Distrust as China seeks satellite’s data on jet

China demanded yesterday that Malaysia turn over the satellite data used to conclude that a Malaysia Airlines jetliner had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, killing 239.

Officials sharply narrowed the search area as a result of that assessment, but the zone remains almost as large as France and Britain combined.

Australia said improved weather would allow the hunt to resume today after gale-force winds and heavy rain forced a day-long delay. Searchers face a daunting task. “We’re not searching for a needle in a haystack — we’re still trying to define where the haystack is,” Australia’s deputy defence chief, Air Marshal Mark Binskin, told reporters at a military base in Perth.