USS Pinckney assists with Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 recovery efforts. (Flickr/U.S. Navy)

Malaysian officials are facing intense scrutiny after the Department of Civil Aviation revealed the last words from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 were actually, "Good night, Malaysian three seven zero."

Aviation authorities released the audio transcript between the cockpit and air traffic controllers on Tuesday, showing the final words from the ill-fated flight were not "Good night, all right" as previously reported by Malaysian officials.

The actual conversation was withheld for over three weeks as authorities continue to search for the missing jetliner, which vanished on March 8 with 239 souls onboard after it left Kuala Lampur for Beijing.

The new audio could further strain the contentious relations between family members of the missing passengers and Malaysian officials.

"High criticism is in order at this point," CNN's aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mary Schiavo, told the cable news network on Tuesday.

The controversy also comes as Malaysian sources tell CNN the government is now investigating the jetliner's sharp turn away from its flight path as a "criminal act."

“MH370’s movements were consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane,” Malaysia’s transport minister said on Tuesday night.

Read more at CNN and The Guardian.

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