Search Of Indian Ocean Is Best Lead In Missing Malaysian Flight 370

Could this be what we’ve all been waiting for?

Air Search Of Indian Ocean Is “Best Lead” In Missing Malaysian Air Flight 370

Via CBSNews

An air search in the southern Indian Ocean for possible objects from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane described as the “best lead” so far ended for the day without success Thursday but will resume in the morning, Australian rescue officials said.

The four planes were checking to see if two large objects spotted in satellite imagery bobbing in the remote ocean were debris from Fight 370 that disappeared March 8 with 239 people on board.

One of the objects was almost 80 feet in length and the other was 15 feet. There could be other objects in the area, a four-hour flight from Australia’s southwestern coast, said John Young, manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency response division.

“This is a lead, it’s probably the best lead we have right now,” Young said. He cautioned that the objects could be seaborne debris along a shipping route where containers can fall off cargo vessels, although the larger object is longer than a container.

A statement from the authority said the four planes searched an area of 8,800 square miles about 1,550 miles southwest of Perth on Thursday without success. The area is about halfway between Australia and desolate islands off the Antarctic. The search had been hampered by low visibility caused by clouds and rain.

CBS News’ Bob Orr reported Thursday that the objects spotted on the satellite images were at the extreme southern end of the projected southern search corridor, so in an area where all earlier information suggested crews might expect to find the missing jet. He said it was conceivable that the largest object — nearly 80 feet in length — was one of the Boeing 777’s wings. As the flight would have been near the end of its fuel supply in reaching the area, the fuel tanks in the wings would be close to empty, giving the wings added buoyancy.

As you can imagine, the families of those who were aboard the plane are waiting with baited breath for a confirmation

News that possible plane parts had been found marked a new phase in the emotional roller coaster for distraught relatives of the passengers, who have criticized Malaysia harshly for not releasing timely information about the plane. While they still hope their loved ones will somehow be found, they acknowledged that news of the debris could mean the plane plunged into the ocean.

“If it turns out that it is truly MH370 then we will accept that fate,” said Selamat Bin Omar, the father of a Malaysian passenger on the jet, which carried mostly Chinese and Malaysian nationals.

But he cautioned that relatives still “do not yet know for sure whether this is indeed MH370 or something else. Therefore we are still waiting for further notice from the Australian government.”

We hope they crack this case sooner than later. We didn’t have any family or friends aboard that plane and we’re nervous as hell. Can’t even imagine how these folks are dealing with this day-today. Prayers up.