AP News in Brief
Planes, ship scramble to find pallet, other debris spotted in Indian Ocean in hunt for jet
• PERTH, Australia (AP) -- Planes and a ship scrambled Sunday to find a pallet and other debris in a remote patch of the southern Indian Ocean to determine whether the objects were from the Malaysia Airlines jet that has been missing for more than two weeks.
• The pallet was spotted by a search plane Saturday, but has not been closely examined. Wooden pallets are commonly used in shipping, but can also be used in cargo containers carried on planes.
• It was the latest in a series of clues experts and searchers are trying to run down to solve the mystery of what happened to Flight 370 when it disappeared over the Gulf of Thailand on March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.
• Mike Barton, chief of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's rescue coordination center, told reporters in Canberra, Australia, that the wooden pallet was spotted by a search aircraft on Saturday, and that it was surrounded by several other objects, including what appeared to be strapping belts of different colors.
• A New Zealand P3 Orion military plane was then sent to find it but failed, he said.
• ___
A look at the planes, ships involved in the multinational search for Malaysia's missing jet
• PERTH, Australia (AP) -- An intense search is underway in the southern Indian Ocean for signs of possible debris from the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that went missing on March 8. Here's a list of the countries taking part and what they have sent to help the search overseen by Australia from a military base near the southwestern city of Perth.
• AUSTRALIA: Two military P3 Orion planes; four non-military jets; the navy supply ship HMAS Success.
• CHINA: Two Ilyushin IL-76 planes; warships Kunlunshan, Haikou and Qiandaohu; icebreaker Snow dragon.
• JAPAN: Two P3 Orion planes.
• NEW ZEALAND: One military P3 Orion plane.
• UNITED STATES: One military P8 Poseidon plane.
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