Metal Found in Search for Missing Jet

Indonesian first lieutenant Meka Ediyanto , left, uses binoculars, alongside Singaporean military master sergeant Ng Meng Thiam, right,inside a Singaporean Fokker 50 , Sunday Jan 7, 2007 as they search for the missing aircraft. Indonesia stepped up efforts Sunday to locate a jetliner that disappeared with 102 people on board nearly a week ago, adding hundreds of soldiers and six helicopters to the search and rescue mission. (AP Photo/ Achmad Ibrahim) (Achmad Ibrahim - AP)

MAKASSAR, Indonesia -- The U.S. Navy will scour the western coast off Sulawesi Island on Tuesday in search of the wreckage of a Boeing 737 jetliner that disappeared in a storm more than a week ago with 102 passengers onboard, official said.

The USNS Mary Sears will use ocean floor mapping technology to determine whether metal detected at three coastal locations _ at a depth of nearly 5,000 feet to 6,500 feet in the Marassar Strait _ could be Adam Air flight KI574.

"If that metal turns out to be what we are looking for, then thanks be to God," said Gatot Sudijanto, a Navy spokesman.

Commodore Eddy Suyanto, head of the search and rescue effort, said planes and helicopters will continue to hunt by air, along with thousands of army and police officers combing the northern island's dense jungle interior on foot.

The airplane left Java island for the North Sulawesi provincial capital of Manado on New Year's Day, but experienced 80 mph winds and storms halfway through the two-hour flight, twice forcing it to change course, officials said.

The pilot did not issue a mayday or report technical problems before the plane dropped off the radar over the western coastal town of Majene.

With no emergency location signal to guide search efforts, more than 3,600 soldiers, police and volunteers have fanned out over a 30,000 sq. mile swath of Sulawesi.

Indonesia said it welcomed all international assistance in the search.

Singapore has been providing aerial surveys and a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board team arrived Friday, along with representatives from Boeing, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and General Electric, to help investigate.

In addition to the Navy, authorities were also viewing satellite imagery of the island in the United States, said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Shannon Quinn.

Three Americans, a man from Oregon and his two daughters, were among the plane's 96 passengers. It was not clear if any other foreigners were on board.

A day after the plane disappeared, authorities wrongly said they found the jet's charred wreckage and that there were 12 survivors, causing anguish for family members.

Adam Air is one of about 30 budget carriers that sprang up in Indonesia after the industry was deregulated in 1998. The rapid expansion has led to cheap flights throughout Indonesia, but has raised concerns about maintenance of the leased planes.