i look forward to that day. i look forward to seeing you all again soon. thank you. and god bless america. and while i'm at it, god bless great britain too. good night. this is a cnn special report. the mystery of flight 370. i'm don lemon. good evening. we do have breaking news tonight. any moment, ships in the search zone could be picking up some of those floating objects, objects that could give us at least one answer to the mystery that's become a worldwide obsession. we'll tell you what that news is in a moment, as soon as we get it. but even if this turns out to be debris from flight 370, there are still more questions than answers. you have been tweeting us by the thousands and we have top aviation and security experts standing by to answer your questions throughout this hour. like this one from randy. under ideal conditions, how long would it take to completely search the new area? this is from john. an hour or so into the flight, there's a problem. the pilot turns around.

why not return to a base an hour away? cnn's reporters are covering this story around the world tonight. richard quest has been on top of this story from the very beginning and is back with me in studio. i'm going to begin with atika shubert. crews spotted objects that might be debris. are they getting any closer to finding them? >> reporter: we really don't know is the answer to that. five objects found, one was a fishing buoy. but the new zealand p-3 orion got a look at an object they say is promising. but that doesn't mean anything until you can get a ship right there to take a look at the object and verify whether or not it's debris from the plane, that's what they're hoping to do today.

at this point, however, there's only one ship in the search area, a chinese ship. the other five are expected to get there late this afternoon or early evening. so it could be a while before we still get any confirmation. >> i would imagine they are used to dealing with these things, they do have to handle this carefully. but how challenging will it be to pick these pieces up? >> reporter: well, the good news is that they're no longer in that southern search area, which had much rougher weather. now they're a little further north, so the weather is a little calmer. it's also closer, so the search flights take less time to get there. having said that, the weather is expected to deteriorate later today that's why it's important to get an earlier start. we've seen one flight take off. the sooner they can get there, the better chance they have.

>> atika, thank you very much. i want to check in with sarah in kuala lumpur. the malaysian government was very confident in the analysis done by satellite companies. investigators were searching in a different spot all week. are they just as confident now? >> reporter: look, it's hard to know what to believe, right? this is the difficulty. the families have been going through this, first they're confident, then the search shifts. this wasn't just because of the ocean currents. this was because they looked at other data and decided if they did a different calculation, that it couldn't have gone as far, it would have burned more fuel. so they ended up in a different spot in looking at their data. this is a real difficulty. this is not necessarily simple math, right? they're looking another a lot of different things to try to figure out exactly where these debris are. the ocean is also filled with a lot of trash, so it's hard to

tell one thing from another. looking at the satellite image is one thing, finding it another thing. you know they've been searching for all this time since march 8, they've been looking for any sign of this plane. it's very, very frustrating. i'm sure to the investigators and more so to the families. >> sara, thank you very much. let's check in with cnn's chad myers in the cnn weather center down in atlanta. chad, we heard a lot about the bad weather in the search zone earlier. this week the search was called off more than once due to weather. are conditions better where they're searching now? >> we're out of the roaring 40s, we're up in the 30s. but still there will be storms that roll through there, just like they roll into california or oregon or washington. same kind of idea. there's a couple good positives and a couple negatives. the new search area is right on what's called broken ridge. to the north, it's lighter, about 6,000 feet. to the south, almost 12,000

feet, and in this rip zone, in that tear zone through there, that fracture, we can get down to 20,000 feet, especially if you go toward australia in that direction. this is rugged down here. if you get a plane or a black box down in this area, it's going to be hard to find, hard to get. something else that's on the good side. there's not as much of a current here. right here, this is the search area, and the currents are to the north and to the south. right here in the middle, there are some eddys. this goes around and around. that's another problem, because all that garbage that's been in there for hundreds of years probably is still going around. much of it breaks up and sinks, but there's still some stuck in there. >> chad, thank you very much. appreciate that. joining me now is geoffrey thomas, editor and chief for airlineratings.com.

david joins us via skype. and richard quest is here. david, the change in the search area is about 680 miles northeast of where we were, and that's like moving the search area from atlanta to philadelphia. it appears we're back to square one. are we? >> well, i'm sad to say that. i think that's the obvious conclusion. this is a very big change. such that it's almost impossible now to believe that -- to connect this new search box with the earlier sightings, the satellite images people were looking at, and some of the sightings that the airplanes are doing. in one sense, all the oceanographic modeling that was done on the debris supposedly drifting south there and bringing it back to an origin point is probably not valid

anymore. >> geoffrey, in your estimation, given this new information, how close are searchers to finding debris that they can confirm is from this plane? >> i spoke to some officials overnight, don, and there seems to be a greater level of confidence about the new coordinates that are being worked -- that have been worked through, using more data out of southeast asia. they weren't specific about what data they now had. but they seem to be a high level of confidence. we do know they took photographs yesterday. these debris items were spotted in total by about five aircraft. the photos are being analyzed overnight in australia, and we are told that possibly later on today we might have a press conference and some of the detail may be released. so there seems to be a growing

confidence that we might be more on the track than we were. >> geoffrey and david, we have gotten questions from viewers asking about the new calculations and how they were made. rebecca asks, how do the experts arrive at the new calculations? first to geoffrey, then to david? >> as explained, and it's a very good question, but there's all sorts of data coming through. there's recalculations being done. there's assumptions that were made that have been rethought as new data comes through, possibly from indonesian military radar. we don't know. i have asked the question. there's just a no comment. so i think some countries are giving up more data now, and we are getting recalculations and new assumptions are being made. >> david? >> that's essentially what i've

heard, as well. i'm not an aviation specialist, i don't think i should comment on that. but maybe what i can comment on is the earlier question that somebody put to you, how long would it take to search an area this large? just quickly, if you're talking about an area that's 100 by 100 nautical miles, that's 10,000 square nautical miles. one sonar can search about 15 square nautical miles a day. that would give you over 160 days of active searching. that's over two years to search that one area. >> let me ask you this question then. do you think that we're a bit too anxious thinking we're going

to find the debris in the hours and days, maybe the weeks after this possible crash into the ocean? >> yeah, this is going to take a very long time, because i think it would be a miracle at this point for them to get in the location close enough to be able to hear the pingers on the black boxes. that opportunity i believe has been lost. so the next thing is a subsea search using sonars, maybe a combination of towed sonars and once deployed in autonomous weeks. but looking at months and months at work, probably multiple ships searching the area. at the end of the day now, with all that -- it's going to be very difficult to use any wreckage that they find now, and track that back using the leeway drift to an origin point. we're talking 22 days after the crash.

so there's going to be huge errors associated with that, and this new track is an estimate. >> i want you to weigh in on this, because this is important information. he's saying we're too anxious about this. >> we're getting ahead of ourselves, because until we know where the debris is, it's best not to concern ourselves too much with what might happen next. >> but you understand what he's saying. >> of course i do. >> we're reporting this every single night, the government is coming out, and he's saying we're getting ahead of ourselves. he's saying everybody, settle down, this is going to take a while. >> they've got to find the debris. they've been honest about this. geoffrey, you agree with me, basically, time and again they said it's the best we've got.

it's not perfect but the best we've got. what i want to know, do we have any news, geoffrey, do we have any news on what the altitude was when the plane walls between the south china sea and the strait of malacca, nothing has been confirmed on this issue, and what altitude it then was when it went into -- when it started its journey down to the southern indian ocean. >> there's conflicting information, richard. one source says that malaysian radar tracked it at 12,000. we've even heard 5,000. it is unfortunately still confused. we haven't actually had the malaysian investigation team say exactly what the altitude was that it was tracked at. but there has been reported

quite widely it got down to 12,000 feet. >> thank you. but i think that you're missing what he's saying here. i think everybody is getting ahead of themselves. he says when something like this happens, regardless of the altitude, the northern trek or the southern trek, he's saying in order to figure this out, it is going to take some time. and he says at least 680 days -- for 447 -- >> you're the one choosing to put the cart before the horse. what i'm saying is, he's right in terms of finding the black boxes. but you don't stand a chance of finding the black boxes until you find the debris. >> i'm just saying to stop thinking that you're going to find it every single moment or every single day. he's saying in order to find the debris, it's going to take time. that's all i'm saying. do you understand what he's

saying? >> let's hear what he's saying. >> what the debris will help with, will obviously confirm -- certainly for the families that this plane has crashed. it will allow the investigators to look at the wreckage and draw some preliminary conclusions if they get pieces that show certain types of impact. we saw that with our friends. but what i'm saying is that this debris, 21 days removed from the crash site, removed from the origin, is no longer going to be a very good clue as to where that crash took place. that leaves us with just this estimated track and a very, very proximate search box based on drift. that means a large search box. when you're putting all these different clues together, over a period of time, like in any mystery, what you want them to do is to converge. get closer so your area is getting smaller.

what we seen yesterday is it converged. we can no longer put together the clues we have previously with this new information. it means more error, a larger area to search, more time and we are in for the long haul here. >> thank you. we've got to get to a break. thank you, david. geoffrey thomas, richard quest, stay with me. when we come back, we'll talk more about the search going on right now off the coast of australia. could this be the break everyone has been waiting for? [ ambient street noise ] ♪

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welcome back, everyone. breaking news tonight, ships in the search zone could pick up floating objects that could begin to give us some answers to what happened to flight 370. back with me now is richard quest. also, mary schiavo, a former

inspector general with the department of transportation. she now represents victims of negligence by transportation companies. also with me, jeff wise, author of "the science of your mind in danger." retired pilot jim tillman, and lieutenant colonel michael kay, and geoffrey thomas. i want to get your reaction to what richard and i were having quite a discussion about earlier, to what david said. first with you, mary schiavo. he's saying listen, this could take two years if not more and he believes we've lost the opportunity to hear the pinging on the black boxes. >> well, we may have. but on his idea that it could take two years or more, actually the average aviation investigation takes about 3.5 years, so he was being conservative. >> michael kay? >> yeah, i think one of the big

problems we've got here is that the accuracy of the search operation is predominantly based on assumptions. we know from the data that we've got the distance and the arc. what we don't know is how far down the arc south that it's gone. and what is fueling this information is assumptions based information. to it's distance, it's track, it's also altitude, and it's speed. but they're all based on conflicting evidence as what we've seen. we don't know what happened after that last transponder ping. we don't know what track it took. we don't know how high it was. we don't know what speed it was. so what they're having to do is they're having to work backwards. so anyone who says what we've been doing in the far south is irrelevant, i don't agree with it. even throw the process of elimination, it's allowed us to work backwards. >> so jim tillman, let's talk

more about viewer questions. this one is from kenneth, he says how could the plane be going faster yet the distance is not as far than first thought since we're told it was flying for seven hours? >> because there's a difference in the fuel burn. the fuel burn is what's determining how far we assume it has flown before it all ended. i think it's important for us to realize that those who want to use charts to determine this should be reminded that the charts are based on fuel at the tank at the end. and the event here may very well be dry tanks. that may be a different distance. >> clyde, what new questions does this new information about the plane speed bring into the equation? does this mean that flight 370 was flying at a higher altitude, as well? >> i think the most fascinating thing to me about this, i

thought we were lacking any really stable and salient information. it's very hard to come by. then it struck me, it was staring me in the face all the time. we know one really interesting thing, which that the engines continued to run perfectly throughout the whole period of this flight. that meant that the fuel was going from the three tanks, one in the center, two in the wings, to the engines as they should have done and fuel was being transferred. everything was working by the book for the duration of that flight, or from the time it made the course change and gone out to the malacca straits and headed to the southern indian ocean. what fascinates me about that is, we know that was working well. what wasn't working? can we find a meeting point between the things that were working? the fact that those earnings were working, they were providing power to the whole airplane.

all that was working, so what you have a picture of here is a plane which is flying as it was designed to fly perfectly, but apparently no human intention. so we have to work our way back from that to what might not have been working to cause the things that give us pause, the lack of a call from the plane, the ending of the acars signal and the transponder. where is the division between those things? >> i've got to get the other panelists in here. i want to get jeff wise's reaction. you write about this, you've been studying this. you sort of disagreed with the data. but what do you make with possibly we've lost time, lost

the pingers and that we're getting way ahead of ourselves by thinking we're going to find debris in the next minute or hours or even days? >> i feel like i must address some inaccuracies -- >> can you address that first then address the inaccuracy? >> we have a huge task ahead of us. and yes, we have no idea what idea what part of the seabed it's on. the potential search area is thousands of miles long. it's a vast area. so we've got a -- we talk about looking for the needle in the haystack. we have no idea where the haystack is. so it's looking very -- like a huge and daunting task. >> we'll get to discuss the inaccuracies. if those floating objects turn

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as we speak, ships and planes are scouring the new search area off the coast of australia for any sign of debris from flight 370. but what happens if and when they find some? cnn's alexandra field has a look at what happens next. >> reporter: picking out the pieces, putting them together. it's been done by crash investigators before. the question is, in the mystery of malaysia airlines flight 370, will it be done again? >> got to get salvage vessels

out into the area that have the kind of grappling equipment that can lift potentially large pieces of airplane, not only off the surface of the water, but if need be, drop down cables long enough to reach the wreckage in 12,000 feet. >> reporter: july 1996, twa flight 800 crashes just eight miles off the coast of long island, new york, in waters only 200 feet deep. investigators spot pieces of the boeing 747 right away, but it still takes three days to find the bulk of the wreckage. after finding 97% of the plane, crash experts reassemble it in a long island hanger. >> you can literally start placing pieces of the aircraft back together again, so you can see how they relate to each other, how the impact was related. >> reporter: is that kind of reconstruction still necessary? >> well, there's obviously debate about that.

>> reporter: that's because data recorders like the one on flight 370 are now more sophisticated. the older model aboard twa flight 800 would record only 18 indicators. investigators needed to reassemble the debris because the data only gave a partial view of what happened on board at the time of the crash. >> essentially, speed, altitude, heading. so it was not that helpful in the -- determining what the probable cause was. >> reporter: the missing data from flight 370 captures more information, but will it be enough? >> if there's something conclusive that says the engines quit or there was a fire extinguisher that went off, it will narrow the accident down to where they may not have to reconstruct the entire aircraft. >> reporter: instead, investigators could choose to recover a few key pieces and hope they reveal the rest of the puzzle. alexandra field, cnn. >> thank you very much.

our breaking news tonight, we're awaiting word from the search zone as ships rush to pick up those unidentified objects. and we'll give you that news the moment we get it here on cnn. so back now with me, my team of experts. first, jeff wise. >> the main thing is the press release from the australians was confusing, it's been misreported. the part about going fast refers only to the initial part of the flight. the plane burned so much fuel early on, it had to be going slower to save fuel. moving to the north, you're assuming the plane was flying slower, not faster. >> this is a very good point that he makes. clearly, it's like the car journey where you drive faster or you are stuck in traffic in the beginning, you burn more gas, you don't have more for the rest of the journey.

>> thank you both for addressing that. now to michael kay, this is from karen. is there any type of netting that ships can use to drag to find parts of the plane, michael? >> i think that's entirely dependent on the depths of the ocean that you're trying to troll. i also think it's dependent on where we think the debris will be. so is it going to have floated to the bottom, is it going to be resting on the ocean floor or on top of the surface or just under the surface in a neutral buoyancy type affair? it's a great question. we'll need to find the debris and then the rest of the search will form around the way that the debris field has manifested itself on the ocean top. >> geoffrey thomas, might this rush that everyone seems to be having to find the debris or to

find the black boxes, might it be putting too much pressure on the malaysian government, the malaysian airlines and on searchers and investigators who are trying to figure out what's going on? >> look, it could possibly be, particularly up in malaysia. but i think after talking to australian officials over the last couple of days, they're being very methodical about this. they're being very considered about this, and they've had a lot of experience searching for aircraft and searching for lone yachtsman. we know this area probably better than anybody does. so from an australian perspective, they're not being rushed at all. obviously they know the urgency of finding the black box, and that certainly is urgent. but as far as making statements of concern, they are just sticking to the facts and working through the intelligence they get in a very slow, methodical process.

>> geoffrey thomas, i want to read two questions to you. basically statements and get your response. the first is from suzy. she says i think they're still chasing trash in the search area. patrick says, our ocean is so full of trash, we can't distinguish a 777 from garbage. you want to respond to those two statements? >> there's another dynamic to this, as well. one of the things that's been of great concern in the search head quarters is some of these images we've been shown from the french, the chinese and the thais, they're staying -- they're not showing the debris that they claim. they are very skeptical now about the intelligence, the analysis of this debris. to that's one question we have to look at as far as how good are these satellite images in the first place? the first thing is, yes, it's a very sad indictment of us, that

there is so much debris in the ocean. and it's a very sobering thing and something that really globally we have to look at. >> geoffrey thomas, thank you. everyone else, stay with me. flight 370.

is looks like we are getting an update on the investigation into the missing airline. let's listen in. he is not speaking in english. when he switches over we will rejoin the news conference.

>> it is done together with so many other nations and they felt the need on that issue. secondly, they said no matter how remote, hope against hope, please we will continue to find survivors. and i have said that from the beginning. that no matter how remote, i am always hoping against hope and i am praying and in any remote manner, it has always been to find for survivors. i totally appreciate and

understand your feelings and if there is any leave it or information that involves survivors, that has always been our priority. the third request summarizing our discussion today is to ensure of the lines of communication. is smoother and more sensitive to what they are going through. foresi

>> he seems to be talking about their work with the families to help them support them, as they continue with the agony of waiting for news. let's continue to listen to see if he switches back to english. >> i appeal to everyone to understand the sensitivities of the family and even hoping against hope, no matter how remote, of course, we are praying and we will continue our search for the possible survivors. but what they want is a commitment on our part to

continue to search and that i have given not only on behalf of the malaysian government, but of so many nations involved in this operation. yes? [ inaudible questio [ inaudible question ] >> the question on the passport,

you can bring those questions forward and on the issue of the passports, that has been dealt with in the early stage. involved the fbi, chinese intelligence, and actually made it a clear statement early on in our investigations. they had nothing sinister related and -- sorry? [ inaudible question ] >> you are referring to the two iranians? but that is a different issue, which is not a question i am looking at. search and rescue. i am concerned about the four

areas. i don't want to get into an argument if you look at your records of few weeks back, that was discussed and decided in detail. yes? [ inaudible question ] >> we can understand the families sensitivity and i met them individually, and that sensitivity of the family and a request from the family, any family member, next of kin, would like us to give them the hope and i think that is not an unreasonable request for us to continue no matter how remote.

it is not for me to say that all i can say is that i can continue with the leads we have and at the moment we have six under satellite. the vessels i bring their, i believe there are visual sightings of objects today. i've got to wait and get reports on whether they have retrieved those objects, when they will retrieve those objects. that will give us some indication. i told the families i cannot give them false hope and the best we can do is pray and we must be sensitive to them. as long as there is a remote chance of the survivor, we will pray and do whatever it takes. >> [ inaudible question ] >> what i know there is nothing

sinister from the simulators. but of course, that will have to be confirmed by the chief of police. because he and our police have been working closely with the fbi from day 1 that. now when we're talking about satellite data and imagery, the cia has also been on board. the chinese intelligence have been on board. those four scenarios indicated two weeks ago, possible hijacking, terrorism, personal problems, or whether it is psychological, that has been debated and discussed at length when we were discussing fake passports. to be fair to our intelligence agencies working with the royal

police, when the issues are corroborated and all the agencies are comfortable in what needs to be released in public, then it is for them to do that. or the chief of police to do that. >> [ inaudible question ] >> no, i'm not. i think i am more spirited after meeting the families because their requests have been very fair. they know it is not just a malicious effort, it is a global effort. ♪ in the south corner of austria, we have the latest out there, chinese aircraft, never seemed to the outside world before landing in perth. 86 nations working together. a very commendable effort on a country as small as malaysia. >> [ inaudible question ]

>> hope in their eyes. for me as a minister responsible, this is the hardest part of my life at the moment. looking out for the families. in fact not only that i give them strength and i give them assurance and our commitment, in a way they gave me strength, also, to persevere. putting aside all of the speculation, putting aside all of the stories about sightings and putting aside the theories, at the end of the day only want to know where or their loved ones. when i have indicated to them there is one question that i don't have the answers to that the moment, it came to them sincerely. i think they appreciate it and that gives me the strength to continue for another day. >> [ inaudible question ] >> miracles do happen.

remote or otherwise. that is the hope the family members want me to convey. not only to the malaysian government, but to the world at large. and if it means our purse, that is not a very difficult request, is that? >> [ inaudible question ] >> i think on a point of responsibility, i indicated yesterday not only are they and on the inquiry, the ministry of transport is coming up with an international panel being formed at the moment. the malaysian government is to decide whether they will have a select parliamentary committee or of a royal commission. i believe all of our partners and all of the nations involved would want to see what we have discovered through this exercise. you have to understand

rolls-royce, and tsb, from the u.s. chinese agencies, you have practically got everybody in the industry involved in this search and rescue. this is the best time for everybody to look not only into the question of aviation landscape also on the issue of security and defense. thank you very much. >> he is saying the acting transportation minister, someone we have seen many times, holding a brief news conference seeming to reassure people that the malaysian government and the malaysian airlines continue to work very hard on the investigation. and to talk about the fact they are still working closely with the family, they understand their frustration, we heard him say they just want to know where their loved ones are and that

isn't a question that anyone can answer at this point. he did talk about the few sightings they have had in the new location where they are searching in the southern indian ocean off of austria, those items that have been seen by aircraft in the area, nothing has been recovered. nothing has been identified as being part of flight 370. that was taken there by an aircraft from new zealand. it was shown on chinese television. we are three weeks into the mystery of the flight and there has not been a trace of the plane as of yet. that is why we continue to get updates from malaysian authorities. of course, they are focusing on its new search area i just mentioned. 1100 kilometers northeast of for the surge previously had been focused. and in the air right now australian and chinese planes

still looking for more objects. there is one ship in the area right now but there are many more ships at least five on the way to that area into hopefully retrieve some of the objects they are saying. just like in the last search area, there was much further south. none of these objects that have been seen by the aircraft have been identified as being part of the airplane and none have been retrieved so far. so that they could be studied. no one knows if it is just trash which is often circling in the ocean or if it is indeed part of the plan. we also heard him talk about the interpol report. that is because interpol has been rejecting their explanation for not checking an international database of loss

and stolen passports. the malaysian government has suggested that their databases to cumbersome. interpol rebuts saying so far this year malaysia has not checked passports against its database. it says several other countries use the database millions of times each year. this is referencing those two passengers boarded this airplane with stolen passports and many people questioning how they weren't caught and stopped before they got on the airplane. the malaysian authorities to bring us the latest on what they're doing as they followed the search of australia. we have correspondents all over the world covering this story. in london, sarah was at the news conference and she joins us now live to give her perspective on what they were trying to convey. hello. >> how are you doing? basically what happened is the

acting transportation minister was explaining that he had talked to the families and the families wanted several things from the government. number one the most important issue is the wanted to make sure the search would continue. they would not stop the search until they found some physical evidence the plane actually did go down in the indian ocean or wherever it did. what we found interesting is he also said he had not given up hope there might be some merit, and some survivors. the families have been saying that for days, ever since this happened. they have not seen any physical evidence to the contrary. he himself said i do believe there could be some miracle. i am not giving up hope. still a search and rescue mission. this happened on march 8th, nearly a month. they have been looking for this plane and he said he is still

not really ready to let that kind of hope died. i asked him rather forcefully how was that they were able to let these two man with face passports on the point. interpol basically saying is not fair to say is too hard to check with interpol when it comes to looking at passports as to whether they have been stolen. these passports, interpol knew they were stolen. the government has said time and again and he reiterates, we have checked into these to make individuals. nothing to do with that, nothing sinister about their actions. it begs the question have they let it slip? he did not want to answer that question. he needed it saying it is not for me to answer. he is the acton transportation minister, someone we believe who should answer. again he evaded the question. he said we know they were not on

there for any kind of sinister purpose and that is where the investigation has stopped. >> back to his reference to possible survivors. what do you make of that after the prime minister came out and announced that due to the track of this airplane and the fact there was no place to land where it was in a remote location of the ocean, they are assuming there is no one that could have survived to this. what are they saying now? >> it is interesting that you know that because the families were told there were no survivors. that this plane went into the southern indian ocean. at that point, they did not have any way of disputing that. the family members feeling terrible. now they're getting hope again and this is what has been so difficult for the families. they get help and it has been-and they get more open that is-. they have been going up and down

on this emotional roller coaster for weeks. absolutely crushing for the families. however, you heard him say he believes there is some sliver of hope that perhaps the families are still alive and perhaps because they have not been able to find in the wreckage. giving them hope yet again. many have said and i repeat this because they say and every time we speak to them, we believe our family members are still alive somewhere. find them. natalie? >> interesting. we're looking at video of the search and want to remind our viewers that planes are in the air right now. searching the new region. interesting, even if they were to find one object for to the core three, who is to say that

some of these family members won't still hold out some hope, the fact that perhaps won't find the plane itself. or the boy's data recorder for how long we keep hearing we are in this for the long haul. and from your sense and the family members there, are they able to accept that in any way? >> it is mental torture for these families. they told us that. for them to feel like they are in limbo. not knowing for sure and seeing with their own eyes. they have difficulty believing what the authorities are saying because the information has changed so many times that they have been waiting to hear word of their loved ones. sometimes no fault of the investigators, sometimes identifying images appear quaffs

of things that happened to make these families not quite believe everything there hearing. still hold out hope that because there has been no clinical proof that there is a chance that these families are somewhere safe. the plane in the beginning where they were talking about it landing, there is still that thought in the back of their mind. one of the family members talking about his son, he is somewhere in that feel he is alive. i believe he is alive even after all these days. i simply cannot believe that he has gone and that is a sentiment shared among many of the families. they just do not want to let go of that sliver of hope. nor are they going to unless they see the wreckage. natalie? >> we can understand them wanting to hang on to whatever they can. it is a very tough situation to

accept. covering that news conference there in kuala lumpur, again we have reporters we will be talking with at the top of the hour as well. the base for this search that is ongoing in the ocean. we have even had reporters in those airplanes for us. we will get you up to speed on the very latest on the search and what is happening elsewhere as we just heard the news conference in malaysia. we will be back in just a few moments. four-wheel steering is why i get up in the morning. [ matt ] the only thing better than the smell of fresh-cut grass is the smell of perfectly level, fresh-cut grass. that yellow seat's my favorite chair. [ kathleen ] you want to find a john deere dealer? just set your gps to tractor expert. [ jim ] when my grandson grows up, it's his. 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.