Sydney: The missing Malaysian plane was "highly likely" to have been on autopilot as it flew over the Indian Ocean, Australian officials today said, as they decided to focus further south to locate the plane that vanished mysteriously over three months back.

After analysing data between the plane and a satellite, officials believe Flight MH370 was on autopilot before it disappeared along with 239 people, including five Indians, on board on March 8 after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.