Possible Parts of Missing Jet Spotted Off Australia: Prime Ministeradvertisement advertisement An Australian search aircraft spotted two objects in the southern Indian Ocean that could be related to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday.
Abbott told Parliament on Thursday afternoon that he had spoken to Malaysia's prime minister about the objects, which were spotted in satellite imagery off the coast of Perth.
Abbott said more analysis was needed before it could be determined whether the objects were, indeed, from Flight 370.
"The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult, and it may turn out that they may not be related," he said, but he characterized the find as "new and credible information" in the search for the Beijing-bound plane, which disappeared March 8 after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur.
SAEED KHAN / AFP - Getty Images fileAustralian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, pictured in February, told Parliament the discovery was 'new and credible.' A P-3 Orion aircraft has been diverted to try to get a closer look at the objects, and three more jets were on their way to assist, he said.
If the objects are related, they are in an area far from what until now has been the primary search area covering about 3 million square miles. Much attention has focused on a region north of the Strait of Malacca, south of Phuket Island, Thailand, and west of the Malaysian peninsula.
Authorities say the plane veered sharply off its flight plan because of “deliberate action by someone on the plane.”