Evidence of a conspiracy? American firm says they found the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 on ocean floor, so why won't anybody take a second look?

ATSB says firm lost bid to search for MH370.

An American firm, reviewing recently released sonar images taken in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370, says a possible debris field has been found, and needs a second look. However, Australian and Malaysian authorities are dismissing the find as a simple feature of geology and refuse to look again. The American firm is not associated with the search effort.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Sonar images publicly released by the Australian Transportation Safety Board (ATSB) and analyzed by the American firm, Williamson & Associates, based in Seattle, appear to show what could be a high-impact debris field, similar to the field associated with Air France 447 that went down in the deep Atlantic in 2009.

Despite the find however, authorities in charge of the search are far from excited. The ATSB even went so far as to call the claims, "unprofessional."

In a statement issued last week, the ASTB said, "We consider it unprofessional to draw conclusions based on the limited information provided by the images in the search update report. There are no indications that there is anything possessing the characteristics of an aircraft debris field and therefore a visual imaging run at very low altitude was unnecessary. We know that this kind of public commentary is very distressing for the families of those on board the aircraft."

What has shown up in the images has been dismissed as a geologic feature by Australian and Malaysian authorities, but experts from Williamson & Associates rebut that the Australians do not have the "specific skill set" to interpret the images.

The images were in fact captured and reviewed by the Dutch firm, Furgo NV, which beat out Williamson & Associates for the contract to begin with. Williamson & Associates claims Furgo NV is using the wrong technology for the search and the images were being reviewed by inexperienced personnel.

The Americans want a camera to be deployed to take close-up images of the possible debris field in order to rule out the possibility that it is wreckage. However, the Australian and Malaysian authorities in charge of the search are concerned about the cost and time needed to go back for a detailed look. It may be they are expecting to see larger pieces of an aircraft fuselage.

They also suspect the American objection is a form of "sour grapes" because Williamson & Associates was not awarded the contract.

The ATSB have said some sites would get a second look, but did not indicate if the site in question is one of those slated for a second look.

So far, just one piece of the plane has been recovered, a flaperon was found washed ashore on Reunion Island in July. French authorities confirmed the flaperon was from the doomed flight. No other physical evidence has been recovered. The bit of debris only confirms the plane went down in the Indian Ocean.

It is hoped the ATSB will agree to take a closer look at the site in question, even if just so the families have peace of mind, and so that Furgo NV and Williamson & Associates can resolve what could otherwise become a professional feud in a small market.

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