Materials washed ashore not from MH370 - ATSB

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that after examining detailed photographs of material washed ashore 10 kilometres east of Augusta, it is satisfied it is not a lead in relation to the search for missing flight MH370.

"We've carefully examined detailed photographs that were taken for us by the police, and we're satisfied that it's not a lead in terms of the search for MH370," ATSB chief commissioner Martin Dolan told ABC radio.

"We want to pursue every possible lead that will help us find MH370 but sadly this is one that isn't going to help that search," he said of the sheet metal that was found.

In the meantime, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) in Perth, Australia, announced that operations continue today with up to 11 military aircraft and 11 ships planned to assist in today's search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Today the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has planned a visual search area totaling approximately 49,567 square kilometres. The centre of the search area lies approximately 1584 kilometres north west of Perth.

Prior to the commencement of today’s air search operations, an assessment of current weather conditions will be made as ex-Tropical Cyclone Jack moves south.

The weather forecast for today is for heavy rain and low cloud, with south easterly winds up to 35 knots, sea swells of three to four metres and visibility of one kilometre.

Bluefin-21 AUV is currently completing mission 12 in the underwater search area. Bluefin-21 has now completed more than 90 per cent of the focused underwater search area. No contacts of interest have been found to date.

The focused underwater search area is defined as a circle of 10km radius around the second Towed Pinger Locator detection which occurred on 8 April.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with 239 people aboard disappeared enroute to Beijing about an hour after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014.

A multinational search was mounted for the aircraft, first in the South China Sea and then in the Straits of Malacca and Andaman Sea, and now in the southern Indian Ocean.

Analysis of satellite data indicated that the plane flew along what is called the 'southern corridor' and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean..

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on March 24, seventeen days after the disappearance of the aircraft, that Flight MH370 "ended in the southern Indian Ocean".