French Satellite Images Identify Possible Debris From Malaysia Airlines Plane

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Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-3C Orion aircraft sits on the tarmac after arriving at the Royal Australian Air Force Pearce Base to help with search operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, in Perth, Australia, Sunday, March 23, 2014.

Image: Rob Griffth/Associated Press

By Samantha Murphy Kelly2014-03-23 16:37:16 UTC

France is the latest country to provide satellite imagery to the Malaysian government of what could be possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Malaysia's Ministry of Transport said new images provided by France show "potential objects" in the South Indian Ocean, not too far from where searchers are looking for the missing jet, the Associated Press reported.

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One of the objects, which popped up on a French satellite, is reportedly close in size (72 feet by 43 feet) to what the Chinese captured via satellite.

On Saturday, it was announced that a Chinese satellite spotted a large object in the water that could have been part of Flight 370. Authorities are also trying to "re-find" a wooden pallet that was seen on Saturday; pallets are often used in shipping, but can also be used in cargo containers on airplane, according to the AP. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is currently awaiting a cargo manifest to see if the plane was carrying one.

Searchers have been unable to locate anything in the region so far. The object spotted by the French satellite is 575 miles north of what was picked up by Chinese satellites, which is about 1,500 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia. This opens up a new search region for officials. Authorities deployed eight planes to the region on Sunday — two more than what was sent on Saturday, and the most aircraft sent at once on the search mission to date, according to CNN.

The jet has been missing since March 8 when it took off carrying 230 passengers from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on a flight to Beijing. Efforts to locate the plane have been unsuccessful so far, and Sunday's mission to identify the floating objects came up empty largely due to the weather, the AP reported.

"There was cloud down to the surface and at times we were completely enclosed by [it]," said Royal Australian Air Force flight Lt. Russell Adams. "We might do 10 sorties and find nothing, but on that 11th flight when you find something, you know that you're actually contributing to some answers for somebody."

Authorities are still considering the possibility of a hijacking after evidence shows the flight deliberately changed course after losing contact with its communications systems.

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Topics: Malaysia, Malaysia airlines, U.S., US & World, World