Suspicious objects to be checked as search resumes: AMSA

CANBERRA - Saturday's weather is expected initially to be suitable for the searching of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, but conditions are likely to deteriorate later in the day, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in its latest update on Saturday.

AMSA confirmed that five aircraft spotted multiple objects of various colors during Friday's search. However, the objects cannot be verified or discounted as being from MH370 until they are relocated and recovered by ships, said a statement.

"It is not known how much flotsam, such as from fishing activities, is ordinarily there. At least one distinctive fishing object has been identified," AMSA said.

Saturday's search has started in the morning. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration ship Haixun 01 has been on scene for relocating objects from first light.

According to the AMSA, Friday's search area for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was shifted north after international air crash investigators in Malaysia updated their previous analysis of the likely aircraft movements.

This update was assessed as credible by Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which advised AMSA of the new basis for a revised search area.

Saturday's search activities will involve a total of eight aircrafts, including three Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orions, a Japanese Coast Guard jet, a Japanese P3 Orion, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion, a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force Ilyushin IL-76, and one civil jet acting as a communications relay.

The first aircraft to depart was the Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, which departed at 9:05 am AEDT. The first RAAF P3 Orion departed at 9:50 am AEDT, with two others scheduled to depart about 12:00 pm AEDT and 2:00 pm AEDT. The rest of the aircrafts, including the civil jet, are scheduled to depart in the afternoon.

In addition, six ships are expected to reach the search area Saturday, tasked with relocating the objects sighted, but will arrive late in the day or after dark, according to the AMSA.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, went missing on its way to Beijing on March 8, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane was carrying 12 crew and 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese.

The search for the missing passenger jet is in its third week.