A top Malaysian defence official today sought to assure distraught relatives of Chinese passengers on board the missing plane that the jet has not been shot down by his air force.

Air operations commander of the Royal Air Force Lt Gen Ackbal bin Haji Abdul Samad, part of the high-level Malaysian delegation that came here to interact with the relatives of the Chinese passengers, faced tough questions when he met them here.

Asked if it was possible that the plane was shot down by the Malaysian air force, Samad said it was "highly not possible", state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

While the military radar had captured signs of the jet when it turned back and flew over Malaysia, no measures were taken against the plane as it was believed to be a "friendly" aircraft.