Early Mar 12th 2014 the commander of Malaysia's Air Force stated, he did not make statements about the aircraft being tracked across Malaysia into the Strait of Malacca. The Air Force does not discount the possibility of an air turn back however, as stated in a press conference on Mar 9th 2014.

On Mar 12th 2014 Vietnam's Search and Rescue Control Center reported that analysis of satellite images of Vietnams coastal regions, capable of showing objects sized 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters, did not detect any signs of the aircraft. Around noon the Control Center reported, that the search operation continues in full like the days before based on official information from Malaysia that the aircraft has not been tracked in the Strait of Malacca. 9 Vietnamese aircraft and 9 Vietname ships plus 14 foreign aircraft and 22 foreign ships are searching Vietnamese waters.

On Mar 12th 2014 officials of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority talking to families of occupants of MH-370 in Beijing reported that the aircraft was just in the process of being handed off to Vietnam, the last radio transmission heard from the aircraft was "Okay, good night". The crew did not report on Vietnam's frequency anymore. About three minutes later Vietnam's control center noticed that the aircraft had disappeared from radar and had not reported on his frequency. There had been no emergency or distress calls on any means of communication, although radio coverage of the area is generally good. Malaysia's CAA officials stressed, that they do not have any indication that the aircraft may have turned back or deviated from the planned route. The aircraft "suddenly disappeared". So far the aircraft has not been found although a total of 1788 ships are participating in the search for the aircraft.