>> erin mclaughlin for us in perth, australia. thank you, erin. >> meanwhile, we're learning new details about what was going on inside the cockpit of that 777. a u.s. official tells cnn the co-pilot's cell phone was turned on during the flight and tried to make contact with the cell phone tower over penang. well, that attempt was roughly 30 minutes after the plane made that aggressive left turn off course. senior international correspondent nic robertson is live in kuala lumpur with the latest on the investigation. so, nic, we've got this new information. what's the significance? >> reporter: well, the significance shows that the plane appears to have been at a relatively low altitude as it passed across the coastline from the malaysian peninsula out into the sea. we're told that once it got about 18 miles out into the sea, it actually got to around about 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level, dipped quite low before it reappeared again on the radar. so, this does indicate that the aircraft, as it came over the malaysian peninsula,

erin mclaughlin live from perth, australia, this morning. and erin, it is the tenth dive going on right now. the first nine turned up nothing. >> reporter: that's right, john. it seems that hope may be fading fast, at least for just this portion of the search. now, four planes actually were up in the air today, despite the fact that that aerial search had been suspended due to weather, and even though officials said that the conditions out there were difficult, even hazardous. it has to be said, for that aerial search for debris, that there have been hours and hours and hours of searching for any signs of this plane and not a single piece has been found. nevertheless, searchers are dedicated to this. they want to be able to get some sort of closure to the families. now, as for the bluefin-21, it is still in the water, as far as we know, on its tenth mission, having completed its ninth mission earlier today. and this is really mission critical. this is the area where they believe is the most likely place that they're going to find the black bo

let's go to erin mclaughlin. she's live in perth, australia, this morning. erin, it seems as if this portion of this search is wrapping up and still no answers, day 45. >> reporter: that's right, victor, and weather could be a factor in the search over the coming days as well. we're hearing of a tropical cyclone named jack striking to the northwest of where they're searching for debris, and that could, of course, complicate those efforts. very difficult to spot debris as it is. australian officials saying that it's unlikely that they'll find any sort of debris at this point. so, the fact that this cyclone, which is not making a direct impact on the search area but could cause more waves and more swells, could make it even more difficult, but for right noxsion the focus of this search effort very much on the work of the bluefin-21, currently on its ninth mission as of this morning. it's traversed about two-thirds of this very narrow search area with no signs of the plane so far. and this is a really critical area, because this is the place where australian aut

cnn's erin mclaughlin live for us this morning in perth, australia. erin, what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, christine. well, officials so far still confident they are looking in the right place for the missing plane. as far as we know, the fifth dive still under way, the fourth having concluded overnight. and during the fourth, they reached new depths, some 4.7 kilometers beneath the ocean surface, instead of the 4.5 originally thought to be at the very edges of the bluefin-21's depth capacity. engineers having analyzed the bluefin-21's hardware, now determining that it can go as much as 5 kilometers beneath the ocean surface, but it would need to be reprogrammed in order to do that. we did notice that during that fourth dive, they did manage to cover some 8 square miles as opposed to the 15 square miles originally thought to be covered in any given particular mission. no reason given by authorities here in australia for that, or it could be the fact that they are testing its limits. but as you mentioned, no objects of interest found as yet

cnn's erin mclaughlin is live in perth. erin, after hearing yesterday, the signals had been lost, this was a huge development for investigators and rescuers overnight. >> reporter: that's right, christine. the bottom line is they are now more confident that they are looking in the right place than they have ever been before. angus houston is the chief coordinator behind this multinational search operation. he gave a press conference earlier today in which he talked about these new detections. take a listen to what he had to say. >> i can now tell you that "ocean shield" has been able to reacquire the signals on two more occasions. like yesterday afternoon, and like last her time. a detection team yesterday afternoon was held for approximately 5 minutes and 32 seconds. the detection late last night was held for approximately 7 minutes. >> houston saying that those detections noticeably weaker than the signals detected on saturday. and he says that's most likely because the batteries on the black box pinger likely to expire. t

erin mclaughlin live in perth with the latest on the search. erin, what's the latest this morning? >> reporter: hi, john. well, this is some of the most optimistic language we've heard from australian officials so far. the prime minister, tony abbott, was in shanghai earlier today attending a lunch. he gave a speech in which he said that they are confident they are now within some kilometers of the black box, but he said that they are working to get as much information as possible before the batteries run out. take a listen. >> we're now getting into the stage where the signal from what we are very confident is the black box is starting to fade, and we are hoping to get as much information as we can before the signal finally expires. >> reporter: he went on to admit that he was withholding some information ahead of his meeting with the chinese president, which is effective in about an hour or so. it is worth noting that australian officials have been long to point out that they are not going to be certain that this is, in fact, from the missing plane until they see actual physical

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia. so much hope, erin, in this underwater search in the bluefin. >> reporter: good morning, john. overnight, the bluefin-21 reaching new depths in the search for missing malaysian flight 370. during that fourth dive, it managed to go down some 4.7 kilometers beneath the ocean surface, compared to the 4.5 kilometers originally believed to be on the upper reaches of its depth capacity, and it's really important that the bluefin be able to go down into some of these deeper waters. you may remember, it had to cut its first mission short. and this is the area where they believe is the most likely place that they're going to find the black box, based on that very detailed acoustic analysis that they did of those four pings that were detected. so, it's a good sign that the bluefin-21 overnight was able to reach those depths, but of course, as you mentioned, it has found nothing of interest as far as we know. and today, malaysia's acting transportation minister tweeted out this morning that they'

erin mclaughlin live from perth in australia this morning. erin, ten trips down, and so far, nothing to show for it. >> reporter: that's right, john. and even though that tropical cyclone managed to cause them to suspend that aerial search, four planes did go out today, one u.s. plane, a chinese aircraft and two australian. now, we understand the chinese plane turned back, but the american and the australian plane, last we checked, were still out there, and the joint agency coordination center putting out a statement saying it would be up to the individual captains to decide whether or not to turn back. the weather conditions, though, had been described as hazardous and difficult. now, despite those conditions, the bluefin-21 continuing its search today. it wrapped up its ninth mission this morning and was on dive ten with two-thirds as of yesterday of this more narrowed search area covered. not clear how much ground it was able to cover in that ninth dive, but as far as we know, it's still down there, still searching. no signs of the missing

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth with the latest on this search and the discovery of these new pingserin. >> reporter: hi, john, well, news of these new detections certainly encouraging. angus houston, the man responsible for coordinating this multinational search gave a press conference earlier today in which he expressed his optimism. take a listen. >> but if you had asked me, let's say, when i arrived last sunday night, i would have been probably more pessimistic than i think now. i'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft. in the not too distant future. >> reporter: houston went on to say that the signal detected was weaker than the detections on saturday. and he said that was most likely because the battery of the black box pinger was likely expiring. has a shelf life of some 30 days. we're now on day 33. so the focus of this mission very much on the australian vessel, the "ocean shield" equipped with the american-operated towed ping locator, which is still out there scouring the waters trying to reacquire those signals. and that's really

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia, for us. what's the latest, erin? >> reporter: hi, christine. well, a spokesperson from the british ministry of defense tells me that the "hms echo," which is a british vessel, is currently on its way to join the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." she said that it's going there because the "ocean shield" currently has the most promising leads in this search. she also said that they have managed to discount those signals detected by the chinese vessel over the weekend. as for what it's going to be doing when it gets there, she said she wasn't sure, that the "ocean shield" at the moment taking the lead in this search. it's worth noting that the "hms echo" is equipped with highly technologically sound-detecting equipment. it's also equipped with technology that would enable it to map the ocean floor. now, officials here in australia are not commenting on this development, they're not saying if this perhaps signals a new stage in this search. as far as we know right now, the "ocean shield" equipped with that american-

cnn's erin mclaughlin is live for us in perth, australia, this morning. erin, bring us up to speed on what's the latest. we know that they've searched that -- they've narrowed that search area, but it is still slow going as they listen for more sounds, more acoustic events, as they call them, from these black boxes. >> reporter: that's right, christine. a short while ago, i spoke to a spokesperson from the british ministry of defense, who told me that the "hms echo," which is a british vessel, is currently on its way to join the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." she says it's making its way there because the "ocean shield" currently has the most promising leads in this search. she also said that they've managed to discount those chinese detections made by the "haixun 1" over the weekend. as for what it does when it gets there, she says that's not clear, that the "ocean shield" is currently taking the lead on the search. but it's worth saying that the "hms echo" has sophisticated sound-detecting equipment, but it's also capable of mapping the sea floor

erin mclaughlin is live in perth with the latest on the search. erin, also, there was some news, aside from the bluefin, that aerial search and what that means moving forward. erin? >> reporter: hi, victor. well, i really don't think it's too surprising that they didn't find anything, that the bluefin-21 didn't find anything during that search. it really only lasted about two hours on the ocean floor, covering what must have been a fraction of the 15-square-mile area that was designated for the day's mission, that area being the most probable place for the black box, that according to officials based on those pings that were heard last week. this is going to be a slow and painstaking process, that according to officials here. nothing happens quickly in waters of this depth. and what happened in terms of the bluefin-21 in its first mission is it went down and it entered waters that were deeper than its capacity of some 2.8 miles, and it was simply then just resurfaced. and according to the company, that it's programmed to do that, it's programmed to

>> erin mclaughlin, a busy week for you this weekend in australia. thanks very much. >> moving on to the investigation of why flight 370 flew off course. this morning, malaysian officials poring over data after revealing to cnn that they believe the jet dropped altitude and disappeared from radar right after crossing over malaysia. our senior international correspondent, nic robertson, broke this story. he's been working it ever since. it has been causing quite a stir in kuala lumpur. nic, what's latest this morning? >> reporter: well, john, what they're saying is that it disappeared from military radar, and their assessment of all the data that they have available, they believe, therefore, that it descended to about 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. this is way below the normal uprated minimum for aircraft in their normal flight, before reappearing almost right at the edge of the military radar capability in malaysia. their assessment based on this data is that whoever was piloting the aircraft at that time was trying to avoid this sort of busy c

cnn's erin mclaughlin gives us the latest from perth, australia. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, john. well, just a short while ago, i talked to the spokesperson from the british ministry of defense, and she tells me that the british vessel, the "hms echo" is currently moving towards the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." she said that it's moving because the "ocean shield's" detections at the moment, the most promising leads in this search. she also says that they have discounted those detections made over the weekend by the chinese vessel. as for what it's going to be doing when it gets there, she says that's unclear. at the moment, the "ocean shield" leading this search. it is worth noting that the "hms echo" is equipped with sophisticated sound-detecting technology, but it's also equipped with capabilities of being able to map the sea bed. now, authorities here in perth are not commenting at the moment on this development, not saying whether or not this potentially signals a new phase in this search. as far as we know, the "oc

erin mclaughlin in perth. thanks so much. >>> now to kuala lumpur, where malaysia airlines is stepping up security on its jets, even though there is no sign yet of terrorism behind the disappearance of flight 370. that has some crew members upset, insisting, look, they did nothing wrong here. nic robertson live in kuala lumpur for us this morning. nic, what are they saying? first, how is the airline changing procedures inside the aircraft and what are the airline workers saying about it? >> reporter: christine, what the airline has done is told now that whenever a pilot leaves the cockpit, that somebody of the air crew on board has to take his place inside the cabin. and also, they need to do sort of blocking procedures, if one of the pilots is leaving the cockpit to go to the bathroom or whatever. they're saysaying, the crew mems are saying that they haven't been trained for this sort of security procedure, that they are trained to help people get off the aircraft in the case of an emergency. but really, what

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erin mclaughlin from perth. we appreciate it. thank you very much. >>> as we check our clocks, it is just past 9:00 a.m. in south africa. >> that's where oscar pistorius has just arrived in court for another day of cross-examination. you see the pictures from a moment ago as he makes his way in to court. you see scene outside the court in pretoria. the assembly of media and general public. this is attracting a huge amount of attention, not only in south africa but around the world. focusing in on what is happening, the olympic track star facing his fifth day on the witness stand on charge that he killed his girlfriend, stereeva steenkamp, last february. prosecutors say the couple had been arguing the night of the shooting. >> that's right. it's been an emotional week of testimony for pistorius. at one point this week he was so seemingly distraught the judge called an end to the prosecution for the day. then he sinkholed gerry nel. here's a look back at the -- scolded gerry nel. here's a look at the testimony. >> the phrase "i lov

so, let's quiget the latest fro erin mclaughlin live in perth. erin, what can you tell us this morning? >> reporter: hi, john. well, officials are disappointed, but not exactly surprised that that object of interest that washed up on shore on the coast of western australia, about 190 miles from here, did not turn out to be connected to mh-370. that determination made after a thorough analysis by the australian transportation and safety bureau photographs of the object. they're not exactly saying what it is, though it would seem to be just another piece of sea one kind of sea junk that really has muddied the waters, so to speak, for this ongoing visual search. every day, around a dozen planes and a dozen vessels go out on to those waters searching for any signs of mh-370, and so far, found nothing but garbage. australian officials even saying that at this point, it looks very, very unlikely that they will find any sign of mh-370 from that visual search. so, the focus really now on the bluefin-21. as of this morning, we understand the joint agency c

i want to start with erin mclaughlin right now. this was an incredible breakthrough news conference just 90 minutes ago, or so. let's go over all of the information that we received. because certainly, angus houston, the chief searcher officer here, chief marshal, angus houston was very cautious. he stayed way from saying this was mh 370. but he got pretty close to it, didn't he? >> that's right, rosemary. promising, encouraging, extraordinary, all words angus houston used to describe the findings of the australian vessel the ocean shield. he spoke at a press conference just 90 minutes ago. take a listen to what he had to say. >> clearly, this is a most promising lead. and probably in the search so far, it's the -- it's probably the best information that we have had. and, again, i would ask all of you to treat this information cautiously and responsibly until such time as we can provide an unequivocal determination. >> well, the ocean shield detecting not one, but two separate acoustic events. the first lasting a total of two hours

. >> that is correct, let's get more information from perth, australia, where we find erin mclaughlin. truly, erin, an incredible turn of events. we are right at the edge of battery life for the black boxes. just walk us through what mr. houston announced moments ago. >> that is right, errol, very encouraging news announced this morning. they are now confident houston says that they are searching in the correct place. they detected not one, but two signals as he mentioned there. the first lasting a total of five minutes, 32 seconds. that detected yesterday afternoon. the second lasting a total of seven minutes, detected in the evening. houston did note that these signals were weaker than the first two detections picked up on saturday. and he attributed that to either one of two scenarios. the first scenario being that they had possibly moved away from the source of the signal. he said that that was unlikely the more likely scenario that the signals were weaker due to the diminishing battery life of the black box pinger. now as for next steps, the australian vessel, the ocean shield eq

erin mclaughlin live from perth, australia, this morning. erin, it's certainly promise 'but there's still a lot of work to do. bring us up to speed. >> reporter: hi, christine. well, they're saying these findings are absolutely extraordinary. the australian vessel, the "ocean shield" detecting not one, but two separate acoustic events. the first event lasting 2 hours and 22 minutes, the second event lasting 13 minutes, consisting of two separate signals, signals that authorities are saying are consistent with the cockpit voice recorder and the inflight data recorder, but at the same time here in perth, they are urging caution, saying it will take some time to verify these findings. take a listen to what angus houston, the man spearheading this international search effort, had to say at a press conference earlier today. >> i need to be honest with you, it could take some days before the information is available to establish whether these detections can be confirmed as being from mh-370. in very deep oceanic water, nothing happens fast. >> repo

the search is headquartered in perth, australia, that's where our erin mclaughlin is and has been covering this for the past few days. she joins us live. erin, bring us up to speed on where the search stands right now. >> reporter: hi, let's first chat a little more about what the australian president, prime minister, rather, tony abbott had to say at that lunch in shanghai. he admitted that he was holding back some details about this search ahead of his meeting with the chinese premier. take a listen to what he had to say. >> we have very much narrowed down the search area, and we are very confident that the signals that we are detecting are from the black box on mh 370. >> reporter: he also said that out of respect for the families, the -- the families and friends of the chinese passengers that were on board that he was withholding some detail about this search ahead of that meeting with the chinese president later today. as for the search itself, the -- angus houston, the ma not responsible for this -- the man responsible for this joint coordination effort, issued a statement today. he'

erin mclaughlin is live in perth, australia, with the very latest on this search. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, george. that's right, as of this morning, it was completing that 13th mission, about 95%, as you say, of that narrowed search area completely combed. no signs of missing malaysian flight 370. that narrowed area really represents their best guess as to where the black box may be. so, what do you do when you essentially have ruled out the majority of your best guess? we understand that is something that australian and malaysian officials are discussing, talking about perhaps a long-term agreement, a long-term search agreement based on a malaysian proposal. and what the malaysians are proposing is perhaps broadening out the search area. what they're doing right now is they're searching in a six-mile radius around the point of the second ping that was picked up by that towed pinger locator, and they're there because it was the strongest of the four signals detected, but you would think that they might find something if they searched six miles

in the meantime, erin mclaughlin live with the latest on the search. we understand you have new information. >> reporter: that's right, john. we have new information from the joint agency coordination center, responsible for organizing the search efforts here in perth, telling us that western australian police have attended to a report of material washed ashore. 10 kilometers east of augusta in australia. they have secured the material. they say the australian transportation and safety bureau is currently examining these photographs to see if it has any reallevance to the search for m 370. they provided photos to the malaysian investigation team as well. we have reached out to the western australian police for comment on the latest development. no comment so far. there have been plenty of leads in this search, john, so i think it's important to say that authorities really make a point of considering all these leads and trying to rule them in or either rule them out as being potentially connected to missing flight 370. the last lead we heard of was an o

cnn's erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia, to tell us more. ter: hi, carol, as far as we know that tenth mission still underway no signs for the planes maybe fade for this portion of the search but they're already planning for phase two. no end in sight, as investigator, now only days away from completing the search in the targeted area. and still, no sign of flight 370. back in the water this morning, bluefin 21. after turning up empty, scouring two-thirds of the intended seabed so far. the search in the air drastically scaled back due to rain, poor visibility and heavy seas from tropical cyclone jack. the targeted area, six miles in radius, represents the best guess as to where the plane may be. if nothing is found, the search area may widen dramatically with more equipment. investigators say they're in the early stages of talks on long-term search plans, as far out as july. on monday, chinese families of those on board flight 370 arrived at a beijing hotel, expecting a briefing with technical experts from malaysia. but that meeting was cance

cnn's erin mclaughlin live with the latest. and it seems again from the body language from the announcement overnight that they seem fairly optimistic that these signals are coming from the black boxes and they are narrowing down that search area. >> john, this is very encouraging news. angus hughson is the man responsible for coordinating this search effort. he gave a press conference earlier today. hear how he characterized these new detections. >> i can now tell you that "ocean shield" has been able to reacquire the signals on two more occasions. like yesterday afternoon and late last night. the detection yesterday afternoon was held for approximately five minutes and 32 seconds. the detection late last night was held for approximately seven minutes. >> houston went on to say that the signals detected were noticeably weaker than the saturday detections and that significance, he said that's most likely because the batteries of these black box pingers are expiring. they have a self life of some 30 days and we're now on day 33.

our erin mclaughlin live in perth. what's the latest this morning? >> hi, john.thorities all along had treated that object with interest, with caution. treating it as any other lead. a lead that either needs to be ruled in or ruled out. and in the end, the australian transport and safety bureau ruling it out based on detailed analysis of photographs. not saying exactly what it is that was found. just simply that it's not part of the missing plane. now it would seem to be just another piece of space junk. the kind of junk that has really muddied the waters of this visual search so far which is an ongoing visual search. today some 11 planes and 11 ships still out there despite some adverse weather conditions, scouring the waters trying to find any signs of debris. has to be said that they have spent hours and hours and hours looking and have turned up so far nothing more than garbage. and australian officials saying it's becoming increasingly unlikely that they will find any piece of this plane as a result of that visual search. and the focus really now on the effo

erin mclaughlin live in perth, australia. erin, what's the latest this morning? >> reporter: good morning, john. well, the focus of this operation very much remains on that american-operated towed ping locator on board the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." earlier today, angus houston, the man responsible for spearheading this multinational search effort, briefing reporters alongside the australian defense minister, delivering the news that they so far have been unable to reacquire that signal. take a listen. >> the towed locator pinger work continues. there have been no further contacts with any transmission, and we need to continue that for several days, right up to when the point at which there is absolutely no doubt that the pinger batteries will have expired. >> reporter: right now, the "ocean shield" is still out there combing the waters in a ladder-like formation, trying to reacquire that signal. and it's absolutely critical, they say, to this operation, critical that they get more data to be able to narrow down a potential search area. houston today

let's go live to cnn's erin mclaughlin. s there been any change in the size or scope of the search area? >> reporter: well, jake, they continue to refine the search area today. by another 500 square miles, really a quarter of the size of what it used to be, which has allowed them to intensify the efforts of some 15 aircraft and 13 vessels out combing the waters for any signs of debris. but it has to be said after hours and hours and hours of searching we're now some 35 days since the plane went missing, not a single, physical sign of the plane has been found. so the focus of this search effort very much on for the elusive pings. overnight, they have been analyzing this data that they have obtained from one of the sonobuoys, one of the dozens or so that they have parachuted out onto the water. they said they hope to get an update on that today. meanwhile, the australian vessel, the ocean shield, continues to be out there combing the waters with the american operator, the towed pinger locator, making detections, four so far wh

our correspondent on the scene, erin mclaughlin. give us an updated, erin, what's happening right now. >> reporter: hi, wolf. we're still waiting for the results of that analysis of the bluefin-21's very first mission that 35 square mile stretch you mentioned is absolutely mission critical, where officials believe is the most likely place they are going to find that black box based on a detailed analysis of the acoustic pings detected earlier. a second according to the u.s. navy the most significant lasted 13 minutes, the strongest signal detected. we do not have a timetable for the results of this analysis as yet. at the moment, officials being pretty tight-lipped whether or not the bluefin-21 is even back in the water. what we are getting more information on is this cost of all of this. according to the australian transportation and safety board, it's estimated a prolonged privately funded underwater salvage will cost a quarter of a billion dollars separate from this ongoing visual search for any signs of debris and search by air w

erin mclaughlin is there. quite encouraging developments, erin. they're stressing that nothing is confirmed but something perhaps is happening. >> reporter: that's right, natalie. this is certainly a significant development in this search. they are deploying a number of assets to the area in response to the "haixun 01" find. angus houston, who is spearheading this search saying this is the most promising lead they have so far, the chinese search vessel detects not one but two acoustic events some 24 hours and 2 kilometers apart in an area that it seems to be at this point pretty significant. houston also saying that based on news information about the condition of the inmarsat satellite, they are revising the most likely area that the plane went down further south, which he said is pretty close to where the chinese vessel detected these acoustic events. so in response to this new informations are the search team deploying the search vessel "echo" expected to arrive in 14 hours and the "ocean shield" is about 24 hours away in another area. houston

cnn's erin mclaughlin is in perth, australia. >> reporter: wolf, today's weather may have had an impact on the aerial search for debris. didn't seem to have too much of an effect on the bluefin-21. now, as far as we know, in the midst of its tenth dive. now, as of yesterday, two-thirds of that narrow search area had been scoured. still no signs of the missing plane. some are wondering what are going to be the next steps. now, an official with the u.s. navy telling cnn the key stakeholders are in the early stages of those discussions. there's been talk of a broader search area, possibly introducing more submersibles into the mix to be able to cover more area in a shorter period of time. what they're doing right now is they're searching a six-mile radius around the point of the second ping that was detected on april 8th. they're doing that because it was the strongest of the four pings. but some analysts suggesting perhaps they should search in the areas of the other pings as well. that spokesperson for the u.s. navy telling cnn that they're planning for as far out as july. their long-ter

. >> erin mclaughlin is live for us. thank you very much. >>> a big week in u.s. diplomacy. in a few hours, president obama touches down in tokyo. he'll visit south korea, malaysia and the philippines. he spends time in japan. that's where michelle kosinski is. give us an idea of the goal of this long delayed trip. >> hey, john, good morning. this is seen as extremely significant by both sides. you might say pivotal. this is what they have been wanting for president obama's second term. will this be seen by the four nations as credible in the form it's expected to take, economic, military and diplomatic and what kind of progress could we see from this in the near and long term. trade is a big part of it. president obama is pushing for a trade deal that could involve 12 different countries. china has been pushing for their own regional trade deal that does not include the u.s. that's going to be important here in japan, although, the u.s., some officials said japan needs to step up more for more progress, open up parts of its economy. so far, it's at a point of stalemate. we

our own erin mclaughlin is on the scene for us, once again joining us from perth. first off, what are officials actually telling you about that new so-called object of interest? >> hi, wolf. well, we understand it was found about 186 miles from here to the south of perth. the head of the safety bureau martin dolan telling cnn the atsb is currently analyzing photographs of this object. he described it as a metal sheet with rivets. we're also hearing from a source inside the defense force describing it as having a fiberglass coating, described as a rectangular object but torn and misshapen. dolan adding a note of caution, saying that the more the authorities and the atsb are looking at these images, the less excited they are getting about it. now, we are aware of australian media reports that multiple objects have been found. so far, cnn has been unable to confirm that. we're also trying to get more information about the size of the objects. our sources -- some of our sources saying they've only seen one photograph of this object and, therefore, it's difficult to det

erin mclaughlin is live in perth. it came back to the surface for technical problems and they downloaded the data from the earlier search. did they find anything? >> reporter: hi, christine. no, they did not find objects of interest. the good news here is they put, despite the technical glitch, they put the bluefin-21 back into the water to begin searching again. many wonder if it's up to the task at hand. it's operating in the upper region of the depth capacity. it can go 5 kilometers beneath the ocean surface instead of the 4.5 originally thought. the important thing to remember is it's very, very difficult to operate at the depth. consider the pressure. some 2.5 family vehicles worth per inch on any underwater submersible operating, then the terrain. relatively unknown to man. they think it's flat and rolling, but they are not entirely sure. whatever is down there, the bluefin-21 is going to have to be able to navigate. consider on top of that, the silt on the ocean floor. they think it's there, they are not sure h

erin mclaughlin is live in perth, australia. erin, what more are we learning about what happened on this flight? >> reporter: kate, we understand the incident was caused by a disruptive passenger on board a virgin australian boeing 737 flight from bris bon, australia, to bali's main airport. there were those initial reports of a hijacking but that turns out not to be the case. virgin australia putting out a statement saying, at no point was the safety of the 139 passengers aboard that plane in question. now, by sheer coincidence a cnn producer was actually at the airport at the time the incident occurred. she described a scene that was actually far from chaotic. she said the plane was simply brought to the farther end of the runway.

cnn's erin mclaughlin joins us with the latest on this story.es will the bluefin-21 go down, do you think? it's on the ninth mission as we said earlier. >> reporter: hi, pamela. that's unclear. i think it really depends on how long it takes for the bluefin to continue searching or finish searches, rather, this very narrowed area that's really critical to rule in or rule out this current search area because it's been identified by officials as the most likely place that they're going to find the black box based on the albeit very limited information that they have. they're focusing in on the second ping that was picked up by that towed pinger locater on april 8th. it was the strongest of the four signals detected so what they're doing right now is scanning a 6-mile radius around the point of that detection. we know they have searched about two thirds of that area so far. australian officials saying that it could be within the next week that they complete that search. but that's depend ent on the bluefin-21's performance, also dependent on the wea

submarine and whether it goes back in the water, we -- when it goes back in the water, we join our erin mclaughlin from search headquarters in perth, australia, where it is 3:13 in the afternoon. erin, of course, as we've just found out in the last hour or so, nothing came of those six hours that the bluefin was in the water. so when is it likely to go back in the water? >> reporter: no timetable has been given yet. the seventh fleet -- u.s. navy seventh fleet, operating the bluefin 21 on board the "ocean shield," putting out a press statement saying that weather is a factor. it's not in the water yet. important to note that that six hours involves some two hours of the bluefin 21 actually getting down to the ocean surface. it had two hours to search and two hours coming up. it was only searching the surface of the ocean for two hours. the data collected, the seventh fleet releasing the statement saying no new objects of interest found. officials here in australia have said all along that this is likely to be a slow and stain staking process. -- painstaking process. that seems to be the case. in t

erin mclaughlin joins us from perth, australia. erin, we're told that the bluefin 21 is close to completing the search in this initial area. so what's next? >> good morning, john and michaela, a u.s. navy spokesperson telling cnn that the stakesholders in all of this are currently in the early stages of the next steps. things that have been talked about, probably broadening out the search area. maybe introducing more underwater submersibles into the mix. what they're doing right now, they're searching a six-mile radius around the second ping that was detected on april 8th. it was the strongest of the four signals that was picked up by the american-operated towed pinger locator. some analysts have said well perhaps maybe they should search in the area of the other three pings as well. one of the many things being discussed. that at this point, the focus very much on the task at hand. as you said, the bluefin 21 still in the water as far as we know. still searching for any signs of the black box as of yesterday, it had two-thirds of t

erin mclaughlin there's been another possible ping heard. how is the search changing based on the latest signals? >> i have lost my feed. >> apparently having trouble with her. that happens when it is live. how has it changed since it is 18,000 square miles and the fifth ping. >> every time they get another ping, it increases the certainty that what they found is the right thing and that allows them to decrease the area that they are searching in. we haven't had this fifth ping confirmed, but if it is confirmed -- it's like we saw last night with tom foreman, you keep getting pings. you draw the circle and the more pings you get the closer it becomes. so your search area is greatly reduced. that's why angus houston wants to try to get as many pings as possible. >> as many pings as possible because number one the battery life, the battery is weakening every single minute. that's important to find it as soon as possible. >> the battery life is weakening. he doesn't have a second chance. once the pinger has died, that's it. so why not spend the

erin mclaughlin is in perth, australia at the moment. of this search, erin? >> reporter: hi, victor, the bluefin-21 searched 90% of the area. the best guess of where the black box may be based on the analysis of the second ping that the locator picked up. they have been searching in a six-mile raidious around the ping. now, with most of that area ruled out, authorities have begun to talk about where they are going to go next. we understand the blue fin-21 is going to search the area adjacent to the u.s. navy, more north of the first wing that was picked up. those are the initial next steps. we understand australia and malaysian authorities are handing out a longer agreement based on the malaysians calling on more submersibles be brought in. we understand that deal is expected to be reached within a week and we could see more details about the next phase or longer term search operation. >> erin mclaughlin in perth, australia. thank you so much. >>> it's been seven weeks of agony for these families. that's what it comes down to for a lot o

erin mclaughlin joins us from perth, australia. erin, talk to us about some of the challenges that we know are facing the bluefin 21. >> reporter: hi, michaela. operating some 2.8 miles beneath the ocean's surface pretty tricky business, full stop. but it's really at the limits of the bluefin 21 is's capabilities, as we saw yesterday as it was searching the ocean floor and encountered waters deeper than its capacity. it had been preprogrammed to go that, they don't want to lose it technicians downloaded the data and wanted to put it down into the water again but were not able to because of another challenge, the weather. and as far as we know, it's still on board the "ocean shield" still not searching because of the weather conditions, michaela. >> so, i think a lot of people are wondering, always critical when we see thing, seem to have little patience in waiting for the data come back and gather its data. is this device, is this technology, the bluefin 21, up to the task? >> reporter: so far, australian authorities have expressed

i want to begin this hour's coverage live in perth, australia, with cnn's erin mclaughlin. we know the bigger and more capable vehicles are out there, they exist to continue this search. do we know why the search teams are sticking with that bluefin? >> not at the moment, ashleigh. that is a question that we have put to the joint agency coordination center here in perth, the center responsible for coordinating this search efforts. and no comment so far because, you're right, there are more capable underwater submersibles out there such as the orion. it can stay down there for weeks on end. now, we do know that this is something that both australian and malaysian officials are discussing. they're currently in the process hammering out a longer term search agreement based on a malaysian proposal to broaden out the search area and introduce new technology. it's something the australian defense minister has talked about. technology he says like they're considering the kind of underwater submersibles that discover the titanic. so we know they're discussing it. it's not clear whe

anderson. >> erin mclaughlin, we appreciate that. we will check in with erin and as i said if you are just joining us we are waiting to hear from authorities. we do not know what they will be announcing at this press conference. it is a little past 11:00 a.m. in australia and in the search area. obviously the search is already underway. we don't know if there are new developments, though, beyond the refining the search area. we anticipate some sort of announcement being made. we will bring it to you live. we want to bring in our panel. author of why planes crash, investigator fights for safe skies and doing calculations on the search. boeing trip 777 captain and miles o'brien, former department of transportation inspector who represents accident victims and their families. richard, let's start with you. you were with me in the 8:00 hour. you heard from captain mark math thi mathies from the u.s. navy. he said the life of the pinger is 30 days and may go up to 45 days and may allow that much time to focus the search on trying to get a

many thanks to erin mclaughlin live from perth, australia where it is just after 3:00 in the afternoon. >> now we will have more on flight 370 coming up. anguished relatives mark one month since loved ones disappeared and more mixed messages on what may have happened to the missing plane. first other stories we are following for you. >> russia's foreign ministry is warning ukrainian officials they risk ask civil war if they use force to seize back government buildings stormed by pro moscow demonstrators. this was the scene on sunday. there were also clashes in other cities in the eastern part of the ukraine. demonstrators are demand thing that referendums be held on whether to join russia. a referendum three weeks ago paved the way for the takeover of crimea. >>> the obama administration is sending a warning to moscow saying there is more than meets the eye on these protests. >> pro russian separatists, there's strong evidence suggesting some were paid and not local residents. >> if russia moves in to eastern ukraine, overtly or covertly this would be a serious escalation. we call on p

>> erin mclaughlin with the latest from perth. thank you so much, erin. >>> the death toll rising again overnight in the ferry disaster off the coast of south korea. at least 108 bodies have now been covered from the sunken fer prip as dive teams search the vessel trying to find the nearly 200 that are still unaccounted for. let's get to nic robertson who has the latest live in jindo, south korea. nick, have they acknowledged at this point they are moving into just a recovery mission or do they believe that there's still a chance they could rescue some survivors? >> kate, officials here are still calling it a rescue mission. they stand by that. there is a hope that people may be trapped in octobers on air aboard that ship. today another very tough day for the families, a tough day for the divers down below the waters as well. >> reporter: the arrival of each police boat brings some closure to a few families of the missing. for so many more, the uncertainty continues. the scope of this tragedy becoming more evident with each body br

erin mclaughlin joins us from perth, australia. and 48 days now and counting since that jetliner vanished. where does the search stand right now? >> reporter: hi, michaela. well, as of this morning, the bluefin 21 still on that 12th mission. we're still waiting for an update to see how it went. as you mentioned, it's traversed about 90% of that very critical, narrowed search area. basically represents their best guess as to where the black box may be. and now with the majority of that ruled out, authorities are discussing next steps. australian and malaysian authorities right now trying to hammer out an agreement about potentially broadening out the search area and introducing more underwater submersibles. we understand that agreement may be finalized as soon as this week, michaela. >> all right, erin mclaughlin for us in perth, thank you so much. as she said, 90% of that search area has now been scanned. so far nothing found. so the question is, what is next? after 48 days of this search? >> we turn to our aviation analyst once ag

erin mclaughlin is live in perth with the latest for us. good morning, erin. >> reporter: good morning, christine. the focus of the operation continues to be on that american-operated towed ping locator on board the australian vessel, the "ocean shield." angus houston, the man responsible for this multinational search effort, giving a press conference alongside the australian defense minister earlier today, in which he delivered the news that they had failed to detect a third acoustic event. take a listen to what he had to say. >> the towed locator pinger work continues. there have been no further contacts with any transmission, and we need to continue that for several days right up to when the point at which there's absolutely no doubt that the pinger batteries will have expired. >> reporter: right now, the "ocean shield" is still out there combing the waters in a ladder-like formation, trying to detect any other potential signals from a black box pinger. but again, no luck so far, and this is really critical to their efforts. what they're

let's get right to erin mclaughlin.stralia, this morning. 70% covered now but still hopeful about this final 30%. >> reporter: that's right, victor. this is an absolutely critical stage of this search effort. why? because they believe that this area is the most likely place where they're going to find the black box. that's based on an albeit limited set of information, namely, that second ping that was detected on april 8th. the signal lasted some 13 minutes, but it was the strongest of the four signals that were detected by an american-operated towed pinger locator. and what they're doing or what they've done is they're searching a 6-mile, or 10-kilometer radius around the point of that detection. and as you said, they're 70% of the way through. they've got another 30% to go. an american official -- sorry, australian officials and malaysian officials saying at the end of that search effort, if still no signs of the missing plane, they're going to have to stop and reassess. and the other thing i want to talk about, ment

>> erin mclaughlin in perth, australia.e to have the conversation about between these countries. >>> richard quest now and mary ellen o'tool. richard, let's start with the most recent discussed flight path avoiding radar. does one country know where one country's radar ends and the other picks up? >> yes, they will certainly know where a country's radar ends, civilian radar, maybe not military radar because they will be handed over from one country to the next. the moment i saw this map of the turn and then the twist around the top of indonesia and that was on the very first map that we got some weeks ago, that, to me, was always the most telling point moving from mechanical to nefarious. that spoke volumes in the way this plane was flown. we have already been told several times, that the plane had been flown deliberately. the authorities have been extremely careful not to say nefarious and not to say criminal, although there is a criminal investigation under way, but they always said deliberately. the moment you look at th