White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters on Thursday that: “It is my understanding that one possible piece of information or collection pieces of information has led to the possibility that a new search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean,’’
Carney did not specify what the new information was and Malaysian officials have not commented on his words.
The Boeing 777-200 vanished off the civilian radar screen about one hour after it took off in Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 0:41 a.m., on Saturday.
It was due to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m.
A report quoted a senior U.S. official as saying that Malaysian authorities believed they have several “pings’’ from the airliner’s service data system, known as ACARS.
It is transmitted to satellites in four or five hours after the last transponder signal, suggesting the plane flew to the Indian Ocean.
That information combined with known radar data and knowledge of fuel range leads officials to believe the plane may have made it to that ocean.
Noting that it is in the opposite direction of its original route, the official said.
This new information led to a decision to move the USS Kidd into the Indian Ocean to begin searching that area, the official added.
Sources: NAN
