The crew of a New Zealand Airforce Orion will resume their search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane on Sunday, after a 10 hour search on Friday night.
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says the passenger jet that vanished a week ago did turn back and fly across the top of Malaysia and into the Indian Ocean.
The search for the plane has been re-focussed on the seas west of the Malay Peninsula.
Analysis of Malaysian military radar signals and additional satellite data indicates the Boeing 777 radically changed course and headed northwest, on the side of Malaysia being searched by the New Zealand plane.
A senior Malaysian military official says a "skilled, competent" pilot was at the controls, and appeared to have studied how to avoid civilian radar.
The Orion crew is working with other search crews from Malaysia, the United States and Australia, checking an area west of Malaysia for any sign of the plane, which disappeared seven days ago with 239 people on board.
A total of 43 ships and 48 planes from 14 countries are searching on both sides of the Malay Peninsula.
The commander, Joint Forces New Zealand, Air Vice Marshall Kevin Short, says searchers are hoping to find even a small piece of wreckage so they can then concentrate on one particular area.
Air Vice Marshall Kevin Short says the Orion crew will stay in the search area until Friday when their involvement in the operation will be reviewed.
