#RememberingMH370: MH370 went down in Southern Indian Ocean - Page 149

Australian PM on missing flight #MH370: Four aircraft have been sent to locate the objects, first aircraft deployed should be on scene now.
: The objects are of "reasonable size" and are bobbing up and down on the surface of the water, Australian official says.
Australia: Weather conditions are moderate where the search is going on, poor visibility
One object estimated to be "larger than 24 metres": Australia Maritime Safety Authority http://t.co/IOFqDBJL2E (http://t.co/Dk7sTKM2rI)
#AMSA: Assessment of satellite imagery say objects in search area but not known if it is related to #MH370.
#AMSA: Largest 'object' sighted in #MH370 search is 24 metres (AFP)
#MH370 "It is probably the best lead we have right now. But we need to get there, find them, see them," official says.
Edited by awesomegurti - 10 years ago

WASHINGTON " Even if searchers are fortunate enough to spot floating debris in the ocean west of Australia from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, it would be only a modest step in locating the rest of the Boeing 777, according to oceanographers and recovery experts. And only then could they dig into the question of why it crashed.

Almost two weeks after a crash, there is certain to be less of the debris on the surface, and what remains is more dispersed and farther from the clues that investigators really want, in the wreckage that has sunk beneath the waves, experts say.

The delay in finding any wreckage on the surface will "create a cone of uncertainty, which is going to be bigger with time," said Luca Centurioni, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and the director of the Global Drifter Program there. "The more time goes by, the more difficult it will be to try to go back to the point of impact with the ocean."

The amount of debris and degree of dispersion would depend in part on the circumstances of a crash. "A gentle landing on a smooth sea with mild currents keeps the debris field more intact," David G. Gallo, director of special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said in an email. "A high-velocity impact or midair breakup on a stormy sea will scatter objects much more."

In the case of Air France Flight 447 " which came down in the equatorial Atlantic in June 2009 while traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris " searchers found debris after five days, and experts estimated that the impact site was 15 miles away. It turned out to be 30 miles away, and in a different direction, said Michael J. Purcell, the principal engineer at Woods Hole, who spent months on that search. If the Air France case is any guide, Malaysia Airlines debris could have drifted hundreds of miles.

Median ocean current speed is about a foot per second, said Mr. Centurioni, which comes to about 16 miles a day. The tropics are a bit slower; the Air France wreckage was moving at about 10 miles per day, Mr. Purcell said. Average speed at the site of any Malaysia Airlines crash would depend on where that airliner went down. Some debris would be pushed more by wind than current, and the wind could be moving in the same direction as the current, or against it.

Some parts of airplanes, like seat back cushions, are designed to float. Aluminum parts with air trapped inside will tend to sink in rough seas. Planes like the Boeing 777, the type in the Malaysia flight, or the Airbus A330, in the case of the Air France crash, make major use of composite materials, and some of those are in the form of a honeycomb using light materials with air trapped inside. Those parts will float for some time, as the tail of Air France Flight 447 did, and the tail of the American Airlines A300 jet that crashed shortly after takeoff from Kennedy International Airport in November 2001.

The searchers, flying in various aircraft but notably in airplanes designed to hunt enemy submarines, are using infrared scanners, which detect minute temperature differences between the water and debris, as well as radar. They make low passes at hundreds of miles per hour.


Graphic | The Search Area West of Australia New computer models of possible flight paths suggested that the plane may have gone down in the southern Indian Ocean when it ran out of fuel.
If the airplane searches locate floating debris, and oceanographers calculate where it originated, the next step would be to use robot submarines to scrutinize the ocean floor. Mr. Purcell said the Woods Hole drone submarines, like the Remus 6000, travel about four miles per hour, covering a little less than a mile in width if the sea floor is smooth. They were not built with this purpose in mind. (In fact, this week the Remus 6000 was gathering clam larvae, Mr. Purcell said.)

In search work, the submarines follow a pattern like a lawn mower, laboriously tracing back and forth. The search area is now over two million square nautical miles, but would have to be narrowed to about 5,000 square miles before it would be sensible to use the submarines, he said.

The cockpit voice recorder, important in any investigation and crucial when a hijacking or other crime is suspected, would probably not be useful, one investigator said, because it is a two-hour loop, and the plane flew for hours after leaving its planned route. The boxes originally captured 30 minutes, on a loop of audiotape, but in 1999 the Federal Aviation Administration endorsed the idea of going to two hours. The recording is now on microchips.

praying  for MH370

MH370: Aussie maritime says objects, one 24 meters, 'best lead so far'

Australia is investigating two objects seen on satellite images that could potentially be linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, officials say.

Planes and ships from Australia, New Zealand and the US were heading to the area 2,500km (1,550 miles) south-west of Perth to search for the objects.

The largest appeared to be 24m in size, maritime authorities said, but warned they could be unrelated to the plane.

Australia has been searching in the southern Indian Ocean for the aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March when it lost contact with air traffic controllers. A total of 239 people were on board.

Twenty-six nations have been involved in a major search for the missing plane, which Malaysia says was intentionally diverted.

Investigators have been scrutinising the backgrounds of both the crew and the passengers, but have so far identified no evidence of terror or other potentially relevant links.

A number of sightings of possible debris have been investigated in the course of the search but so far none have proved to be linked.

really dont understand why cant they check and verify first before reporting/speculating about any debris spotted as possibly related.😳

just imagine the rollercoaster of  emotions of the family members  with this kind of reporting

KUALA LUMPUR: Australian authorities believe that two objects - one as wide as 24 meters - picked up by satellites in the southern Indian Ocean were credible enough' clues to divert a full-scale search for Flight MH370 to the area.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) on Thursday, however, cautioned that a search for these objects at sea was a difficult task and could turn up negative, as shown in past experiences.

"The objects are relatively indistinct. The indication to me is of objects that are of a reasonable size and probably awash with water and bobbing up and down over the surface," AMSA emergency response division general manager John Young Young said in a press conference aired live today.

Asked if there were any form of markings' that indicate that the objects could be from an aircraft, Young said that the imagery was not that precise', describing one of the images as simply a "blob".

The discovery of the two objects marks a potential breakthrough in the search for the aircraft and its 239 passengers and crew.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced in parliament this morning that this was "new and credible information".

This development came after Australian commercial satellites captured images of several large objects in the ocean off Western Australia, and expert assessment of the satellite imagery by Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation decided that it was credible enough to warrant a full-scale search by aircraft and ships.

So far, four aircrafts have been dispatched to the area, which is some 2,500 km south-west of Perth.

One Australian aircraft is already at the location. The three others aircraft is also being been deployed - including a New Zealand Air Force Orion and a US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft. Another Australian Orion is scheduled to depart later in the evening. A merchant ship is also expected to arrive at the area.

An Australian C-130 Hercules aircraft has been tasked by RCC Australia to drop datum marker buoys, which can provide information about water movement to assist in drift modeling.

"They will provide an ongoing reference point if the task of relocating the objects becomes protracted," said AMSA.

Meanwhile, Young said that this was the best lead' so far, though the results can only be confirmed when the objects are sighted up close'.

"This is a lead, this is probably the best lead we have right now, but we need to get there, to find them, see them, and asses them, to see whether it is meaningful or not," Young said.

AMSA said weather conditions at the area are reportedly moderate while visibility was poor'.




on what basis ?  😕
Edited by sahil70 - 10 years ago

i hope the passengers and crew return safely to there homes.Edited by rs12345 - 10 years ago

My heart goes out for victims's family and loved ones.