AMSA confirmed that Friday's search will shift to an area 1,100 kilometers to the northeast of the current search area based on updated advice provided by the international investigation team in Malaysia.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Australia's investigation agency, has examined this advice and determined that this is the most credible lead to where debris may be located.
According to AMSA, the new search area is approximately 319,000 square kilometers and around 1,850 kilometers west of Perth.
The new information is based on continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost.
"It indicated that the aircraft was traveling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance the aircraft traveled south into the Indian Ocean," the release said.
AMSA also confirmed that ATSB advises the potential flight path may be the subject of further refinement as the international investigative team supporting the search continues their analysis. The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organization is re-tasking satellites to image the new area.
Friday's air search of the southern Indian Ocean for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 resumed with nine military aircraft from six nations taking part.
The military aircraft scheduled to fly were two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orions, a Republic of Korea P3 Orion, a Republic of Korea C130 Hercules, a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion, a Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, a United States Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft, and a Japanese coast guard jet and a P3 Orion, said a statement from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
One civil aircraft would act as a communications relay in the search area.
The first aircraft to leave Perth for the search area was the Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft at about 9 a.m. local time.
"There are now six vessels relocating to the new search area including HMAS Success and five Chinese ships," AMSA's update said later this morning.
Earlier Friday morning, AMSA said that a total of five ships, four from China and one from Australia, were tasked to the search operation.
A further RAAF P3 Orion has been placed on standby at the Pearce Airbase to investigate any reported sightings.
[cntv.cn]
28/3/14
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Related:
Bad weather halts air and sea search for MH370. - Australia
New Data Indicates Missing Jet Crashed in Indian Ocean
US Navy deploys black box locator after Malaysia plane leads
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Flight MH370: search zone moved as new fuel theory emerges...
ReplyDeleteMalaysia Airlines plane was going faster than previously thought, meaning its tanks would have run dry sooner, say authorities.
The Australian-led search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has shifted 1,100km to the north-east after investigators calculated the plane was going faster and using more fuel when it disappeared than previously thought.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said the analysis was based on the plane's final radar contacts between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca, and suggested the plane would have burned more fuel in the opening stages of its flight. It therefore would not have made it as far into the Indian Ocean before running out of fuel and crashing.
The new target location means planes are able to spend longer over the search area, and with the prospect of much better weather because it is away the notoriously foul conditions of the "roaring forties"between the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees south. Previously aircraft had been consuming much of their fuel and their time just getting out to sea and returning. This left limited capacity to remain "on-scene", said John Young, general manager of the Amsa emergency response division................http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/28/flight-mh370-search-zone-moved-based-on-planes-fuel-consumption
28/3/14
Search operation for MH370 ends, no substantive findings yet: AMSA...
ReplyDeleteCANBERRA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Search activities for the missing Malaysian jet have concluded for Saturday, after Chinese and Australian aircraft reported sighting multiple objects in a new search area in the southern Indian Ocean, the Australian maritime rescue authorities said.
Two ships, operating in the area, retrieved a number of objects from the ocean, but rescuers ruled out the possibility of them being related to the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, added the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-03/29/c_133223680.htm
29/3/14