Aviation

More leads in jet search, still no plane

Thailand officials said they have identified 300 objects in satellite images of the Indian Ocean that could be related to the disappearance for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, according a report from The Associated Press.

The search for the jetliner is nearing the three-week mark as investigators are combing choppy waters in the southern Indian Ocean for remnants of the plane, which was carrying 239 passengers at the time of disappearance.

Thai officials said Thursday they have identified objects that range from 2 to 16 meters long in an area that is about 1,675 miles southwest from Perth, Australia, according to the report.

{mosads}Officials have been concentrating their search on the area of the Indian Ocean that near Perth since investigators from nations such as Australia, France, China and now Thailand have spotted images that could possibly be related to the missing jet, which was a large Boeing 777.

Malaysia officials announced publicly this week that the images have provided enough evidence that they are confident the Malaysia Air plane crashed into the Indian Ocean.

Searching the waters where the satellite images have been captured has proven difficult, however, and the AP reported Thursday that the hunt for the wreckage was postponed because of bad weather.

The disappearance of Malaysia Air Flight 370 has mystified aviation experts and U.S. lawmakers.

The airplane was last in contact with air traffic controllers about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

Officials originally believed the jet may have crashed into the Gulf of Thailand, which it was scheduled to fly over on its way to Beijing.

The search for the plane later turned to the Indian Ocean after the discovery of satellite communications from the engines of the jet, which caused investigators to believe the plane was intentionally turned around and flown in the opposite direction for several hours.

The discovery of the satellite images by multiple nations prompted Malaysian officials to make a public pronouncement that there were no survivors.

The announcement ended any hope for relatives of the missing passengers that their family members had survived.

Tags Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Missing Malaysia Airlines flight

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