Possible Debris from Missing Jet Found Off Australia
1/10Mike Barton, rescue coordination chief, right, shows Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Warren Truss, the map of the Indian Ocean search areas during a tour of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's rescue coordination center in Canberra, March 23, 2014.
2/10Royal Australian Air Force pilot Capt. Russell Adams, left, speaks to the media after returning from a search mission in an AP-3C Orion at Pearce Base, Perth, Australia, March 23, 2014.
3/10Ground crew members wave to a Japanese Maritime Defense Force P3C patrol plane as it leaves the Royal Malaysian Air Force base heading for Australia to join a search and rescue operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, Subang, Malaysia, March 23, 2014.
4/10Royal Australian Air Force commander Craig Heap speaks to the media after Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-3C Orion arrived to help with search operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at Pearce Base in Perth, Australia, March 23, 2014.
5/10Royal Australian Air Force Loadmasters prepare to launch a Self Locating Data Marker Buoy from a C-130J Hercules aircraft over the southern Indian Ocean, March 20, 2014. (AFP PHOTO / AUSTRALIAN DEFENSE/LEADING SEAMAN JUSTIN BROWN)
6/10John Young, general manager of the emergency response division of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, answers a question as he stands in front of a diagram showing the search area for flight MH370 during a briefing in Canberra, March 20, 2014.
7/10A Royal Australian Air Force pilot steers his AP-3C Orion over the southern Indian Ocean during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in this picture released by the Australian Defense Force, March 20, 2014.
8/10A Chinese family member of a passenger onboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 screams as she is being brought into a room outside the media conference area at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, March 19, 2014.
9/10An image in support of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is seen on the United Malays National Organisation building in Kuala Lumpur, March 19, 2014.
10/10Students watch as a group of artists finish a piece based on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that was painted on a school ground in Makati city, metro Manila, Philippines, March 17, 2014.
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Ships are on their way to the southern Indian Ocean off Australia to look for possible debris from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
An Australian satellite spotted two large pieces of what investigators say could be part of the plane. One piece is about 24 meters long and another one is five meters long. The pictures were taken earlier this week and were released Thursday.
Darkness, clouds, and rain prevented rescue planes from seeing anything.
A Norwegian cargo ship happened to be near the area when news of the debris was announced, but failed to spot anything during a night-long search.
The owner of the Norwegian ship said saving the lives of the missing passengers is the focus of its operation.
The debris is thought to be about 2,500 kilometers southwest of the Australian city of Perth.
The Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people on board disappeared 13 days ago during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. So far, there has been no signs of the plane or any firm clues of what happened to it.
Malaysia Airlines, search area as of March 20, 2014
Investigators are not ruling out anything, including catastrophic mechanical failure or terrorism. But they say it is possible that someone who knew what he was doing caused the plane to fly far off course
Twenty-six nations have been hunting for the plane across an area covering more than 7 million square kilometers, from Kazakhstan to the southern Indian Ocean.
Most of the passengers were Chinese. Their families are extremely frustrated with the investigation, accusing Malaysian authorities of lying. Police forcibly carried out hysterical and sobbing relatives from a government briefing on Wednesday.
Australian Air Commodore John McGarry on the search for debris:
"Quite simply, it is credible enough to divert the research to this area on the basis it provides a promising lead to what might be wreckage from the debris field," said McGarry.
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