MH370 search heads to remote part of Indian Ocean

Plane and ships from Australia, New Zealand, the US, China, Norway and the UK are heading to, or have arrived at, the remote location where two large objects were seen.

On Thursday morning it was announced that satellite imagery had located the two objects – something that was described by Malaysia’s transport minister as a “positive development”.

The Norwegian car carrier Hoegh St Petersburg was one of the first ships to arrive in the area. Responding to a request from Australian authorities to assist in the investigation of the objects, the ship arrived at 8am (GMT).

It’s credible enough to divert the research to this area on the basis it provides a promising lead to what might be wreckage from the debris field Commodore John McGarry

An Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane is already at the scene, John Young, general manager of the emergency response division of Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), told a news conference on Thursday (see video, below).

The AP-3C Orion includes a range of intelligence gathering systems including radar, acoustic systems, and electro-optical and infrared system and signals intelligence systems.

Three more aircraft were also on their way, including a New Zealand Air Force Orion and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon, the world’s most advanced maritime surveillance plane – journalists travelling on the Poseidon were required to hand over any mobiles, cameras or recording devices before being allowed on board the plane which has top-secret electronic equipment.

The Ministry of Defence is sending HMS Echo to the location – 1,500 miles south of the Australian city of Perth (see graphic, below).

HMS Echo is a hydrographic (exploration of oceans) survey ship which has a range of sonar equipment on board including a remote survey motor boat equipped with sonar.

China, whose citizens made up about two-thirds of the passengers on board the flight, said it was also sending ships to the area of the sighting.

The Chinese icebreaker for Antarctic research, Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, is anchorerd in Perth, and reports said it was ready to depart for the area once it receives orders from Beijing.

Next steps

If the debris is confirmed to have come from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, the race will then be on to find the submerged plane.

David Gleave, an aviation safety researcher at Loughborough University, said that as each day passes, ocean currents will widen the possible search area by many miles.

Each day you could be adding a lot of sea area to the search, because of the ocean currents. David Gleave

“Working on the big assumption that it is part of the plane then they need to establish the exact location, which they have done,” he said.

“If it is then identified as part of a plane, they would secure the wreckage so it does not sink with flotation attachments, and the search area around it would be intensified.”

On his return from a ten-hour mission to the search area, Australian journalist Daniel Donnelly told Channel 4 News that, after flying for four hours from Perth, the plane had flown at just one thousand feet above the ocean as it dropped buoys that would give readings of the sea temperature and currents that could be used to help with calculating where the plane might have come down if debris is found.

See the interview in full: What is it like searching for MH370?

Nothing was seen during the flight.

Mr Gleave said experts would then be brought in to start mapping the ocean floor and establish how far it could have drifted.

“Each day you could be adding a lot of sea area to the search, because of the ocean currents. And the longer it takes the battery life on the black box is less likely to last,” he said.

“Oceanographers will be brought in to estimate how far they expect it to have drifted and a guided search for the plane would begin.

“In searches like that you look for clues on the surface and under the sea you listen for anything that the black box is pinging; however, that may have been disabled.

“If the plane is found, say 12,000ft down, then you need remotely controlled submarines with cameras on board to go to the bottom of the ocean.”

‘Promising lead’

Australian officials said the objects were spotted by satellite four days ago in the remote area of the Indian Ocean.

The larger of the objects measured up to 24 metres long and appeared to be floating on water several thousand metres deep, they said. The second object was about five metres long.

Officials cautioned it could take several days to confirm if they were parts of the missing plane.

“It’s credible enough to divert the research to this area on the basis it provides a promising lead to what might be wreckage from the debris field,” Royal Australian Air Force Air Commodore John McGarry told a news conference.

An enormous search involving 26 countries exploring a large part of the globe has been carried out since the plane disappeared 12 days ago.

Investigators piecing together patchy data from military radar and satellites believe that, minutes after MH370’s identifying transponder was switched off, as it crossed the Gulf of Thailand, the plane turned sharply west and following an established commercial route towards India.

What happened next is unclear, but faint electronic “pings” picked up by one commercial satellite suggest the aircraft flew on for at least six hours – which would be consistent with the plane ending up in the southern Indian Ocean.

The methodical shutdown of the communications systems, together with the fact that the plane appeared to be following a planned course after turning back, has focused particular attention on the pilot and co-pilot.

The FBI is helping Malaysian authorities analyse data from a flight simulator belonging to the captain of the missing plane, after initial examination showed some data logs had been deleted early last month.