Former NTSB official weighs in on news that Malaysian plane may have flown long after last contact

(CNN) – New information, U.S. officials tell CNN, indicates missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could have flown for several hours beyond the last transponder reading.

Malaysian authorities believe they have several "pings" of engine data from the airliner's service data system, known as ACARS, transmitted to satellites in the four to five hours after the last transponder signal, suggesting the plane is believed to have flown to the Indian Ocean, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

"(ACARS) is a maintenance system that goes to a satellite and then to the ground, that provides information about the mechanical health of the aircraft," said James Hall, former National Transportation Safety Board chairman.

"Information has come to light that may indicate that there's a possibility ... that there was some sort of decompression of the oxygen system on the aircraft, incapacitating not only the crew, but the passengers, and the plane continued to fly for several hours," said Hall.

For more of our interview with former NTSB official James Hall, check out the video above.