US \\\'black box\\\' detector joins MH370 ocean search

PERTH, Apr 4, (AFP): A US Navy "black box" detector made its much-anticipated debut in the oceanic hunt for flight MH370 on Friday but Australia's search chief warned it was crunch time with the box's signal set to expire soon.

As the extensive search wore on, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he believed the country's long-ruling regime was concealing information on the crisis, saying "the government knows more than us."

The Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield arrived with a "towed pinger locator" capable of homing in on signals from the black box, as 14 planes scoured the remote Indian Ocean search area for signs of a crash site.

The plane disappeared March 8, and Australian authorities coordinating the search have rushed the device into place with the black box's roughly 30-day location signal set to expire.

Angus Houston, Australia's former military chief and now coordinator of the eight-nation search, said "we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might expire."

The plane went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, confounding aviation experts and sparking criticism of Malaysian authorities who have been unable to explain how the jumbo jet vanished.

Anwar said he was "baffled" by the Malaysian military's failure despite detecting the plane crossing back over the country's airspace following its mysterious detour.

"Unfortunately the manner in which this was handled after the first few days was clearly suspect," Anwar said in an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph.