missing airliner may have flown for several hours after the last radar reading was taken. the hunt for the missing airliner is expanding to the west. the u.s. navy may send a destroyer to the strait, leading to the vast indian ocean where the white house now says a new search area may be open. during a search of clouded confusion and false leads turning into dead ends, anxious families grow even more desperate. we're taking a look at the role of the malaysian government giving conflicting accounts and holding back critical information. we have the kind of coverage only cnn can deliver. our correspondents are standing by along with our analysts and experts. let's begin with barbara starr. she has new information. b barbara? >> wolf, u.s. officials are working with malaysians and there are pings, signals that they believe very strongly came from this aircraft as it was