New Zealand joins Indian Ocean search for missing Malaysian airliner

A New Zealand air force P3 Orion aircraft is headed to Australia to help search the Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysian MH370 flight, the New Zealand government announced Tuesday.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) aircraft was deployed to Malaysia last week to join the multi-national search mission, which has so far failed to find any trace of the missing airliner.

"At the request of Malaysia, New Zealand's RNZAF P3 Orion will today relocate to the Royal Australian Air Force base Pearce, north of Perth, to join Australian, U.S. and Chinese aircraft in the search effort of the southern corridor area," said Defense Minister Jonathan Coleman.

"The air force's upgraded P-3K2 Orion is an ideal option for search missions like this. It has state of the art sensors, can fly at low levels and remain airborne more than 12 hours."

Two New Zealanders were among the 239 people who were aboard the Beijing-bound flight MH370, which mysteriously disappeared early on March 8 shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.