New media reports state that U.S. officials now believe the communications of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were systematically shut down.

The flight disappeared almost a week ago just 40 minutes after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur International Airport bound for Beijing. Its last known position was in air space above the South China Sea, roughly mid-way between Malaysia and Vietnam.

U.S. officials told ABC News that the plane's data reporting system was shut down at 1:07 a.m.

The source added that the transponder — which transmits the aircraft's location and altitude — was then shut down at 1:21 a.m., indicating that communications were turned off systematically.

This information, along with news that the flight continued to 'ping' a satellite with engine status information for up to four hours after disappearing from contact has led the U.S. to send the USS Kidd to the Indian Ocean to begin a search in the area.

Malaysian officials have said they are continuing to look into every lead in the search for the missing plane.