but it's all mine now. [ male announcer ] that's how we run, and nothing runs like a deere. now get $400 off all john deere four-wheel-steer lawn tractors at a dealer near you. the search for flight 370 continues in the southern indian oceans. as soon as it's daylight, planes will be flying overhead. vessels heading to the search area. sarah brings up us to date with the latest developments. >> reporter: malaysian officials

break the silence with this. >> received satellite image in the southern and sending ships to verify. >> reporter: moments later, china sends out this satellite image. the size, 22.5 meters by 13 meters. not too different from the kuhn captured on march 16th and released by australian authorities on thursday. the chinese say the object they spotted is about 120 kilometers southwest from the australian sighting. that is a short distance considering the vast area being searched in the indian ocean. the families have been in agony as they follow every detail. emotions spilling over time and again. because nothing has led to the true where abouts of the planes carrying their sons, daughters,

grandparents and spouses. >> yesterday, went well. in beijing, it was less productive. despite the best intentions -- >> reporter: satellite images dangled in front of the world and families. it might have something to do with missing flight 370 which disappeared two weeks ago with 239 passengers and crew on board. the first one came from china. this image of debris released march 13th off the coast of vietnam. china says the pictures were released by mistake. the search turned up nothing. australia said they found the best lead yet, in the search for the missing plane. the australian image sparked a shift in the deployment of military assets. all ships and most of the aircraft were sent to the southern indian ocean to hunt down the objects in the

pictures. now, china is deploying their assets in the cyclone to find a match to the image the satellites discovered. meantime, the families will have another night of uncertainty, forced to wait and wonder for a 15th night. cnn, kuala lumpur. >> while the search continues, there is still an investigation as to what happened in the cockpit and what happened with the plane, where it may have gone. they are trying to piece together that from what they know. i want to bring back the panel of experts starting the tom. tom, you worked with the fbi. you have been involved with investigations. the latest tidbit we are getting from there is about the flight simulator taken from the pilots home. initially, files deleted on february 3, well over a month ago now. now, there is word, reportedly, that there were some things that were deleted as recently as march 8th, the first or second week of march. does that indicate a greater

level of concern or lead to a greater level of concern about what might be on the simulator? >> they don't know who deleted what files and you don't know what the files contained t. fbi experts who are examining both pilots computers, including the one with the flight simulator data will be using the company to examine their own file system and help reconstruct the files. the problem with deleting is you don't actually delete a file when you click delete. the file is still on there, the space is now available for another file to ride over that space and reuse it. if you don't add another file to there, that file could still be sitting there. but, if it's specific tile system to the company that made the simulator, that's what they will need, you know, possibly need expert help from the company with that. i think a lot of -- a lot has been said about the flight simulator. frankly, you know, i have

trouble with it. the investigators will look at it. it will be one more piece of information. it's not going to solve a lot. you know, if he practiced going to the north pole or south pole or africa, he used it for recreation. could have been checking sites for the next one, not i'm going there my next flight. we are not going to know that from that. what's more important is when they find out what websites he may have visited, either pilot may have been visiting. that will give an indication in the things they have an interest in, more specifically. that will offer more information. what other files they may have saved. the frequency of visiting other websites. i think we'll have as much or more to reveal about them than just the flight simulator of where he practiced flying to. >> an investigation like this when there's so little to go on, ruling things out can be just as

helpful. arthur, while they are searching this area off australia, while they are going through the flight simulator, while they are talking about the transcripts, you think a great deal of focus needs to be on the so-called northern corridor? the possibility the plane didn't turn south, but north and flew over land. why do you think it's a possibility? >> a reason the northern corridor was abandoned or not focused on is they assume the flight path of the airplane would have taken them over india or pakistan. pakistan/india had good radar and would have picked up the airplane. the second piece of information that we had was from the satellite. ok ok okay, that showed a corridor the plane could have been in at 8:11. yesterday, for the first time, it was reported that they

released additional information for six additional pings. that's very important. what does that mean? it gave you an inside track and outside track narrowly define the area where the plane could have been over that additional six hours. and that took out india and pakist pakistanian radar and give gave the plane what could have been the projected path over myanmar and bangladesh without good radar. one very important point, if the plane took the southern route, with the new data, it would have gone over indonesia. the indonesian radar, i have not heard if they have reported whether this plane was seen through their military radar or civilian radar facilities. the bottom line is, as far as i'm concerned, the northern

track with the satellite data, very, very important. could very well bring the northern track back into play and there are many airports where this airplane could have been put down and runways long enough for this airplane to take off. >> hidden presumably for two weeks, does that seem plausible? >> not really. that's the problem i have with a deliberate act. there's no indication, what so ever that the plane was observed to landed anyone, no one reported seeing it. no cell phone contact with the 239 people on board. you know, the simulator, it seems like, you know, a rabbit trail. if you are going to be like that, why keep it in plain sight? have a safe house. it doesn't add up. the bottom line is that somebody's got to take credit for it or there's got to be a suicide or something. the fact that we don't have that evidence, the absence of that

evidence strongly suggests moving the analysis over towards, you know, some kind of mechanical issue. i think it casts on issue on the northern route. >> sit tight. we want to talk about this more. maybe there is reason to look up to the north as arthur says. stay in the south as you say. we are going to talk more about the sightings of debris the satellites may have seen off the coast of australia. the new pictures taken. the latest on the search for flight 370 just ahead. also, other news. russia now has crimea under its control. is it looking to seize another piece of ukraine? it's just ahead. so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 a month? yup. all 5 of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line, anytime, for $15 a month.

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much more on the search of flight 370 in a few minutes. we have information on the crisis in ukraine. in a statement, a spokesman writes reports against personnel and fa till sis highlight the dangerous situation koreaited arussia. president putin's claim brought security to that part of ukraine. the bases are in crimea. two more fell to pro-russian groups.

we are joined by ivan watson and barbara starr. ivan, let me start with you here. a lot of people find it curious that ukraine hasn't evacuated the troops yet. you would think they don't want to do anything provocative. it seems irresponsible. >> yeah. and i think more and more ukrainians are asking, what kind of plan do you have for the thousands of soldiers and their families who are spread out across the crimean peninsula. they have authorized their troops to be able to fire in self-defense. that's a measure we have not seen them doing. they are not using lethal force. they have prepared accommodations for 25,000 evacuees from the crimean peninsula should there be a mass exodus. we haven't heard of an actual plan.

it's left individual base commanders, basically, to deal with a large number of pro-russian militia members as well as russian troops who kind of picked bases one by one across the peninsula and encircled them and forced the ukrainian troops out. a humiliating thing, certainly for servicemen in the ukrainian military. they are forced out of their bases, their barracks, their homes, while still in uniform. john? >> i didn't mean to suggest it was irresponsible. it puts the soldiers in an uncomfortable situation when they know the troops are right there. barbara, there are also reports of russian troops, a great many of them, thousands on ukraine's border, not by crimea, but up north. is the pentagon worried russia is planning something else here, maybe another kind of invasion? >> i think that's exactly right. u.s. officials have been

watching, literally formation by formation of russian troops, over 20,000 of them assembling on the border with eastern ukraine. the concern the u.s. intelligence community has is those 20,000 troops are so close, they can now move on a moments notice with no warning. the feeling is they might be positioning themselves to create a land bridge, if you will, from russia across eastern ukraine, down into the crimea peninsula. that will give the russians a permanent foothold now that they have annexed the peninsula. they will be able to continue to resupply, reinforce and move anything they want to in there. that's the big concern. no sign, at the moment, of anybody stopping them. john? >> what do the ukrainian leaders think about this? there aren't going to be u.s. troops there. there won't be nato troops there to stop the russians from

moving, if they want to. what would ukraine do if russia did something more provocative? >> well, they have announced the partial mobilization of their military. they are calling for 40,000 new recruits to the armed forces and newly constituted national guard. we have been to the training for the reservists they have signed up. they have earmarked $700 million to help pay for the modernization and mobilization of the armed forces. they announced they put the troops on high alert. they say they are fortifying the borders. one of the measures we heard within the last hour is that on the land borders between the ukrainian peninsula and mainland ukraine, they stepped up security there and they are blocking men from being able to cross from crimea to yukraine.

it's a rally planned in a number of ukrainian cities. they are worried they could come across the border and, of course, keeping in mind the russian government argued, if russians outside of russian territory call for help, russia says it will be the guardian of those russian communities. the ukrainians are worried this could be a justification for a further russian military intervention into ukrainian military. people are very worried here. more and more men i talk to are talking about preparing to fight against their neighbor, russia. it's like the u.s. and canada fighting. two close neighbors, same language, they watch the same tv shows. that's the scenario people are talking about here. >> ivan watson, we are lucky to have you in key eave. barbara, nice to str you at the pentagon.

looking at the u.s. response. we will talk to you in a bit. now back to the search for flight 370. countries in the u.s. spending millions to find out what may have happened to the plane. a device could have helped them find it maybe in hours. that when we come back. there's a new form of innovation taking shape.

at a company that's bringing media and technology together. next is every second of nbcuniversal's coverage 0f the 2014 olympic winter games. it's connecting over one million low-income americans to broadband internet at home. it's a place named one america's most veteran friendly employers. next is information and entertainment in ways you never thought possible. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal.

welcome back. think about this mystery. it might have been solve days ago if the plane was equipped with a different data recorder. many airlines don't use it. >> right now, the flight data recorder goes with it. we spoke with a company that say that is doesn't have to be the case and we could have had more answers about the missing jet. when flight 370 disappeared, the story of what went wrong vanished with it. the answers might be stuck in the so-called black box. what if we had the answers all along. >> we would know where the aircraft has gone, where it is and we would have information on what happened in the meantime. >> canadian company flight makes data recorder that is send information in realtime. it's part of a system that

monitors a planes exact location, engine conditions and more. >> it transmits every five to ten minutes on a normal flight. >> if something goes wrong, the system will start streaming live second by second data. >> that kind of information is not only life saving, but adds a tremendous measure of security for the country. >> there are several mechanisms that transmit the data. unlike the systems, the technology behind flight is more extensive sharing a tremendous amount of information. so much inch, critics say it could be difficult to monitor and analyze. right now, flights technology is fitted on 350 planes run by 40 operators. it can be installed for $100,000. normal transmission costs a few dollars to $15 per flight hour and goes up for continuous streaming in an emergency. >> they will not add the safety

measures unless mandated by the government. >> as they search for clues, the high-tech data recorder is getting a second look. >> the technology exists. it's economical. the question now is how to get more widespread use of it. >> this technology might be helpful if it was in use. like the transponder, it would be likely to turn it off if they knew where to look. >> thanks for that report. in a moment, we are going to talk about the new satellite photos, the pieces of debris. could they be part of flight 370. we'll show you what they are after this. there's a new form of innovation taking shape.

at a company that's bringing media and technology together. next is every second of nbcuniversal's coverage 0f the 2014 olympic winter games. it's connecting over one million low-income americans to broadband internet at home. it's a place named one america's most veteran friendly employers. next is information and entertainment in ways you never thought possible. welcome to what's next. comcastnbcuniversal. a few minutes now to the top of the hour. we want to check in with the panel and ask them all a question and get their view on it. i want to know what they think the most important clue is so far in the hunt for flight 370. arthur, the most important clue. >> the satellite ping data.

i think that is absolutely crucial. the additional information we got yesterday, i think narrows the search area and we should focus on it. >> daniel? >> the most important clue is we don't have any evidence of conduct. that refocuses the investigation on what happened on that plane in terms of system and malfunction. >> any kind of terrorist chatter, or indication the pilots may have been involved in a plot. the absence of anything. david, what do you think the most important clue is? the one investigators should be honing in on? >> the new satellite image. i'm not ruling it out as being the same piece of debris we saw before. it does gather together at times, especially if it's flipping over. it gives information of where the trail might be and where to continue to look. >> tom, most important clue, the one investigates should put

before the others? >> i think they are putting, as said, the satellite imagery of the objects in the water, both the one the australians put out and now the recent chinese. the fact that more ships and planes are being deployed to that area. >> rick, what do you think? the satellite imagery, is that where the hope should be? >> no, i agree with the pinging. it shows two projected circular arcs, one going north. the fact that the aircraft was not detected by seven ott countries you discussed by car is immaterial. you don't know how well it was functioning. an experienced pilot would know where not to fly if he didn't want to be detected by radar. >> sean, you are an expert in the satellite imagery. what do you think the most important clue is? >> i might be inclined to say

the data that gives us an idea where to look. >> disagreement on this panel. a lot of experts in the field. it shows the complicated nature of the search, why it's being pulled in several directions and why it has taken so long and where flight 370 went, what happened to it remains very much a mystery. cnns coverage of the search continues right now. i'm john berman in for fredricka whitfield. we are covering the flight of 370. a lot of developments today. in four hours, searchers will be over the ocean looking for three now, three objects they have not been able to identify. images of a third object were captured by a chinese satellite four days ago and released to the public today.