Satellite imagery may show part of fuselage, wing of missing MH370: source

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Satellite and radar imagery confirmed by Australia's Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) as "credible lead" could be parts of the fuselage and wing of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, a U.S. Navy source said here Thursday.

Smaller objects detected around the two larger objects -- 25 meters and five meters long in size respectively -- could theoretically be debris from the plane, the Yokosuka Naval Base source said, requesting anonymity.

If the objects were confirmed to be parts of the missing MH370, the plane could possibly have made a soft-landing on the ocean rather than a nosedive as the debris has not been scattered, the source told Xinhua.

The source, an expert in maritime avionics, added that the satellite imagery was regarded as "highly credible."

The Australian government announced earlier Thursday that they had spotted on satellite imagery two objects possibly related to the missing plane in the southern Indian Ocean, some 2,500 km southwest of the Australian port city of Perth.

As of now, there has been no official visual confirmation of the possible wreckage. AMSA said Thursday afternoon through its Twitter account that a Royal Australian Air Force Orion plane dispatched to the site failed to locate suspicious debris due to cloud and rain.

ABC News also reported that U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft had landed back at Perth after searching for the possible debris in the suspicious area, but no objects had been seen.