MH370 Search to Double If Jet Not Found

Authorities said Thursday the search area for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will widen to include an additional 23,000 square miles in the Indian Ocean if the plane is not found by May. Malaysia, Australia, and China, the countries leading the effort, have combed 61 percent of the 23,000-square-mile search area and the remaining 39 percent will be completed by the end of May, said Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai. Liow added the two combined areas would cover 95 percent of the jetliner’s flight path. The plane went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.