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| Day’s search for missing Malaysian airliner turns up empty | Day’s search for missing Malaysian airliner turns up empty |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — France announced Sunday it had new satellite data showing potential debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the latest in a stream of images that has raised hopes that the jet may finally be found. | KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — France announced Sunday it had new satellite data showing potential debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the latest in a stream of images that has raised hopes that the jet may finally be found. |
| But Australian officials said a search by planes on Sunday produced no significant sightings. | But Australian officials said a search by planes on Sunday produced no significant sightings. |
| The French images are the third set of satellite pictures issued in the past week that depict what could be wreckage from the plane that disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board. However, it was not clear whether they came from the same part of the Indian Ocean where other satellite images were taken. | The French images are the third set of satellite pictures issued in the past week that depict what could be wreckage from the plane that disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board. However, it was not clear whether they came from the same part of the Indian Ocean where other satellite images were taken. |
| The French Foreign Ministry said radar echoes from a satellite had indicated the presence of debris in the ocean around 1,400 miles from the Australian coastal city of Perth but gave no direction or date. | The French Foreign Ministry said radar echoes from a satellite had indicated the presence of debris in the ocean around 1,400 miles from the Australian coastal city of Perth but gave no direction or date. |
| That is roughly the same distance from Perth as satellite pictures released earlier by China and Australia, but a Malaysian official, who declined to be named, told the Associated Press they were nearly 600 miles to the north of the other images, meaning they could not be related. | That is roughly the same distance from Perth as satellite pictures released earlier by China and Australia, but a Malaysian official, who declined to be named, told the Associated Press they were nearly 600 miles to the north of the other images, meaning they could not be related. |
| “France had decided to mobilize complementary satellite means to continue the search in the identified zone,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. | “France had decided to mobilize complementary satellite means to continue the search in the identified zone,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. |
| The Australian Maritime Safety Authority on Sunday expanded the search effort once again, in light of the most recent sightings, with four military aircraft and four civilian jets scouring two areas of ocean of around 22,800 square miles in total. | The Australian Maritime Safety Authority on Sunday expanded the search effort once again, in light of the most recent sightings, with four military aircraft and four civilian jets scouring two areas of ocean of around 22,800 square miles in total. |
| The hunt for the plane — which vanished mysteriously while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing — is already one of the broadest aviation search-and-rescue operations in history. | The hunt for the plane — which vanished mysteriously while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing — is already one of the broadest aviation search-and-rescue operations in history. |
| Low fog hampered the search in the early hours Sunday, but John Young, general manager of the Australian maritime agency’s emergency response division, said weather conditions in the remote part of the Indian Ocean appeared to be improving. | Low fog hampered the search in the early hours Sunday, but John Young, general manager of the Australian maritime agency’s emergency response division, said weather conditions in the remote part of the Indian Ocean appeared to be improving. |
| . | . |
| The grainy satellite photograph of a “suspicious floating object” issued by the Chinese was taken about 75 miles southwest of the debris sighting announced by Australia last week. The photograph was dated March 18, two days after the images from Australia were released. | The grainy satellite photograph of a “suspicious floating object” issued by the Chinese was taken about 75 miles southwest of the debris sighting announced by Australia last week. The photograph was dated March 18, two days after the images from Australia were released. |
| The Australian maritime agency said the Chinese image | |
| was “consistent” in size and location with the other images. It said its planes had passed over the area identified in the Chinese image on Saturday without spotting anything. | |
| The object spotted by the Chinese was 74 feet long by 43 feet wide. That is too wide to have come from a plane “unless it is the root of the wing,” said Peter Marosszeky, an aviation expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “It is a possibility, though unlikely.” | The object spotted by the Chinese was 74 feet long by 43 feet wide. That is too wide to have come from a plane “unless it is the root of the wing,” said Peter Marosszeky, an aviation expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “It is a possibility, though unlikely.” |
| A Boeing 777-200 is 209 feet long, with a wingspan of 199 feet and a tail height of 60 feet above the ground. Its body is 20 feet in diameter. | A Boeing 777-200 is 209 feet long, with a wingspan of 199 feet and a tail height of 60 feet above the ground. Its body is 20 feet in diameter. |
| Even if empty fuel tanks inside the wing were filled with air, some experts also doubted a fragment of that size could stay afloat for 10 days after the Malaysia Airlines plane vanished. | Even if empty fuel tanks inside the wing were filled with air, some experts also doubted a fragment of that size could stay afloat for 10 days after the Malaysia Airlines plane vanished. |
| Mike Barton, the rescue coordination chief at the Australian maritime agency, said the biggest challenge was the search area’s “remoteness from anywhere.” That meant search planes were operating at the limits of their fuel supply, prolonging the search, he said. | Mike Barton, the rescue coordination chief at the Australian maritime agency, said the biggest challenge was the search area’s “remoteness from anywhere.” That meant search planes were operating at the limits of their fuel supply, prolonging the search, he said. |
| If planes can find any of the floating objects or any new ones of interest, the next step will be to get a ship to the area and fish them out of the water. “Until we find them and have a good look at them, it’s hard to say if they have anything to do with the aircraft,” Barton said at a news conference in the Australian capital, Canberra. | If planes can find any of the floating objects or any new ones of interest, the next step will be to get a ship to the area and fish them out of the water. “Until we find them and have a good look at them, it’s hard to say if they have anything to do with the aircraft,” Barton said at a news conference in the Australian capital, Canberra. |
| An Australian naval vessel is now in the area, while a small flotilla of Chinese ships is heading to the search zone in the coming days. Merchant ships that had been involved in the search have been released, the Australian maritime agency said on Sunday. | An Australian naval vessel is now in the area, while a small flotilla of Chinese ships is heading to the search zone in the coming days. Merchant ships that had been involved in the search have been released, the Australian maritime agency said on Sunday. |
| Japan and India were also sending more planes, while two Chinese Ilyushin aircraft had arrived in Perth and were due to join the search Monday, the Australian agency said. | Japan and India were also sending more planes, while two Chinese Ilyushin aircraft had arrived in Perth and were due to join the search Monday, the Australian agency said. |
| On Sunday, the Malaysian government denied recent U.S. media reports that the passenger jet had been pre-programmed to turn sharpy westward before it vanished from radar. Those reports, citing unidentified U.S. officials, said the plane’s last transmission through the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS, at 1:07 a.m. on March 8, indicated the shift in route, casting suspicion on the two pilots. | On Sunday, the Malaysian government denied recent U.S. media reports that the passenger jet had been pre-programmed to turn sharpy westward before it vanished from radar. Those reports, citing unidentified U.S. officials, said the plane’s last transmission through the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS, at 1:07 a.m. on March 8, indicated the shift in route, casting suspicion on the two pilots. |
| This was not true, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement. “The last ACARS transmission, sent at 1:07 a.m., showed nothing unusual,” it said. | This was not true, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement. “The last ACARS transmission, sent at 1:07 a.m., showed nothing unusual,” it said. |