Malaysia Airlines Flight: Search For Missing Plane May Extend To Indian Ocean

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is expanding to the Indian Ocean, Reuters reported.

The expansion would be would be consistent with the theory that the Boeing 777 "may have detoured to the west about an hour after take-off from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing," Reuters reported.

"It's my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive - but new information - an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington, according to Reuters.

The disappearance of the Malaysian flight is one of the most baffling mysteries in the history of modern aviation. In an age where most of the world is under surveillance, there has been no trace of the plane nor any sign of wreckage.

Faint electric pulses from the aircraft after it went missing on Saturday were picked up by satellites, but investigators were not able to determine where the jet was heading or its fate using those signals.

Reuters reported that Malaysian authorities have said the last civilian contact occurred as the now-missing plane flew north into the Gulf of Thailand.

"They said military radar sightings indicated it may have turned sharply to the west and crossed the Malay Peninsula toward the Andaman Sea," Reuters reported.

Malaysian officials denied reprots that the missing plane had continued to send technical data earlier and said there was no evidence that it flew for hours after losing contact with air traffic controllers early last Saturday.

"It's extraordinary that with all the technology that we've got that an aircraft can disappear like this," Tony Tyler, the head of the International Air Transport Association that links over 90 percent of the world's airlines, told reporters in London.

Malaysian police are investigating whether any passengers or crew on the plane had personal or psychological problems that might shed light on the mystery, along with the possibility of a hijacking, sabotage, or possible a supernatural occurence.