Plane search shifted over 1,000 km after 'most credible lead'

The search for the crashed Malaysian jet today dramatically shifted to a new area 1,100 km further northeast in the Indian Ocean after authorities received "the most credible lead" of radar data suggesting the plane flew faster and ran out of fuel more quickly than estimated.
A New Zealand military plane searching the new area found objects, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), coordinating the search operations, said on Twitter.
AMSA said "sightings need confirmation by ship - not expected until tomorrow".
It said the search would now focus on an area 1,100 km further north-east in the southern Indian Ocean off the western Australian coast. The new area is closer to land and has calmer weather than the old one, making search operations easier.

AMSA said that the new search area was about 1,850 km west of Perth and covered some 319,000 sq km.
However, this means the huge, isolated areas of the ocean that ships and planes had combed for more than a week -- and where various satellites detected objects that might be debris from the missing plane -- are no longer of interest.

Ten aircraft from six countries -- Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States -- were diverted to the new area of search operations.
Five Chinese ships and an Australian naval vessel were also heading towards the new zone of interest.

AMSA said the new information was based on analysis of radar data from Malaysia of the Boeing 777-200 before contact was lost 20 days ago.
Malaysian officials have concluded that, based on satellite data, the jet flew into the sea somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. Search efforts had until today been focusing on an area some 2,500 km to the southwest of Perth.
The Beijing-bound jetliner - carrying 239 people, including five Indians, an Indo-Canadian and 154 Chinese nationals - had vanished after taking off from Kuala Lumpur and crashed in the remote southern Indian Ocean.
Using satellite images, several nations have identified objects floating in the sea in that area, but there has been no confirmation as yet that any of them are from the plane.

A statement from AMSA said the latest advice had come from the international investigation team in Malaysia.
It said that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) had examined the advice "and determined that this is the most credible lead to where debris may be located".
"The new information is based on continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost," AMSA said.
"It indicated that the aircraft was traveling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance the aircraft travelled south into the Indian Ocean.