SYDNEY - After 20 months of frantic searching, missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 could be found in a matter of months after the hunt switched to an area identified by a British Boeing 777 captain.

Captain Simon Hardy's theory, claimed as credible by Australian investigators, is based on the assumption that the MH370 made a controlled ditch into the sea after making a series of turns overlooking Penang Island.

Australian authorities confirmed two search vessels had arrived in the area of Hardy's proposed location last week, that's within the greater operations area, and will continue to search the area during the November-December period, News Corp reported on Monday.

"I am fairly confident that wreckage will be found within the next four to eight weeks," Hardy told News Corp.

The March 2014 disappearance of MH370 while en-route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew has been puzzling the world's aviation industry ever since.

The search effort has involved more than two dozen countries contributing planes, ships, submarines and satellites.

The team discovered a piece of wing flap on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean earlier this year, believed to be a part of the missing Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 jet.

The change in search area comes as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China would provide Australia with 20 million Australian dollars of additional search funds.