The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a statement from the Joint Agency Coordination Centre this morning detailing the incident, which resulted in the loss of the Fugro Discovery’s sonar towfish.
“Yesterday, while conducting search activities in the southern Indian Ocean, Fugro Discovery lost the sonar vehicle deep tow (towfish) being used to search the ocean floor,” the JACC said.
“The towfish collided with a mud volcano which rises 2200m from the sea floor resulting in the vehicle’s tow cable breaking. The towfish and 4500m of cable became separated from the vessel and are now resting on the sea floor.”
Thankfully there were no injuries to crew during the incident and it’s believed it will be possible to recover the towfish at a later date.
The JACC said Fugro Discovery was making its way back to Fremantle where a replacement cable will be installed on the vessel.
During the journey, the spare towfish on board Fugro Discovery will be readied for future search activities.
The vessel is expected in Fremantle on January 30 or thereabouts, the agency said.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board.
A flaperon that washed up on a beach in Reunion last July is the only debris confirmed to have come from the plane that has ever been found.
At the weekend, a barnavle-encrusted panel found off the coast of southern Thailand set off a frenzy of speculation that it might belong to MH370........http://www.news.com.au
25/1/16
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Related:
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Search for Missing MH370 Flight Could Finish in June
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Malaysia Confirms Indian Ocean Plane Debris From MH370
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Bad weather holds up Indian Ocean search for missing Malaysia MH370 aircraft...
ReplyDeleteAdverse weather has caused a delay of up to eight weeks in the Indian Ocean search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, search officials said on Wednesday, pushing the hunt well beyond an expected conclusion date of mid-2016.
The jet carrying 239 passengers and crew disappeared enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, in one of aviation's great mysteries. A wing part, known as a flaperon, washed up on the French island of Reunion in July 2015.
Crash investigators have otherwise confirmed no other trace of the plane. An undersea search of the southern Indian Ocean, history's costliest such effort, has turned up nothing.
"Poor weather conditions have severely impacted search operations," the Joint Agency Coordination Centre in charge of the search said in a statement....REUTERS
6/7/16