New Strategy in Flight 370 Search
FEYERICK: Big changes in the hunt for Flight 370. A massive task just got a whole lot bigger. A new search zone some 150 times the size of the search that was just completed, that little yellow square you see? Well, this new phase of the search would be almost entirely underwater. The air part of the investigation, the jets, the planes, that's about to be called off. Private contractors are being brought in to help. Some officials say new technology will be employed, but it could still take months, up to eight months exactly, to complete. The sister of one of the passengers says an expansion is just not enough.</s>CHEW KAR HUI, SISTER OF PASSENGER: They can say hopeless or how -- because I think they really waste a lot of time. In this</s>FEYERICK: And joining me now, Rob McCallum, aviation analyst, ocean search specialist and expedition leader. And, Rob, is she right that it's time to go back to square one, bring in new eyes to reevaluate everything, all the data that has so far been available?</s>ROB MCCALLUM, CNN ANALYST: She's on the right track. And I think, you know, at the moment, because of the lack of physical evidence, the lack of debris, if you like, that now is the time to look at the Inmarsat data. I understand it's being looked at by many different agencies, and all have agreed that this is consistent and absolutely the best path to follow. But the bit that needs reevaluating is the information that led us to believe in the beginning that these were the location of the pingers. If the pingers are not found in those locations, then we either have to reanalyze the data from the Bluefin to make sure nothing was missed or accept that, for whatever reason, those pingers were never there.</s>FEYERICK: So, Malaysia's first 370 report is due out this week. Should Malaysia continue its role as the lead investigative unit or should they get somebody else to possibly take charge? There are a lot of experts looking at this. But is it time to perhaps bring in somebody with a different perspective?</s>MCCALLUM: I don't believe that Malaysia is trying to hide anything. You have seen in the news this week with President Obama's visit there is an open book policy essentially going forward. But the investigative process is separate to the process that -- the operational leg if you like of actually looking underwater for the wreckage. And I think both -- as long as both of those processes are followed in an open way, then the relatives will find what they're looking for.</s>FEYERICK: And as for the search, Rob, what sort of fresh ideas would you be looking for if you were leading this search? For example, is there a possibility the plane is buried underneath that thick silt that's there? Weather, that's going to be worse. Should we be waiting simply for pieces to wash up on shore? What new areas would you be considering now to try to find this plane?</s>MCCALLUM: I don't think the concerns about silt are valid at all. The wreckage will be sitting on top of any silt that may be down there, which is unlikely to very much at all. I think you're seeing the next phase play out already. The search controllers have made it very clear that they're going wider. That's going to require tools that can cover a greater area of the ocean per day, perhaps 10 times as much as the Bluefin. And you're also hearing them acknowledge that cost is an issue and that it's now time to be responsible to taxpayer concerns, if you like, and make sure that anything that is done is efficient. And that's why they are looking at commercial contractors.</s>FEYERICK: OK. Well, Rob McCallum, thank you very much. We're still keeping an eye on this. And coming up, we're also keeping a close eye on the weather, more severe storms expected tonight; 16 people were killed last night when tornadoes touched down across several states. We will take you live to one of the hardest-hit places. Plus, racist comments reportedly made by L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling have some companies already cutting ties with the team. But what can the NBA do to make sure this never happens again? Coming up next.