Two potential bits of missing flight MH370 wreckage found: Australian PM announces discovery of 78ft 'debris' after new satellite data calculations narrowed hunt to remote stretch of Indian Ocean

• Significant 'pings' from large objects being returned to US search aircraft
• Floating object was among two pieces spotted on satellite imagery
• Satellite images dated 'March 16' raise concerns debris has moved
• Families are now anxiously awaiting further investigation of the two pieces
• Australian PM says images are 'credible and potentially important'
• Search planes and ships are on way to objects 2,500km southwest of Perth
• The search zone is about 350,000 square kilometres (185,000 square miles)
• Sources in Malaysia say they are 'hopeful but cautious'

Two objects that may be wreckage from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been spotted floating in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia.
The Australian government released pictures taken by satellite on March 16 of possible plane debris seen around 2,500km (1,500miles) southwest of Perth.
One of the objects is estimated to be 78ft (24m) in size and the sighting of the objects was said by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to be 'credible and potentially important'.

U.S and Australian search aircraft and naval vessels have been dispatched to the area, with significant radar pings reportedly being returned to one U.S surveillance plane from the area the objects were see in.

Two pieces of wreckage that are possibly from the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 - one estimated to be 78ft in size - have been found to the west of Australia, it was announced today. Pictured: Satellite pictures released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority of the object thought to be related to the search for MH370

The debris was spotted on satellite imagery and a total of four aircraft have been sent to investigate the sighting, some 1553 miles off the coast of Perth

Map: Four aircraft have been sent to the area, pictured, where the objects were spotted

Narrowed the search: Investigators have halved the scope of the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 to an area roughly the size of Arizona, off the coast of Australia

One surveillance aircraft is already in the area, with others en route. However, the area is so far away that they can only spend a limited amount of time there before needing to return to base to refuel.
John Young of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said at an afternoon press conference that one aircraft was already on scene searching the area, and three others were due to meet it into Thursday evening. A merchant ship dispatched in the search operation was also due to arrive around 6p.m. Canberra time, 10am UK time.

The imagery was progressively captured by satellites passing over the area and analysed by the Australian Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation.
Commercial satellites have been tasked with collecting higher resolution images of the floating objects.
Mr Young said visibility was poor in the area, hampering both air and satellite efforts and he estimated the water in the location where the debris was spotted to be several thousand feet deep.
'I must emphasize that these objects may be very difficult to locate,' he told reporters.

Commercial satellites have been tasked with collecting higher resolution images of the floating objects

Recovery mission begins: John Young, pictured, of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said at an afternoon press conference that one aircraft is already on scene searching the area, and three others were on their way to help with the search

Australian Maritime Safety Authority press conference

Mr Young reiterated that it was too early to tell whether the objects spotted on satellite were from MH370.
'The images captured by satellite may not be related to the aircraft,' he said. 'The objects are relatively indistinct. They may not be related to the search.'
It is not uncommon for cargo to fall off a container ship into the water, Mr Young said.
However, he said the fact the objects were in the designated search area and there were two of them of varying sizes 'really makes it worth looking at.'
The aircraft sent to the site include two Royal Australian Air Force Orion planes, a Royal New Zealand Orion and a U.S. Navy Posiedon.
A New Zealand C130 Hercules has also been deployed. It is tasked to drop data marker buoys, which provide information about water movement. That information will be useful if the search becomes protracted, Mr Young said.
If one of the planes spots the objects, it will report back an accurate GPS coordinate. The object would be then recovered and transported back to shore by the HMAS Success, which is, according to Mr Young, 'equipped to recover any object that might be found.'
The HMAS Success, an Australian supply and logistics ship, is currently en route to the area, though is not due to arrive for several days.
When asked if the objects were the size of 'a basketball or seat cushion,' Mr Young said one was 24 meters in size - or 78ft - and another was smaller. 
He said there were a number of additional objects in the vicinity of the larger piece of wreckage but he added the current imagery was not clear enough to make out whether the pieces appeared to be from a plane.

Aircraft: The above Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft from 10 Squadron is to join the Australian Maritime Safety Authority-led search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean today

Debris spotted: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott pictured today in Canberra, said two pieces of debris had been spotted on satellite imagery and aircraft were being sent to investigate

The AMSA will now concentrate its efforts on finding the two bits of wreckage, and would not continue searching the rest of the southern zone until they had been found or officials were convinced that they could not be found, he said.
'AMSA is doing its level best to find anyone who might have survived,' Mr Young added.
'If these objects are from the aircraft, that will put us in a more accurate search corridor to what we have at the moment.'
'This is a lead, it is probably the best lead we have right now.'

Malaysia confirmed in a statement that Mr Abbott called Prime Minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur to inform him of the developments at around 10a.m local time.
The potentially huge breakthrough in the disappearance was announced after investigators halved the scope of the search for the passenger aircraft to an area roughly the size of Arizona late Wednesday.
Malaysia's Acting Transportation Secretary Hishammuddin Hussein said in a statement: 'At this stage, Australian officials have yet to establish whether these objects are indeed related to the search for MH370.'

There have already been several false alarms of what were said to be pieces of the aircraft being seen in waters on both sides of the Malaysian peninsula.
He did not say where the objects were. But due to the distance of the search area from the Australian coast it takes the Orion aircraft four hours to reach the search zone, leaving them only two hours to search before they have to turn back to refuel.
At the Canberra press conference, Air Commodore John McGarry from the Australian Defence Force said other nations had offered to help in the search for the objects but, due to their extremely remote location, very few aircraft could access it.
The search had been drastically narrowed Wednesday to two possible flight paths after hourly satellite pings detected from the aircraft provided far more information than expected as to where a wreck may be found.
Military planes from Australia, the U.S. and New Zealand began covering a search region over the southern Indian Ocean stretching 117,000 sq miles down from 232,000 sq miles.
Both of the routes were heading toward the South Pole and ended in the Indian Ocean, some 1429 miles from Perth, ABC News reported Wednesday. The calculations were at that point handed over to Australian officials and the county's search and rescue crews began combing the area.
Earlier Wednesday Malaysian officials confirmed they received 'some radar data' from other countries about the missing Flight MH370 - but claimed they were 'not at liberty' to release the information.

Hishammuddin Hussein (centre) told a news conference Malaysia had received 'some radar data' but were 'not at liberty' to release information from other countries

 

Malaysia says 'radar data' received in search of flight MH370

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia was continuing to co-ordinate the search for the missing Boeing 777-200ER.
He added: 'I can confirm that we have received some radar data, but we are not at liberty to release information from other countries.
'I appeal to all our partners to continue volunteering any and all information that could help with the investigation and the search for MH370.'
Meanwhile, distraught family members of the missing passengers were removed from the press conference.
Moments before officials spoke to the media, half a dozen furious relatives stormed the conference - blaming the Malaysian government of failing to work hard enough to find the plane.
The group had banners - most which which blamed the government of inaction - as airline officials desperately tried to resume order.
In dramatic scenes, one woman shouted: 'You are traitors to us... you have let us down. Tell us the truth! We want the truth!'
Hishammuddin Hussein said he 'fully understands' the frustration of the relatives of the missing passengers and said a high-level delegation was being sent to Beijing to speak to the families.

He later ordered an inquiry into the incident where security guards carried out the distraught mother of one of the passengers.
The families of the two pilots are also struggling to cope.
'It is very agonizing for the family, and the media is not helping at all,' said Mohammed Ghouse, a longtime friend of [pilot] Zaharie [Ahmad Shah]'s brother-in-law, according to The Washington Post.
'The daughter especially is very upset. She was very close to her father.'

Thai military yesterday said they picked up an unidentified aircraft on radar bearing off the flight path, heading left over Malaysia and towards the Strait of Malacca

A family member of a passenger aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 breaks down as she is removed from a press conference today

A woman is carried out by security officials after she tried to protest before a press conference at a hotel in Sepang, Malaysia. Some of the group held banners blaming the government of letting them down

 

Family members dragged out of Malaysian MH370 press conference

Sky News presenter Kay Burley was caught on camera tripping up an escalator during a media scrum to speak to the women.
It was reported that pilot Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah had programmed a remote island in the middle of the Indian Ocean with a runway long enough to land a Boeing 777 into his home flight simulator.
A U.S. official said the Malaysian government is seeking the FBI's help in analyzing any electronic files deleted last month from the pilot's simulator.
The official, speaking anonymously, said the FBI has been provided electronic data to analyze.
CNN also reported investigators at Quantico, a Marine Corps base and home to FBI labs, were examining 'hard drives belonging to two pilots':
Malaysia's defense minister said iinvestigators were trying to restore files deleted from the simulator last month to see if they shed any light on the disappearance.
Files containing records of simulations carried out on the program were deleted February 3.

THE FBI TO ANALYSE FILES FROM PILOT'S FLIGHT SIMULATOR

A U.S. official said the Malaysian government is seeking the FBI's help in analyzing any electronic files deleted last month from the home flight simulator of the pilot of the missing Malaysian plane.
Malaysia's defense minister said earlier Wednesday that investigators were trying to restore files deleted last month from the home simulator used by the pilot, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, to see if they shed any light on the disappearance.
Files containing records of simulations carried out on the program were deleted Feb. 3.
At the news conference today, Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that 'I don't think we have any theories" about what happened to the plane but said the FBI has been in touch with Malaysian investigators about providing any help that it can.
'We are in ongoing conversations about how we can help and we will make available whatever resources that we have, whatever expertise we have, that might be able to be used,' Holder said.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 people aboard disappeared March 8 on a night flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

At a news conference Wednesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters: 'I don't think we have any theories' about what happened to the plane'
However, he said the FBI has been in touch with Malaysian investigators about providing any help that it can.
'We are in ongoing conversations about how we can help and we will make available whatever resources that we have, whatever expertise we have, that might be able to be used,' Mr Holder said.
Suggestions the flight may have deliberately been changed were challenged by the acting transport minister today.
In words that appeared to rubbish a Reuters report suggesting MH370 used waypoints, or navigational points, after losing contact with ground control, he said: 'I am aware of speculation that additional waypoints were added to the aircraft’s flight routing. I can confirm that the aircraft flew on normal routing up until the waypoint IGARI. There is no additional waypoint on MH370’s documented flight plan, which depicts normal routing all the way to Beijing.'
Investigators at the conference also rubbished reports the plane may have been sighted over the Maldives.
Some residents of Kudahuvadhoo, one of the most remote parts of the area, said they saw a low-flying aircraft on the morning the flight's disappearance. Hishammuddin Hussein said these were false.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 people aboard disappeared March 8 on a night flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
It is now 13 days after it vanished from air traffic control screens off Malaysia's east coast at 1:21am local time.
Thousands of well-wishers have written on a prayer wall at Kuala Lumpur Airport, begging MH370 and its passengers to come home.
An unprecedented search for the plane is under way involving 26 nations in two vast search 'corridors'.

A woman look at the thousands of messages left for those missing aboard the flight at Kuala Lumpur Airport

The 'prayer wall' was started soon after the craft disappeared on March 8. No sign of the plane has been found

One of the corridors arches north overland from Laos towards the Caspian Sea, while the other curves south across the Indian Ocean from west of Indonesia's Sumatra island to west of Australia.
Another theory, predicted by a veteran pilot, suggests the flight was in trouble and simply heading for the nearest safe airport when it turned off-course.

Also reported Wednesday was the fact the U-turn made by the missing jet is believed to have been programmed into the on board computer before the last radio contact was made with the co-pilot.
A leading aviation expert on Tuesday suggested Asian military officials may be staging a mass cover-up because they do not want to expose gaping holes within their countries' air defenses.
The jet went missing shortly after 1am - but it wasn't until the following Tuesday that the Malaysian Air Force reported they had spotted the aircraft on radar over the Strait of Malacca at 2.15am.

Holding back: Aviation expert David Learmount suggested some countries may be withholding radar information

Thailand's military said Tuesday they detected a plane at 1.28am, eight minutes after MH370's communications went down, heading towards the Strait but did not share the information because they were not asked for it.
Writing on his blog, aviation expert David Learmount said: 'Maybe these states' air defences, like Malaysia's, are not what they are cracked up to be.
'And maybe they wouldn’t want the rest of the world to know that.'
Mr Learmount, a former pilot and now operations and safety editor at the respected Flight Global publication, points out that MH370 might have flown over several Asian countries including Thailand, Burma, China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
If it emerges that an unidentified aircraft had been able to fly over a territory undetected and unchallenged it would amount to an embarrassing security failure.
Regarding the Malaysian sighting Mr Learmount wrote: 'Clearly they had let an unidentified aircraft pass through Malaysian sovereign territory without bothering to identify it; not something they were happy to admit.
'The Malaysian government has called upon all the countries to the north-west as far as Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea to check their primary radar records for unidentified contacts in their airspace in the seven hours after the 777 went missing.
'Depending on the actual track the aircraft followed, if it had headed approximately north-west this could include some–if not all–of the following countries: Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.
'If the aircraft had gone that way, surely military primary radar in one of those countries–or several–would have picked up the signal from this unidentified aircraft, and the vigilant radar operator would have scrambled a fighter to intercept the intruder?
'Wouldn't s/he? Or maybe not. Maybe these states' air defences, like Malaysia's, are not what they are cracked up to be. And maybe they wouldn't want the rest of the world to know that.'