Story highlights Australian authorities direct satellites to capture images of new area

Four search aircraft are currently over the new search area

Analysts say shift in search area could show investigators are closing in

Search area shifts after a "new credible lead" about the plane's speed

Search teams shifted to a different part of the Indian Ocean Friday in their hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane after "a new credible lead," authorities said.

An analysis of radar data led investigators to move the search to an area 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) to the northeast, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said, calling the new information "the most credible lead to where debris may be located."

"It indicated that the aircraft was traveling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance the aircraft traveled south into the Indian Ocean," the authority said in a statement.

Four search aircraft are now over the new area, with six more due to fly there over the course of Friday, said John Young, the authority's general manager of emergency response.

The renewed search for Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean comes a day after Japan and Thailand both said they'd sent new satellite images to Malaysia showing separate debris fields that could be related to the plane, which vanished March 8 with 239 people aboard.

Photos: The search for MH370 Photos: The search for MH370 Two years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing, a relative of one of the passengers burns incense in Beijing on March 8, 2016. Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, as it flew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. Hide Caption 1 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On July 29, police carry a piece of debris on Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. A week later, authorities confirmed that the debris was from the missing flight. Hide Caption 2 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Staff members with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examine a piece of aircraft debris at their laboratory in Canberra, Australia, on July 20. The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had said it was highly likely to have come from Flight 370. Experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, confirmed that the part was indeed from the missing aircraft. Hide Caption 3 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 In late February, American tourist Blaine Gibson found a piece of plane debris off Mozambique, a discovery that renewed hope of solving the mystery of the missing flight. The piece measured 35 inches by 22 inches. A U.S. official said it was likely the wreckage came from a Boeing 777, which MH370 was. Hide Caption 4 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of the flight's passengers console each other outside the Malaysia Airlines office in Subang, Malaysia, on February 12, 2015. Protesters had demanded that the airline withdraw the statement that all 239 people aboard the plane were dead. Hide Caption 5 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A police officer watches a couple cry outside the airline's office building in Beijing after officials refused to meet with them on June 11, 2014. The couple's son was on the plane. Hide Caption 6 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the media scramble to speak with Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department, at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 27, 2014. Data from communications between satellites and the missing flight was released the day before, more than two months after relatives of passengers said they requested it be made public. Hide Caption 7 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Operators aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield move Bluefin-21, the U.S. Navy's autonomous underwater vehicle, into position to search for the jet on April 14, 2014. Hide Caption 8 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks out of a window while searching for debris off the coast of western Australia on April 13, 2014. Hide Caption 9 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The HMS Echo, a vessel with the British Roya; Navy, moves through the waters of the southern Indian Ocean on April 12, 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, on a mission to drop sonar buoys to assist in the search, flies past the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 9, 2014. Hide Caption 11 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of a missing passenger cries at a vigil in Beijing on April 8, 2014. Hide Caption 12 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Australian Defense Force divers scan the water for debris in the southern Indian Ocean on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 13 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A towed pinger locator is readied to be deployed off the deck of the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 14 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks at a flare in the Indian Ocean during search operations on April 4, 2014. Hide Caption 15 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 30, 2014, a woman in Kuala Lumpur prepares for an event in honor of those aboard Flight 370. Hide Caption 16 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The sole representative for the families of Flight 370 passengers leaves a conference at a Beijing hotel on March 28, 2014, after other relatives left en masse to protest the Malaysian government's response to their questions. Hide Caption 17 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal Australian Air Force is silhouetted against the southern Indian Ocean during the search for the missing jet on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 18 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Flight Lt. Jayson Nichols looks at a map aboard a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft during a search on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 19 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 People in Kuala Lumpur light candles during a ceremony held for the missing flight's passengers on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 20 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, delivers a statement about the flight on March 24, 2014. Razak's announcement came after the airline sent a text message to relatives saying it "deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH 370 has been lost and that none of those onboard survived." Hide Caption 21 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Grieving relatives of missing passengers leave a hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. Hide Caption 22 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A passenger views a weather map in the departures terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 22, 2014. Hide Caption 23 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Chinese satellite captured this image, released on March 22, 2014, of a floating object in the Indian Ocean, according to China's State Administration of Science. It was a possible lead in the search for the missing plane. Surveillance planes were looking for two objects spotted by satellite imagery in remote, treacherous waters more than 1,400 miles from the west coast of Australia. Hide Caption 24 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Satellite imagery provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on March 20, 2014, showed debris in the southern Indian Ocean that could have been from Flight 370. The announcement by Australian officials raised hopes of a breakthrough in the frustrating search. Hide Caption 25 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Another satellite shot provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority shows possible debris from the flight. Hide Caption 26 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A distraught relative of a missing passenger breaks down while talking to reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 19, 2014. Hide Caption 27 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 18, 2014, a relative of a missing passenger tells reporters in Beijing about a hunger strike to protest authorities' handling of information about the missing jet. Hide Caption 28 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 U.S. Navy crew members assist in search-and-rescue operations in the Indian Ocean on March 16, 2014. Hide Caption 29 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the Chinese navy continue search operations on March 13, 2014. After starting in the sea between Malaysia and Vietnam, the plane's last confirmed location, search efforts expanded west into the Indian Ocean. Hide Caption 30 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese military official looks out an aircraft window during search operations March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 31 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian air force members look for debris near Kuala Lumpur on March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 32 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of missing passengers wait for the latest news at a hotel in Beijing on March 12, 2014. Hide Caption 33 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Vietnamese air force checks a map while searching for the missing plane on March 11, 2014. Hide Caption 34 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese air force plane found traces of oil that authorities had suspected to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the Vietnamese government online newspaper reported on March 8, 2014. However, a sample from the slick showed it was bunker oil, typically used to power large cargo ships, Malaysia's state news agency, Bernama, reported on March 10, 2014. Hide Caption 35 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter lands aboard the USS Pinckney to change crews on March 9, 2014, before returning to search for the missing plane in the Gulf of Thailand. Hide Caption 36 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Buddhist monks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport offer a special prayer for the missing passengers on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 37 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of a Chinese emergency response team board a rescue vessel at the port of Sanya in China's Hainan province on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 38 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The rescue vessel sets out from Sanya in the South China Sea on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 39 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives to meet family members of missing passengers at the reception center at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 40 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of two missing passengers reacts at their home in Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 41 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Chinese police at the Beijing airport stand beside the arrival board showing delayed Flight 370 in red on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 42 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Juahari Yahya, front, speaks during a news conference at a hotel in Sepang on March 8, 2014. "We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts" with the jet, he said. Hide Caption 43 of 43

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Analysts said the search area shift could be a sign that investigators are closing in on the missing plane's whereabouts.

"With this development, perhaps they're able to hone in on the more accurate altitude," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

That, experts said, could bring investigators closer to determining what happened aboard the plane, what caused it to veer off course and where it ended up.

Satellite images raise hope

In addition to the Japanese and Thai satellite images, Malaysian officials announced Wednesday that a French satellite had found 122 pieces of something floating nearby.

It's enough to make you wonder: Have they found that proverbial haystack inside which they'll find the well-hidden wreckage?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Search teams will have at least one more plane in their fleet starting Friday, when a second U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon will fly from Okinawa, Japan, to Perth, Australia, to join the hunt for the missing aircraft.

"From the pilot and the aircrew perspective, they are optimistic," said Cmdr. William Marks of the U.S. 7th Fleet. "I know every day, when they launch a flight, they have a good feeling about finding something. But the satellite imagery hasn't been conclusive."

There's one thing that Marks said would be a defining moment in the search: visual confirmation from the search crews at sea.

While analysts say it's intriguing that the finds all appear to be in the same general area, searchers have yet to lay eyes on any of the objects, much less haul one aboard a ship and examine it.

Satellite images that have been followed up on have not produced any sightings for search teams, said Young of the Australian maritime authority. "That may change in the future," he added.

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The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation is directing satellites to capture images of the new area, authorities said.

Stephen Wood, a former CIA analyst and satellite imagery expert, said the satellites could be seeing something as simple as whitecaps, which he said can look deceptively like solid objects.

CNN aviation analyst Jeff Wise said that while the latest find is "very enticing," the number and size of the objects make him question whether they could be from the plane.

"If you see something floating that's 60 feet across, that could be a big chunk of fuselage," he said. "But if you have 10 pieces that are 60 feet across, that would indicate that they're not from the plane, because the plane has only so much stuff in it."

But Miles O'Brien, another CNN aviation analyst, said what he sees on the latest satellite images doesn't look like everyday garbage to him.

"What I see there is something that seems to be somewhat metallic and shiny. Looks like airplane wreckage to me. I also see some surfaces that look like they're aerodynamic."

Geoffrey Thomas, an aviation expert and editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.com, said he doesn't have any doubts about the satellite images.

"The debris pictures we're getting now, they absolutely have to be wreckage from this airplane," he told CNN's "Piers Morgan Live." "They're too big, there's too many of them. And certainly, we get debris in the ocean, unfortunately, but not of this scale, not of this size."

Authorities, he said, must know more than they're letting on.

"I think they know exactly that this is the airplane," he said. "And hopefully, in a few days, we're going to get someone picking a piece up out of the water and saying, 'This is it.'"

Loved ones holding out hope

With no physical evidence pointing to what happened to the plane, loved ones of the passengers onboard have said they're still holding out hope.

Sarah Bajc, the partner of American passenger Philip Wood, said she's not convinced by the authorities' argument that an analysis of satellite data shows that there were no survivors.

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The plane, she told CNN's "Erin Burnett Out Front," could have landed somewhere.

"I do believe it's still a possibility, because there's no contradictory evidence to that being a possibility. Even the satellite data that's been pushed forward to show or to demonstrate that the flight took the southerly route, they're really just still guessing," she said. "I mean, this is not something that anybody has ever done before. So, you know, as brilliant as those mathematicians are, they don't really know. They're only analyzing the data that they have. They don't really know for certain."

The confusion has left many family members of missing passengers and crew increasingly frustrated. Some have accused Malaysian authorities of failing to keep them properly informed. Others have accused officials of lying or covering up facts.

Bajc said she first learned that authorities believed there were no survivors from a text message Malaysia Airlines sent to passengers' families.

"The wording of the message led me to believe that they were going to be giving evidence that it was found, right? That there were bodies ... and then all he did is say they've extrapolated the data and they're sure that it went into the water. I mean, I think that was extremely irresponsible."

Concerns about weather, currents

Malaysian officials have defended their handling of the situation, arguing that they've released information as soon as possible to families and the public.

In recent days, authorities' announcements have focused on the satellite images. Now the search is on for the physical evidence to back them up.

The Thai images show about 300 objects ranging in size from 6 feet (2 meters) to 50 feet (15 meters). When photographed Monday, they were about 125 miles (201 kilometers) away from the spot where a French satellite captured a floating group of objects Sunday.

The Japanese images were taken Wednesday and show about 10 objects floating in a six-mile (10 kilometer) radius some 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) off the west coast of Australia, according to the Japanese Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.

The biggest object was square and measured some 13 feet by 26 feet (4 meters to 8 meters), the agency said.

The finds come after news Wednesday that a French satellite had seen 122 objects in the same region and follows earlier sightings by U.S., Chinese and another French satellite.

Planes are set to try to find the materials and figure out what they are on Friday after rough weather in the remote spot once again delayed search efforts Thursday.

By then, experts say, these objects could have drifted hundreds of miles in the complex currents of the Indian Ocean.

'I understand him'

Meanwhile, the youngest son of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah has broken his family's silence on the plane's disappearance, rejecting speculation that the longtime aviator was somehow responsible.

"I've read everything online. But I've ignored all the speculation. I know my father better," Ahmad Seth Zaharie, 26, said in an interview published Thursday by the New Straits Times, an English-language Malaysian newspaper

The idea that Zaharie or co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid were responsible for the plane's baffling disappearance is one of many theories investigators continue to pursue.

One line of speculation suggests Zaharie might have hijacked the plane as a political act. He has been identified as a supporter of a high-profile Malaysian opposition figure.

His son rejected such theories.

"We may not be as close, as he travels so much. But I understand him," he said of his father in the interview, which was conducted Tuesday.

Comments from government officials on the investigation so far support the son's view.

A senior Malaysian government official Wednesday told CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes that authorities have found nothing in 19 days of investigating the two pilots that leads them to any motive, be it political, suicidal or extremist.

And an ongoing FBI review of the two pilots' hard drives, including one in a flight simulator Zaharie had built at his home, has not turned up a "smoking gun," a U.S. official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

"They have accessed the data," the official said. "There is nothing that's jumping out and grabbing us right now."

And investigators haven't found anything suspicious with any of the other crew members or passengers, leaving them struggling to find an explanation.

"I don't think there is a prevailing theory," one U.S. official told CNN. "There are counterarguments to every theory right now."