‘Credible lead’ shifts search area

Associated Press

PERTH, Australia

The search zone for the Malaysia airliner that crashed in the Indian Ocean nearly three weeks ago has shifted 680 miles to the northeast of where planes and ships had been looking for possible debris because of a “new credible lead,” Australia said today.

The revised search area comes as the weather cleared enough today to allow planes to hunt for fresh clues to the fate of the plane carrying 239 people that went missing March 8.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the change came after it updated new information based on continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost with the Boeing 777.

It said the analysis indicated the aircraft was travelling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel use and reducing the possible distance the aircraft could have flown into the Indian Ocean.