FBI joins search for missing jet

The FBI has joined the investigation into the whereabouts of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the White House said Wednesday.

{mosads}White House press secretary Jay Carney said the FBI, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are all coordinating with the Malaysian government’s investigation.

“We are finding that the level of cooperation with the Malaysian government is solid, and we are working closely with the Malaysians as well as our other international partners in this effort to find out what happened to the plane and why it happened,” Carney said.

The White House said President Obama has been updated “regularly” about the search, though Carney sidestepped a question about why he has not spoken publicly about the missing jet.

“We have contributed a significant number of resources and assets to the search for the plane and to the investigation into what happened,” Carney said. “And, you know, we’re going to continue that effort.”

Earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department was in “ongoing conversations” with the Malaysian government about how they could help.

A federal law enforcement official told USA Today that the FBI will likely be asked to analyze the hard drive from a flight simulator that was taken from the home of one of the plane’s pilots. The materials would be shipped to the FBI’s forensic lab in Quantico, Va., for review.

Officials in Malaysia said they hoped to restore the files, which were deleted on Feb. 3. Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu said that the files may have been erased to free up space, but that investigators wanted to check for signs or irregular flight paths, The Associated Press reported.

The flight, which had 239 people on board, went missing March 8 while traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.