A Sea Hawk helicopter from Royal Australia Air Force C-17 is helping with the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Credit:AP It is the closest city to where the plane is believed to have gone into the water, and that this view is being put to authorities in Kuala Lumpur. Under the arrangement, Malaysian investigators would travel to Australia to carry out any work on the wreckage. Malaysia would still lead the investigation but would be assisted by counterparts from Australia, Britain and the US. International conventions covering aviation accidents require the country of origin of the aircraft to launch an investigation and secure the wreckage - in this case Malaysia. But Australia has the facilities in Canberra to download the data from the black box flight recorder. In the region, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan have this capability, but it is understood that Malaysia does not.

Indeed, Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan stressed on Friday that any wreckage recovered needed initially to be brought to Australia. Mr Dolan told reporters: ''Any wreckage that is obtained, we will hold on behalf of the Malaysian investigation team and await their instructions. We're in continual discussion with the Malaysians about progress on the search and we will continue to discuss with them the handling of the wreckage as and when it comes to hand.'' Mr Dolan said any country that picks up wreckage would have to hand it over to Australian authorities, which are being led by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Australian authorities have expressed willingness to reassemble the wreckage. The new search zone is well away from debris picked up by a variety of satellites.

It is understood that a diplomatic note has been circulated to all countries involved in the search reminding them that all wreckage recovered should be brought to Australia, a directive apparently aimed at the Chinese. As of Friday, HMAS Success was the only Royal Australian Navy ship in the search area, along with five Chinese naval ships. The new focus of the search - now 1100 kilometres north-east of the previous search zone and 1850 kilometres due west of Perth - was based on Australian analysis of radar and satellite data, cross-checked against information about MH370's performance capability. The new search area was mapped out on Friday after data indicated the aircraft was travelling faster than previously estimated, meaning it would have burnt fuel more quickly and crashed earlier. The 10 aircraft and six ships deployed in the search were re-directed to the new search area, and the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation is re-tasking satellites to image the new area, AMSA's John Young said. The new search zone is well away from debris picked up by a variety of satellites - US, Chinese, French, Thai and Japanese - that underpinned a fruitless search for more than a week.

Indeed, Mr Young said that the satellite images were almost certainly not debris from the plane, and perhaps not even debris at all. Three weeks into the disappearance of the plane, the markedly different search zone will likely further anger families waiting for news. However, Mr Young said such changes were typical of these operations. ''I don't count the original work a waste of time,'' he said. At 319,000 square kilometres, the new search area is four times larger than Thursday's zone. But, being further north, the weather should be a lot calmer than the "roaring 40s" of the deep southern Indian Ocean where efforts had been concentrated. The plane's flight recorder - which will contain the last two hours of cockpit conversation plus a welter of flight data - is the key to solving the puzzle of its disappearance. A towed pinger locator is expected to be deployed this weekend to find the black box, which is thought to have barely a week left of batteries to power its beacon. The announcement by Malaysian authorities that they would not start the inquiry without the black box prompted angry debate in Malaysia's parliament as opposition MPs demanded the formation of a royal commission or setting up of a select parliamentary committee.

A group of about 20 Chinese relatives of passengers who have been staying in Kuala Lumpur have called for the setting up of an inquiry by China. They have handed a petition to China's special envoy Zhang Yesui urging the Chinese government to "investigate the truth" behind what happened to their loved ones. The petition also demanded that Malaysia apologise to relatives. Shahidan Kassim, a minister in Malaysia's prime minister's department, said the timing of establishing an inquiry was seriously considered by the government. But he said locating the black box is of the "upmost importance" as the government is aware of negative foreign media reports against Malaysia.

Loading Malaysia says analysis of satellite data shows the plane must have crashed into the far reaches of the Indian Ocean on March 8. With AAP.