Objects spotted in plane search

A PLANE has spotted objects in the Indian Ocean on the first day of searching a new location for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, but officials say it will take time to determine whether they are related to the lost plane.

The search area moved 680 miles to the north yesterday, and a New Zealand military plane — one of nine aircraft involved in the hunt— found the objects, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said.

A ship is expected to arrive in the area today and those onboard will attempt to confirm the sighting, said Amsa.

The search area was moved after new radar data analysis suggested the jet flew faster than originally thought, which would have used up more fuel and so reduced the distance it could have travelled.

Amsa said the change in search area came from new information based on continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost with Flight 370 early on March 8.

“This is our best estimate of the area in which the aircraft is likely to have crashed into the ocean,” said Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The new search location is more than 600 miles north of an area in which apparently floating objects were spotted by Japanese, Thai and French satellites earlier this week.

Mr Young said those satellite images “may or may not actually be objects” and acknowledged that the search had moved away from that area.

He said it was not unusual to make such changes and dismissed questions that the earlier searches had been a wasted effort.

“This is the normal business of search and rescue operations — that new information comes to light, refined analyses take you to a different place,” he said. “I don’t count the original work as a waste of time.”

The new area is 123,000 square miles and about 1,250 miles west of Perth. The sea depth in the new area ranges from 6,560ft to 13,120ft, MrYoung said.

The new search area is closer to land and has calmer weather than the previous one, which should make searching easier.

Australia’s HMAS Success and five Chinese vessels are on their way, and that the Success is expected to arrive in the area this morning.

Pictures: Getty/AP.