Search beacon battery had expired on Flight 370

Calum MacLeod | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Answers elusive two years after MH370 disappearance Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014.

BEIJING — The battery for the locator beacon on the data recording black box had expired long before Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished, an interim report revealed Sunday on the anniversary of the tragedy.

The Malaysian report, which shed little light on the Boeing 777's disappearance shortly after leaving Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, was released as relatives of the 239 people on board held memorials in both cities.

At least 30 relatives of the Chinese passengers gathered at a Beijing temple, holding signs and white T-shirts saying "search on" and demanding "the truth." The relatives said they want to pray for their loved ones' safe return and to maintain pressure for more information from Malaysian authorities, who they believe are concealing information.

In Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whose agencies are leading the hunt, said searchers were about 40% through scouring a 23,000-square-mile area of the southern Indian Ocean expected to conclude in May. And he promised to continue the search "as long as there are reasonable leads."

No debris from the plane has yet been found from the extensive search.

The interim report did not identify any significant areas for concern about the plane or crew. One new issue, however, was that the expiration date for the battery of the locator beacon for the flight data recorder was December 2012 — more than a year before the actual flight. The battery in the cockpit voice recorder's locator beacon was working, the report said.

The report, required by international aviation authorities within one year of an incident, contained profiles of the crew, including their finances and insurance coverage, but found nothing unusual. Much speculation centers on the possibility that the captain or other crewmembers deliberately flew the plane off its scheduled path.

"There were no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the Captain, First Officer and the Cabin Crew," the report said.

The captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, whose elder sister defended him Thursday against a popular theory that he was a "rogue pilot" responsible for the disappearance, showed "no significant behavioral changes" on the day of the flight or his prior three flights, the report concluded. "The gait, posture, facial expressions and mannerism were his normal characteristics," it said.

Most of the people on the plane were Chinese citizens — 153 of the 239. Cheng Liping came to the Buddhist temple in Beijing on Sunday to remember her missing husband, movie stuntman Ju Kun.

"I've been here many times before," she said. "We have had no real information from Malaysia, but we will not give up." Her homemade sign read, "I will never give up. There is no home without my husband. My two sons need their father to return home safely."

Beijing railway worker Zhang Hongjie, 45, brought a birthday cake for his late wife and shared it with the others gathered near the Lama Temple. His wife, Zheng Ruixian, was about to turn 42 and was returning home from a holiday last March 8. She was planning to have a birthday lunch with Zhang.

Li Shupin, 57, visited the temple Sunday to pray for her only child, Li Wenbo, 29, an "extrovert, determined woman" who loved watching American TV shows. "In the past I was an atheist, but after the incident, I now believe in several gods," Li said.

The relatives were outnumbered by uniformed and plainclothes police, but they still gathered at the temple, as they have on previous occasions, such as the six-month anniversary and after the announcement in late January by Malaysian authorities that the plane was in an "accident" and all on board are presumed dead. That announcement allowed relatives to receive death benefits.

A strong police presence was also visible outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing, where relatives often go to protest against that country's handling of the investigation.

In Kuala Lumpur, the airline held a private ceremony Sunday for relatives of the missing crew. The passengers' families organized a public remembrance with prayers, a message wall and video links for relatives overseas.

"Today, we stand united in remembering and honoring the 239 people, including 50 Malaysians," on Flight 370, Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement. "Our prayers are with them and their loved ones left behind — whose sorrow we share."

Grace Subathirai's voice broke as she remembered her mother, who was on the plane. "It has been a most painful year for many of us, a never-ending battle," she told the AFP news agency. "My mother was my world, everything to me."

Contributing: John Bacon in McLean, Va.; Sunny Yang in Beijing