First rites set for MH370; Malaysia says 'face reality'

First Memorial Service in Brisbane

Family and friends of Rod and Mary Burrows, two of six Australians on board the flight, will hold a memorial service in Brisbane on Sunday, according to a statement on behalf of the family released by police.

The family, it said, sought "privacy and request their solitude be respected during this difficult time".

The announcement was issued a day after Malaysia released its most comprehensive account yet of what happened to Flight MH370, detailing the route the plane probably took as it veered off course and the confusion that followed.

The report showed four hours elapsed between the first sign that the plane had failed to report in and the decision to mount a search.

Maps showing the aircraft's probable flight path suggest the plane turned back from the South China Sea and flew across the Malaysian Peninsula. Investigators believe it then turned south and headed for the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

The preliminary report, however, left many questions unanswered, including whether the aircraft was deliberately diverted after communications were disabled.

Malaysia's defense minister said an independent panel would look into the delay in ordering a search and rescue operation.

"We created the independent body with experts from around the world," Hishammuddin Hussein, who doubles as acting transport minister, told the Kuala Lumpur news conference.

"There were things that Malaysia has done well and there were things we could have done better. If that's something the panel says, we won't be reluctant to take the relevant action."

Using groundbreaking analysis of satellite data, experts have narrowed down the search area where the plane is presumed to have crashed to a large arc of the Indian Ocean some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) northwest of the west Australian city of Perth.

But after weeks of scouring millions of square kilometers without finding any sign of debris, Australian authorities have called off the air and surface search.

Australia and Malaysia now plan to contract commercial companies to undertake a sonar search of 60,000 sq km (24,000 sq mile) of seabed that could take eight months or more at a cost of about A$60 million ($55.6 million).