WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says finding out what happened to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane is a top priority for the U.S.

In his first public comments on the mind-boggling disappearance, Obama said Wednesday that every available U.S. resource is being used in the search, including the FBI, the National Transportation Safety Board and others who deal with aviation. Finding the plane will take time because the search area is so vast, he said, but the U.S. will continue working in close cooperation with the Malaysian government, which is leading the investigation, “to see if we can get to the bottom of this.”