- .Images were captured on March 23 and show debris 1,550 miles from Perth
- .Potential debris field measures 155 square miles (400 square kilometres)
- .Locator beacon for black box will only last until around April 8
- .U.S black box detector won't reach search area until April 5
- .It follows reports the doomed flight climbed to 43,000ft moments before disappearing from radar
New satellite images have revealed 122 objects in the southern Indian Ocean that could be debris from the Malaysian jetliner missing since March 8 with 239 people on board, Malaysia's acting transport minister said.
The find has dramatically narrowed the search zone, with the debris spotted across an area measuring just 155 square miles (400 square kilometres).
In the past few days the search area has measured around 622,000 square miles - six times the size of the UK
Debris field: The satellite has found objects in a 155 square-mile area
Homing in: This graphic released by the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency on Wednesday shows the approximate position of objects seen floating in the southern Indian Ocean in the search zone for MH370
Breakthrough: Malaysia's Defense Minister and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein shows a printout of the latest satellite image of objects that might be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
Monitored: Malaysian Lieutenant General Ackbal Samad shows a map showing possible track of Malaysia Airlines MH370 to relatives of passengers aboard the missing plane
Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference that the images were captured by France-based Airbus Defence and Space on March 23.
They are the fourth set of satellite images to show potential debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a remote part of the Indian Ocean roughly 2,500 km (1,550 miles) south west of Perth.
The objects are believed to be solid and range from one metre to 23 metres (three to 75 feet) long.
Debris field: The satellite has found objects in a 155 square-mile area
Homing in: This graphic released by the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency on Wednesday shows the approximate position of objects seen floating in the southern Indian Ocean in the search zone for MH370
Breakthrough: Malaysia's Defense Minister and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein shows a printout of the latest satellite image of objects that might be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
Monitored: Malaysian Lieutenant General Ackbal Samad shows a map showing possible track of Malaysia Airlines MH370 to relatives of passengers aboard the missing plane
Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference that the images were captured by France-based Airbus Defence and Space on March 23.
They are the fourth set of satellite images to show potential debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a remote part of the Indian Ocean roughly 2,500 km (1,550 miles) south west of Perth.
The objects are believed to be solid and range from one metre to 23 metres (three to 75 feet) long.
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It is understood some pieces of debris are 'bright' but authorities have not confirmed whether they are from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, and investigators believe someone on the flight may have shut off the plane's communications systems.
Partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and recrossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot.
Malaysia's air force has released few details of its radar tracking beyond saying the plane was last detected off the northwest coast heading towards India.
But the country's deputy defence minister, Abdul Rahim Bakri, told parliament that no action was taken when the unidentified plane was spotted because it was assumed it had been ordered to turn back, local media said.
Explanations: Lt. Gen. Samad answers a question from relatives of Chinese passengers on board MH370
Statement: A representative of relatives of Chinese passengers on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, center, makes an announcement to journalists prior to a briefing with Malaysian officials at a hotel in Beijing on Wednesday
Focus of air and sea assets: A map of the areas already searched and the planned search areas in the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, on Wednesday
Challenging task: The search areas are in one of the most remote areas on earth and in seas renowned for being extremely rough
'It was detected by our radar, but the turn back was by a non-hostile plane and we thought maybe it was at the directive of the control tower,' he was quoted as saying.
Asked at the news conference whether air force radar operators thought the plane had been told to turn back by air traffic controllers, Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, said he could not confirm it.
A dozen aircraft from Australia, the United States, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea were once more scouring the seas southwest of Perth in the hunt for wreckage on Wednesday, after bad weather the previous day forced the suspension of the search.
But the area is renowned among mariners for high winds and big waves and the good weather is unlikely to last.
‘This is only going to be a narrow window of opportunity by the looks of things, because another weather system is moving in for Thursday, which looks like that will bring an increase in winds again and also lead to a reduction in visibility through the rain associated with the cold front,’ Neil Bennett, a spokesman for Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, told Reuters.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak this week confirmed Flight MH370 had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.
How events unfolded: The plane went missing on March 8, with a British satellite firm tracking its last known location to an area in the Indian Ocean that's 622,000 square miles
Intense search: The Commanding Officer of the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Success, Captain Allison Norris, on the bridge during the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight
Citing satellite-data analysis by British company Inmarsat , he said there was no doubt the Boeing 777 came down in one of the most remote places on Earth.
Recovery of wreckage could unlock clues about why and how the plane had diverted so far off course in one of aviation's most puzzling mysteries. Theories range from a hijacking to sabotage or a possible suicide by one of the pilots, but investigators have not ruled out technical problems.
Australia, China and France have all released satellite images over the past week showing possible debris in the same general area as the latest sighting, but no confirmed wreckage has been located.
An Australian navy ship returned to the area after being driven away by gale force winds and 20-metre (66ft) waves on Tuesday, while a Chinese icebreaker and three Chinese navy vessels were also in the search zone.
Two Chinese ships were looking for a two-metre floating object spotted earlier in the day by an aircraft, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.
The United States has sent an undersea Navy drone and a high-tech black box detector which will be fitted to Australia's naval ship Ocean Shield in the coming days.
The so-called black boxes - the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder - record what happens during flight, but time is running out to pick up locator beacons that stop about a month after a crash due to limited battery life.
Scouring the ocean: Royal Australian Air Force airborne electronics analyst Sergeant Samuel Carson uses the advanced camera systems on board an AP-C3 Orion aircraft to search for evidence of MH370
Explanations: Lt. Gen. Samad answers a question from relatives of Chinese passengers on board MH370
Statement: A representative of relatives of Chinese passengers on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, center, makes an announcement to journalists prior to a briefing with Malaysian officials at a hotel in Beijing on Wednesday
Challenging task: The search areas are in one of the most remote areas on earth and in seas renowned for being extremely rough
How events unfolded: The plane went missing on March 8, with a British satellite firm tracking its last known location to an area in the Indian Ocean that's 622,000 square miles
DISTRAUGHT RELATIVES FORCED TO CHANGE HOTELS TO MAKE WAY FOR F1 TEAMS
More stress was heaped on the relatives of the MH370 passengers this week when they were forced to vacate their Kuala Lumpur hotel rooms, as they had been pre-booked by Formula One teams and fans attending the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The relatives, numbering 32 and including some Chinese family members who wanted to be closer to the search hub, had been staying in two hotels near the international airport, from where the ill-fated flight departed.
However, the hotels also happen to be near the Sepang racetrack (above), the venue for the March 28 grand prix, and so are popular with racing fans and teams alike.
Malaysian government officials have also had to relocate from two hotels they'd been using for media briefings, it's understood.
A hotel official told the Daily Telegraph: 'The rooms have been pre-booked before this event happened.'
Malaysia said on Tuesday that the U.S. Towed Pinger Locator would not arrive in the search area until April 5, which would give it only a few days to find the black box before the beacon battery would be expected to run out.
Meanwhile, the pilot of MH370 was distraught over his wife’s decision to move out of their family home and could have taken the plane for a ‘last joyride’ before it crashed, according to a long-time friend of the pilot.
The friend, also a pilot, said Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had been left rattled by his family problems, and didn’t appear to be in the right state of mind to be flying. He warned that it was ‘very possible that neither the passengers nor the other crew on-board knew what was happening until it was too late’.
‘He's one of the finest pilots around and I'm no medical expert, but with all that was happening in his life Zaharie was probably in no state of mind to be flying,’ he told the NZ Herald on the condition of anonymity.
While his professional record appeared impeccable, Captain Zaharie's long-time friend said the pilot's personal life was in turmoil. He said his friend's relationships were breaking down, and while Zaharie was involved with another woman he was still devastated at his wife's decision to move out of their family home.
He said the troubled pilot could have seen MH370 as an opportunity to try high-risk maneuvers he'd perfected on his beloved flight simulator.
These shocking new claims follow reports that flight MH370 climbed to between 43,000 and 45,000ft shortly after the last voice communication from the cockpit of the plane.
'Last joyride': A close friend says Captain Zaharie was upset over the breakdown of his marriage, and wasn't in the right frame of mind to fly
Virtual reality: A close friend of Captain Zaharie says the pilot might have seen MH370 as a chance to try things he'd only previously been able to try on his simulator
An aviation industry source, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline: 'It was tracked flying at this altitude for 23 minutes before descending. Oxygen would have run out in 12 minutes [in a depressurised cabin], rendering the passengers unconscious.'
The 777-200ER Boeing aircraft used on the ill-fated flight has a maximum service ceiling of 43,000 feet and can very probably fly safely at even greater heights, one expert said.
More stress was heaped on the relatives of the MH370 passengers this week when they were forced to vacate their Kuala Lumpur hotel rooms, as they had been pre-booked by Formula One teams and fans attending the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The relatives, numbering 32 and including some Chinese family members who wanted to be closer to the search hub, had been staying in two hotels near the international airport, from where the ill-fated flight departed.
However, the hotels also happen to be near the Sepang racetrack (above), the venue for the March 28 grand prix, and so are popular with racing fans and teams alike.
Malaysian government officials have also had to relocate from two hotels they'd been using for media briefings, it's understood.
A hotel official told the Daily Telegraph: 'The rooms have been pre-booked before this event happened.'
'Last joyride': A close friend says Captain Zaharie was upset over the breakdown of his marriage, and wasn't in the right frame of mind to fly
Virtual reality: A close friend of Captain Zaharie says the pilot might have seen MH370 as a chance to try things he'd only previously been able to try on his simulator
An aviation industry source, who wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline: 'It was tracked flying at this altitude for 23 minutes before descending. Oxygen would have run out in 12 minutes [in a depressurised cabin], rendering the passengers unconscious.'
The 777-200ER Boeing aircraft used on the ill-fated flight has a maximum service ceiling of 43,000 feet and can very probably fly safely at even greater heights, one expert said.
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But at this altitude, where the atmosphere drastically thins, it would take mere minutes if not seconds for hypoxia - a lack of oxygen - to set in if the cabin was manually depressurised by one of the pilots, as seen in the below video of a high-altitude experiment.
Oxygen masks would have dropped down, but these only supply between five and 10 minutes of air.
Central Queensland University's head of aviation, Ron Bishop, told MailOnline that a drop in cabin pressure that had knocked out passengers and crew would mean the plane would fly on unmanned until eventually running out of fuel and crashing into ocean.
‘You’d just slowly pass out. But it would have no effect on the plane at all,’ he said.
‘The plane would just keep going until it eventually ran out of fuel.
‘That would explain it all. That plane flew on a very long time, all the way from South East Asia to near the west coast of Australia.’
The search continues: Crews aboard HMAS Success had again reached the debris field today
The passengers' devastated families are expected to start arriving in Perth as soon as the debris is confirmed as belonging to MH370, with the Australian Government announcing it would set up a special facility to assist them, as well as waive any visa fees.
A spokeswoman for the city's Chung Wah Aged Care and Community Centre told MailOnline she had been inundated with phone calls from people who were willing to accommodate the families of the flight's 139 Chinese passengers.
'We've received many offers from the public who are volunteering to provide accommodation,' the spokeswoman said.
Since the plane went missing on March 8 the daughter of the chief steward, Andrew Nari, has sent a series of heartbreaking tweets, praying for his safe return.
When news first broke that the plane had gone missing, Maira Elizabeth Nari, tweeting under the name Gorgxous_, wrote: 'God.... The only thing I want is my father..... Nothing, but my father. I want my father back. :'('
Since then she has gained thousands of new followers from around the world, encouraging her to stay strong.
She said on Tuesday that she was 'still hoping for a miracle'.
Legal action is under way: Representatives from Ribbeck Law Chartered listen to a question from reporters during a press conference on Wednesday, after one of the relatives instructed them to obtain information about MH370 from Malaysia Airlines and Boeing
While the search continues, one relative has begun legal proceedings against Malaysia Airlines and engine manufacturer Boeing.
Januari Siregar, father of Indonesian passenger Chandra Siregar, has instructed lawyers from Chicago-based law firm Ribbeck Law Chartered to demand 26 different types of information about the 777 aircraft used on the doomed flight, according to the International Business Times.
It's thought that Mr Siregar and other relatives will launch full lawsuits soon.
Devastated: A relative of the Chinese passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines MH370 grieves after being told the flight ended in southern Indian Ocean
Mourning: High school students hold candles during a vigil for passengers of the missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 in Lianyungang, China
The worst news: Ayu Suliasti, daughter of the Indonesian couple Sugianto and Vinny Chynthya Tio, shows pictures of her parents who were passengers on the missing plane
A chief pilot with a South East Asian budget airline became so incensed over the as-yet fruitless search for MH370 that he posted an expletive-riddled Facebook page criticising the Malaysian government - and was subsequently suspended.
The pilot, whose identity has not been revealed after his post was removed, wrote:
‘For f***’s sake…Is there any concrete proof that MH370 has indeed crashed?
‘It’s not right to simply assume when U have no evidence to back up your claims!
‘(The) supposed debris…isn’t even confirmed to be from the plane yet! Show us the proof and then tell us MH370 has crashed.
‘Till then, stop hiding facts! It’s obvious to even a blind man that there (are) tons of info the government definitely knows and isn’t sharing yet!’
His comments were posted on blogs in South East Asia, and one, Malaysiakini, said the pilot’s identity was being withheld and he has since disabled his Facebook account. But it showed earlier that he is a senior first officer at AirAsia X.
The website said that the pilot’s other social media accounts show him in a pilot’s uniform and features a video about his love for flying.
The pilot later apologised for his outburst, saying he was sorry that he had offended some people.
‘It was written in anguish, heavily influenced by my emotions at the time,’ he wrote.
His apology did not save him from suspension.
AirAsia X’s group chief executive officer, Tony Fernandes, said in a Tweet: ‘AirAsia X senior first officer has been suspended pending investigation as company policies were broken in Facebook posting.’
A second official, chief executive officer, Azran Rani Osman, added a comment that the first officer had contravened a ‘specific directive’ not to publicly comment on the search for MH370.
The prolonged search and investigation have taken a toll, with dozens of distraught relatives of Chinese passengers clashing with police in Beijing on Tuesday, accusing Malaysia of 'delays and deception'.
Malaysia's confused initial response to the plane's disappearance and a perception of poor communications have enraged many relatives of the more than 150 Chinese passengers and have strained ties between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
Chinese special envoy Zhang Yesui met Malaysia's Najib on Wednesday and called for 'unremitting efforts' to find the plane, Xinhua said.
But at this altitude, where the atmosphere drastically thins, it would take mere minutes if not seconds for hypoxia - a lack of oxygen - to set in if the cabin was manually depressurised by one of the pilots, as seen in the below video of a high-altitude experiment.
Oxygen masks would have dropped down, but these only supply between five and 10 minutes of air.
Central Queensland University's head of aviation, Ron Bishop, told MailOnline that a drop in cabin pressure that had knocked out passengers and crew would mean the plane would fly on unmanned until eventually running out of fuel and crashing into ocean.
‘You’d just slowly pass out. But it would have no effect on the plane at all,’ he said.
‘The plane would just keep going until it eventually ran out of fuel.
‘That would explain it all. That plane flew on a very long time, all the way from South East Asia to near the west coast of Australia.’
The search continues: Crews aboard HMAS Success had again reached the debris field today
Legal action is under way: Representatives from Ribbeck Law Chartered listen to a question from reporters during a press conference on Wednesday, after one of the relatives instructed them to obtain information about MH370 from Malaysia Airlines and Boeing
The worst news: Ayu Suliasti, daughter of the Indonesian couple Sugianto and Vinny Chynthya Tio, shows pictures of her parents who were passengers on the missing plane
BRITISH ENGINEER HAS REVEALED THE TERRIFYING MOMENT AN ENGINE ON HIS FLIGHT CAUGHT FIRE AT 10,000FT ABOVE MALAYSIA
Terrifying: The moment an engine caught fire on a Malindo Air flight above Malaysia on Tuesday
A British engineer has revealed the terrifying moment an engine on his flight caught fire at 10,000ft above Malaysia.
Alan Harper, 68, from Saltash, Cornwall, was one of 70 passengers flying from Kuala Lumpar's Subang airport to Kuala Terengganu at about 7.30am on Tuesday morning local time.
About ten minutes into the Malindo Air flight Mr Harper, who runs a manufacturing firm and was visiting on a business trip, realised one of the plane's engines had stalled.
Speaking from Malaysia, he said: ‘We were at about 10,000ft and still climbing. I said to my friend "we just lost an engine".
‘I looked out of the window and saw flames coming from the cowling on the port side. I called the flight attendant over and said "could you please go to the captain and tell him the engine is on fire".
‘She looked out and her face went as white as a sheet.
‘The fire started to blister and warp the engine cowels for at least five minutes whilst we lost height.’
The plane turned back towards Subang and ten minutes later was greeted by a fleet of firefighters back at the airport as the passengers were evacuated.
‘The fire appeared to go out but we were watching it, afraid it would catch fire again,’ Mr Harper said.
Busy: Alan Harper, 68, from Saltash, Cornwall, was one of 70 passengers on board the aircraft when the emergency developed
‘There were fire crews chasing us down the runway and we managed to taxi in to the gate and get out with our bags. We were scared, I thought "this is it".’
Members of the Terengganu football team were among the passengers, on their way home after a match in Selayang.
Mr Harper and his fellow passengers were eventually able to get another flight to reach their destination.
‘Very few passengers actually realised the engine was on fire, so there was no real panic in the cabin, but the people I was with were very scared,’ Mr Harper said.
‘I was sitting next to my colleague's wife, they had just left their children and she was very shaken.
We thought it was possibly the end. At 10,000ft when you see flames coming out of the engine that is very bad.
‘I am an engineer so I know what it was. It was clear smoke, it wasn't black smoke or white smoke.
‘The engine just stopped, just like that, and the next thing there were flames coming out of the exhaust.
‘I do a lot of flying all over the world, I am fascinated by air accidents and how things go wrong.
‘I thought this was it.
‘When we got down we were all congratulating each other for still being alive.
The New Straits Times reports that a Malindo Air spokesman said the aircraft took off at 7.35am and the incident happened shortly afterwards.
He said the pilot had taken immediate action by switching off the affected engine, before safely landing at Subang airport.
The cause of the fire was not known.
Terrifying: The moment an engine caught fire on a Malindo Air flight above Malaysia on Tuesday
A British engineer has revealed the terrifying moment an engine on his flight caught fire at 10,000ft above Malaysia.
Alan Harper, 68, from Saltash, Cornwall, was one of 70 passengers flying from Kuala Lumpar's Subang airport to Kuala Terengganu at about 7.30am on Tuesday morning local time.
About ten minutes into the Malindo Air flight Mr Harper, who runs a manufacturing firm and was visiting on a business trip, realised one of the plane's engines had stalled.
Speaking from Malaysia, he said: ‘We were at about 10,000ft and still climbing. I said to my friend "we just lost an engine".
‘I looked out of the window and saw flames coming from the cowling on the port side. I called the flight attendant over and said "could you please go to the captain and tell him the engine is on fire".
‘She looked out and her face went as white as a sheet.
‘The fire started to blister and warp the engine cowels for at least five minutes whilst we lost height.’
The plane turned back towards Subang and ten minutes later was greeted by a fleet of firefighters back at the airport as the passengers were evacuated.
‘The fire appeared to go out but we were watching it, afraid it would catch fire again,’ Mr Harper said.
Busy: Alan Harper, 68, from Saltash, Cornwall, was one of 70 passengers on board the aircraft when the emergency developed
‘There were fire crews chasing us down the runway and we managed to taxi in to the gate and get out with our bags. We were scared, I thought "this is it".’
Members of the Terengganu football team were among the passengers, on their way home after a match in Selayang.
Mr Harper and his fellow passengers were eventually able to get another flight to reach their destination.
‘Very few passengers actually realised the engine was on fire, so there was no real panic in the cabin, but the people I was with were very scared,’ Mr Harper said.
‘I was sitting next to my colleague's wife, they had just left their children and she was very shaken.
We thought it was possibly the end. At 10,000ft when you see flames coming out of the engine that is very bad.
‘I am an engineer so I know what it was. It was clear smoke, it wasn't black smoke or white smoke.
‘The engine just stopped, just like that, and the next thing there were flames coming out of the exhaust.
‘I do a lot of flying all over the world, I am fascinated by air accidents and how things go wrong.
‘I thought this was it.
‘When we got down we were all congratulating each other for still being alive.
The New Straits Times reports that a Malindo Air spokesman said the aircraft took off at 7.35am and the incident happened shortly afterwards.
He said the pilot had taken immediate action by switching off the affected engine, before safely landing at Subang airport.
The cause of the fire was not known.
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