MH370 Search Scaled Back Due To Bad Weather

The hunt for wreckage from flight MH370 has had to be scaled back due to bad weather conditions which are expected to last for the next 24 hours.

Search aircraft have had to be recalled to Perth but ships will stay in the area and attempt to continue scouring the remote southern Indian Ocean where new satellite images showed what could be a debris field.

The operation has already been suspended once this week because of the weather.

International teams set off early Thursday morning local time to continue the search, but by early afternoon the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the hunt, said all planes had been forced to leave the search zone due to heavy rains, strong winds, low clouds and reduced visibility.

Crews were trying to find any sign of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 before the weather deteriorated after a French satellite earlier spotted 122 objects, suspected to be debris, around 1,550 miles (2,500 km) southwest of Perth in Western Australia.

Another weather system is moving in to the search zone. Pic: bom.gov.au

Malaysian officials said the items, between one metre and 23 metres in length, were in an area measuring around 155 square miles (400 square kilometres).

There have now been four separate satellite leads - from Australia, China and France - showing what could be debris.

But it is not currently known if any of the objects are connected to MH370, which disappeared on March 8 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The plane is thought to have crashed on March 8, with the loss of all 239 people aboard after flying thousands of miles off course.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said crews had seen objects while they were searching on Wednesday, but the items were later lost.

New satellite images continue to provide clues in the hunt for MH370

"Three objects were spotted on Wednesday by two aircraft but were not able to be relocated despite several passes," it said.

"They were unrelated to the credible satellite imagery provided to AMSA."

The failure to zero in on any possible debris despite the visuals from crews and numerous satellite images highlights the logistical difficulties of the search area.

It has some of the deepest and roughest waters in the world, battered by the "roaring forties" winds that sweep across the sea.

The winds are named for the area between latitude 40 degrees and 50 degrees where there is no land mass to slow down gusts which create waves higher than six metres (19ft).

A Japanese P-3 Orion has been out searching for debris

"It's a nasty part of the world simply because there's no land to break up any of this swell and waves - it's uncomfortable to be there any time," marine scientist Dr Rob Beaman told Sky News.

"You really need a strong stomach to work in that area, so I really feel for the people who are out there doing the search."

Meanwhile, Chinese insurance companies have started paying compensation to the families of passengers aboard the missing plane, according to the state news agency.

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'Big Six' Energy Firms May Be Broken Up

The energy watchdog has ordered a competition inquiry into the household supply market that could lead to the so-called 'big six' firms being broken up.

Ofgem charted a quadrupling in profits between 2009 and 2012 and said it was acting to "remove uncertainty" by referring the sector to a full investigation by the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Its State of the Market Assessment accused suppliers of "consistently setting higher prices for consumers who have not switched."

It found little evidence of households engaging in the market, with 43% distrusting firms to be open and transparent.

The review also reinforced concerns about excessive profits and barriers to entry for independent suppliers.

It found that retail profits soared from £233m in 2009 to £1.1bn in 2012.

Ofgem said there was clear evidence of suppliers becoming more efficient in reducing their own costs, although further evidence would be required to determine whether firms have had the opportunity to earn excess profits.

The market investigation, Ofgem said, would conclusively determine whether there should be more separation between the largest companies' supply businesses and generation arms, in a bid to provide more clarity on profits.

One of the 'big six, SSE, confirmed on Wednesday it was to legally separate its supply and generation businesses in a bid to improve transparency as it announced a price freeze until January 2016.

While Ofgem found no evidence of collusion on pricing, the review discovered "evidence of possible tacit coordination" in the timing and size of price announcements and new evidence that prices rise faster when costs rise than they reduce when costs fall."

The regulator also confirmed that from June 1 it would substantially increase the level of penalties it imposes on energy firms who break its rules to give "sufficient focus within businesses."

Its chief executive Dermot Nolan said: "Ofgem believes a referral offers the opportunity to once and for all clear the air and decide if there are any further barriers which are preventing competition from bearing down as hard as possible on prices.

"The CMA has powers, not available to Ofgem, to address any structural barriers that would undermine competition.

"Now consumers are protected by our simpler, clearer and fairer reforms, we think a market investigation is in their long-term interests."

News of the competition investigation was welcomed by one of the 'big six' firms, E.ON.

Its chief executive Tony Cocker said: "A full market investigation by the CMA is the only way to restore full public confidence to the energy sector and depoliticise the whole issue.

"Whilst we have already made a large number of changes such as running our businesses separately, simpler tariffs, simpler bills and further investment in levels of service, a full investigation will once and for all get to the heart of any structural issues that exist or are perceived to exist and help us to all deal with many of the myths and misinformation that surround the energy market."

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MH370 Teams 'Right To Call Off Operation'

Dangerous conditions have forced Australian authorities to call off the search for flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, which is affected by volatile weather at the best of times.

The international hunt was suspended late on Tuesday (early Wednesday local time) due to six-metre (20ft) waves, 50mph (80kph) gale-force winds and low-hanging clouds.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) hopes to restart the hunt later in the day as the conditions are forecast to improve.

Marine scientist Dr Rob Beaman told Sky News that Tropical Cyclone Gillian, to the north of the search zone, has combined with a low-pressure system to cause the wild conditions in the search zone off the Western Australian coast.

Tropical Cyclone Gilian is affecting the search zone to the south

"The cyclone is a long way from the search area but unfortunately with these cyclones, they are such big beasts, they influence a vast area," said Dr Beaman, from Cairns James Cook University.

"What's happened is it's combined with a low-pressure system that's also sweeping in affecting the whole western coast of Western Australia. And it reaches far down south into the search area."

Former Royal Australian Air Force crew member Mark Ryan has extensive experience flying the AP-3C Orion aircraft being used in the search off Western Australia.

He told Sky News it was essential the search was suspended in such dangerous weather conditions.

"When the sea is so rough and you've got gale-force winds out there, mini tornadoes, or sea spouts, are whipped up," he said.

"They appear on radar as a radar contact, so the crew get excited and the crew start homing in on one of these water spouts - but you actually don't see it until the last minute."

The crew on board an Australian P3-Orion

The low-pressure system is expected to leave the area within a few days, but Cyclone Gillian, although weakening, will likely stay around for longer.

Dr Beaman said: "We can expect that once the low-pressure system that's causing the inclement weather in the search area moves to the east, behind it should be some better weather."

Surface currents are also being tracked to try and estimate the effect of the weather on the movement of any possible debris.

The region where the search zone lies is known for its huge swells and waves.

"It's a nasty part of the world simply because there's no land to break up any of this swell and waves - it's uncomfortable to be there any time," Dr Beaman said.

"You really need a strong stomach to work in that area so I really feel for the people who are out there doing the search."

Malaysian officials said they were now sure flight MH370 crashed in the remote Indian Ocean with the loss of all 239 people on board.

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MH370 Protests As Airline Chief Defends Search

Malaysia Airlines' chief executive has said he will decide later whether to resign, as Chinese relatives of passengers held angry protests in Beijing.

At a news conference at Kuala Lumpur airport, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya was asked whether he would stand down over the airline's handling of the disappearance of MH370.

But he said it was a "personal decision" for later, and insisted the airline was doing its best to handle relatives with care and dignity.

Relatives hold protests outside the Malaysia Embassy in Beijing

"My heart breaks to think of the unimaginable pain suffered by all the families," Mr Ahmad Jauhari said.

"There are no words which can ease that pain.

"Everyone in the Malaysia Airlines family is praying for the 239 souls on MH370 and for their loved ones on this dark day. We extend our prayers and sincere condolences."

He also defended the airline's decision to send text messages to relatives of passengers informing them the plane had been lost.

Mr Ahmad Jauhari, left, with the airline's chairman at the news conference

The messages were sent shortly before Malaysia's Prime Minister announced on Monday investigators were convinced the jet, with 239 people on board, crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

"Our sole and only motivation last night was to ensure that in the incredibly short amount of time available to us, the families heard the tragic news before the world did," Mr Ahmad Jauhari said.

"Wherever humanly possible, we did so in person with the families or by telephone, using SMS only as an additional means of ensuring fully that the nearly 1,000 family members heard the news from us and not from the media."

But the news conference came as dozens of angry relatives of Chinese passengers clashed with police at Malaysia's embassy in Beijing.

They were shouting slogans including "the Malaysian government are murderers" and "return our relatives".

Scuffles broke out as uniformed security personnel attempted to block some of the relatives from reaching reporters, who were being kept in a designated area.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) earlier called off the hunt for wreckage from MH370 for the day due to gale force winds, rain and big waves.

Cyclone Gillian is hampering the search efforts

"AMSA has undertaken a risk assessment and determined that the current weather conditions would make any air and sea search activities hazardous and pose a risk to crew," it said.

"Therefore, AMSA has suspended all sea and air search operations for today due to these weather conditions."

AMSA said the weather was expected to improve in the evening local time.

The Australian navy ship HMAS Success, which tried to find debris seen by a plane and satellite, headed south of the search area to get out of the rough seas.

Chinese Air Force crew return to the base after the search is suspended

Several satellite images of potential debris in that area had been picked up ahead of the announcement, with French, Australian, American and Chinese authorities all capturing images of possible debris.

Hopes had been high wreckage would be found after two new objects - a green circular item and an orange rectangular one - were spotted by an Australian military plane on Monday.

HMAS Success has left the search area due to rough seas

This followed larger "white and square" objects seen by a Chinese plane.

The search is a race against time as the battery life of the locator beacon in the plane's black box may run out in the next two weeks.

The US military has sent a black box locator and a robotic underwater vehicle to find it.

Malaysia's police chief, Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar, earlier reiterated all the passengers had been cleared of suspicion.

But he said the pilots and crew were still being investigated.

He would not comment on whether officials had recovered the files that were deleted a month earlier from the home flight simulator of the chief pilot.

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MH370 Search: Latest Developments At A Glance

Ten planes are searching waters of the southern Indian Ocean for any trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Here is a summary of the latest information in the hunt:

:: Chinese planes spot objects

A Chinese plane crew has spotted a white, square-shaped object in an area identified by satellite imagery as containing possible debris from the missing plane.

A Chinese ship had headed toward the area to investigate.

:: Black box locator

The US Pacific command said it was sending a towed pinger locator to the region.

The equipment, which is pulled behind a vessel at slow speeds, has highly sensitive listening capability that can detect pings from a plane's black box down to a depth of 20,000 feet (6,100m).

:: French satellite data

France says satellite radar data identified some debris that could be from the lost plane about 900km (550 miles) north of the spot where objects in the images released by the Chinese were located.

:: Weather conditions

Rain is forecast in the search area, about 1,550 miles (2,500km) southwest of Perth, Australia, hampering visibility.

A cyclone bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia could also stir up bad weather.

Planes must fly about four hours just to get there, severely limiting their search time before returning home.

:: Search

Australia, China, the US, Japan and New Zealand have all contributed planes or ships to the search effort.

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Malaysia Jet: 'White And Square Objects Seen'

A Chinese plane looking for missing Malaysian flight MH370 has reportedly spotted several "suspicious" floating objects.

The crew of the military Ilyushin-76 aircraft saw "white and square" objects dispersed over several kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean, according to China's official news agency.

They included two "relatively big" objects and several smaller ones, and they were seen in an area identified by satellite imagery as containing possible debris from the missing airliner.

The Chinese military plane lands after spotting the 'suspicious' objects

"The crew has reported the co-ordinates - 95.1113 degrees east and 42.5453 south - to the Australian command centre as well as Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, which is en route to the sea area," Xinhua said.

Australia said it will use other aircraft scheduled to search the area on Monday to try to also spot the objects.

There have been several sightings by planes and satellites of objects

But the Chinese foreign ministry said it was unable to confirm what they were.

Sky's Mark Stone in the city of Perth said: "It could be that those two large objects are bits of fuselage and the smaller objects are perhaps seat covers which would obviously float.

"But it could also be something entirely different - pallets that have fallen off the back of a fishing trawler or something else."

A Chinese mother writes a message to her son who was on flight MH370

A Chinese military plane had earlier set off from Perth to find "suspicious debris" captured by satellite imagery in the remote waters.

It comes as a Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 271 people from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul, South Korea was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Hong Kong this morning after a technical fault.

The southern corridor and the area of ocean being searched

Flight MH066 was diverted "due to an inoperative aircraft generator which supplies normal electrical power" on the Airbus A330-300, the airline said in a statement.

"However, electrical power continued to be supplied by the auxiliary power unit," the company added, giving no further details on the technical problem.

The US Navy has announced it is sending one of its high-tech black box detectors to the southern Indian Ocean being scoured for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The towed pinger locator, which is pulled behind a vessel at slow speeds, has highly sensitive listening capability so that if the wreck site is located, it can hear the black box pinger down to a depth of about 20,000ft (6,100 metres).

The navy called the move a "precautionary measure" in case those sightings confirm the location of the aircraft which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.

A Chinese satellite spotted this potential debris on Saturday

US Seventh Fleet Operations Officer Commander Chris Budde said in a statement: "If debris is found we will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited."

Meanwhile, Australian authorities are continuing to analyse French satellite images showing potential floating debris in the southern search area around 1,500 miles (2,500km) southwest of Perth.

It was the third possible sighting of debris in the area and occurred almost 600 miles north of an object reported by the Chinese at the weekend.

Speaking about the French sighting, Australian deputy prime minister Warren Truss said: "That's not in the area that had been identified as the most likely place where the aircraft may have entered the sea. But having said all that we've got to check out all the options."

On Saturday, the Chinese government released a satellite image showing a large floating object.

That object, measuring 74ft (22.5 metres) by 43ft (13 metres), was photographed on Tuesday just 75 miles from where two other potential pieces of debris were spotted by an Australian satellite.

None of the objects have yet been retrieved to determine if they are from MH370.

Ten aircraft and the Australian Navy ship HMAS Success are now involved in a fifth day of searching for debris.

Heavy rain is expected to hamper efforts and a cyclone bearing down on Australia's northwest coast could also stir up severe weather.

Mr Truss said "nothing of note" was found on Sunday, which he described as a "fruitless day".

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