearance of Flight MH370, on a B777-200 aircraft, with 239 people on board including five Indians.
"The welfare of both the crew and passengers' families remain our focus. At the same time, the security and safety of our passengers is of the utmost importance to us," the statement said.
