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| Australia spots objects possibly tied to Malaysia jet | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Australia’s prime minister said Thursday that two objects that may be related to a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean. | KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Australia’s prime minister said Thursday that two objects that may be related to a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean. |
| Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the Australian Parliament in Canberra that “new and credible information has come to light” on the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370, with images of two objects gleaned from satellite imagery. | Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the Australian Parliament in Canberra that “new and credible information has come to light” on the search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370, with images of two objects gleaned from satellite imagery. |
| “The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out they are not related to the search for MH370,” he cautioned. | “The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out they are not related to the search for MH370,” he cautioned. |
| Australia’s maritime security agency said one Australian and one American surveillance planes had already arrived in the area where the objects were spotted, with two more planes expected to reach the area later in the early evening. | Australia’s maritime security agency said one Australian and one American surveillance planes had already arrived in the area where the objects were spotted, with two more planes expected to reach the area later in the early evening. |
| “Poor visibility has been reported, and this will hamper both air and satellite effort,” John Young of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told a news conference in Canberra. | |
| One object was roughly 80 feet long, while there was another smaller object, and “a number of other images in the general area of the biggest one,” he said. | One object was roughly 80 feet long, while there was another smaller object, and “a number of other images in the general area of the biggest one,” he said. |
| The tail of a Boeing 777-200 is 60 feet high, and the wing span is 199 feet. | |
| “The indication to me is of objects that are a reasonable size and probably awash with water, bobbing up and down on the surface,” Young said. | |
| But he described the satellite images as “indistinct,” and warned that other maritime searches had yielded false leads in the past. | But he described the satellite images as “indistinct,” and warned that other maritime searches had yielded false leads in the past. |
| Nevertheless, Air Commodore John McGarry, director general of Australia’s military strategic commitments, said all available resources in the search effort were being relocated to the area. | Nevertheless, Air Commodore John McGarry, director general of Australia’s military strategic commitments, said all available resources in the search effort were being relocated to the area. |
| “Quite simply, it is credible enough to divert the research to the area, on the basis that it provides a promising lead to what might be wreckage from the debris field,” he said. | |
| Malaysia’s Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he had been informed of the sightings and expressed hope they would prove to have been from the plane. | Malaysia’s Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he had been informed of the sightings and expressed hope they would prove to have been from the plane. |
| “As I’ve been doing from day one, I’ve followed every single lead,” he told reporters. “And this time, I just hope it is positive.” | |
| Australian officials said a nearby merchant ship had been sent to the area, while an Australian warship was also on its way, but could take several days to arrive. | Australian officials said a nearby merchant ship had been sent to the area, while an Australian warship was also on its way, but could take several days to arrive. |
| Adding to the credibility of the sighting, the objects were found “in the vicinity” of a search area, roughly amounting to 230,000 square miles, that Australia had identified in collaboration with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. | |
| After being given a huge area of the southern Indian Ocean to search by the Malaysian authorities, Australia and the NTSB had narrowed that search area dramatically earlier this week, after analyzing satellite data collected from the plane, and making certain assumptions about its likely speed. | After being given a huge area of the southern Indian Ocean to search by the Malaysian authorities, Australia and the NTSB had narrowed that search area dramatically earlier this week, after analyzing satellite data collected from the plane, and making certain assumptions about its likely speed. |
| The objects were found in a remote area of ocean around 1,500 miles southwest of the Australian western coast city of Perth. | |
| Young said it was not unusual to find debris in the ocean, including containers from ships, for example, that had fallen overboard, but said these images were “probably the best lead we have.” | Young said it was not unusual to find debris in the ocean, including containers from ships, for example, that had fallen overboard, but said these images were “probably the best lead we have.” |
| “On this occasion, the size and the fact that there are a number of objects located in the same area really makes it worth looking at,” he said. “The objects are relatively indistinct on the imagery. I don’t profess to be an expert in assessing the imagery. Those who are experts indicate they’re credible sightings.” | |
| But he emphasized that it was too early to draw any conclusions from the images, and it could take considerable time to even relocate the objects. | But he emphasized that it was too early to draw any conclusions from the images, and it could take considerable time to even relocate the objects. |
| “The weather is not playing the game for us. We may get a sighting, we may not,” he added. “But we’ll continue to do this until we find the objects, or we are convinced that we cannot.” | “The weather is not playing the game for us. We may get a sighting, we may not,” he added. “But we’ll continue to do this until we find the objects, or we are convinced that we cannot.” |
| The Malaysia Airlines plane vanished in the early hours of March 8 in what has become one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history. Investigators believe it was deliberately flown off course. | The Malaysia Airlines plane vanished in the early hours of March 8 in what has become one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history. Investigators believe it was deliberately flown off course. |
| The objects spotted by Australia lie at the far southern end of a sweeping arc in which authorities estimated the plane might have made its last satellite transmission. If the objects prove to be from the plane, it will mean that MH370 took a route nearly opposite that of its intended flight path — rather than flying to Beijing, it cut west across Malaysia and then turned south toward the remoteness of the Indian Ocean. The plane likely would have cruised south until running out of fuel. | |
| Even if the first pieces of the plane are found, answers may be slow to come. In the 2009 case of Air France 447, the first evidence of a crash was spotted five days after the plane’s disappearance. But searchers still needed two more years to locate the black box in a deep-sea trawl that cost tens of millions of dollars. | |
| Images released Thursday by Australia’s maritime safety authority showed grainy whitish fragments in the black-blue ocean. Earlier potential sightings in the 13-day search have proven false leads, including debris spotted by Vietnam and massive objects discovered by Chinese satellites. In both of those cases, the objects were in waters much closer to Malaysia — in areas that officials here now say the plane was unlikely to have gone. | |
| A U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon aircraft should already be on the scene, along with an Australian Orion. Another Australian Orion and a New Zealand Orion were expected there later in the day, Young said. | A U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon aircraft should already be on the scene, along with an Australian Orion. Another Australian Orion and a New Zealand Orion were expected there later in the day, Young said. |
| An Australian C-130 Hercules will also drop marker buoys in the area so that searchers can model the drift of water, to keep track of where the objects might go. | An Australian C-130 Hercules will also drop marker buoys in the area so that searchers can model the drift of water, to keep track of where the objects might go. |
| The U.S. Poseidon plane can stay aloft for up to nine hours and can drop and monitor sonar buoys that listen for sounds beneath the ocean surface. Even if the plane crashed into the sea, its emergency beacon will send audible signals for about a month before the battery dies. | The U.S. Poseidon plane can stay aloft for up to nine hours and can drop and monitor sonar buoys that listen for sounds beneath the ocean surface. Even if the plane crashed into the sea, its emergency beacon will send audible signals for about a month before the battery dies. |