Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 missing!

MH370 HUNT TO SHIFT SOUTH

The drawn-out search for missing Malaysian Flight MH370 will revert to an area south of the previously suspected crash site following new analysis of the plane's flight path, an official said Friday.

Investigators grappling to solve the mystery of the jet's disappearance are reportedly set to scour a zone 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles) west of Perth -- previously subject to an aerial search -- when an underwater probe resumes in August.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading the search, would not pinpoint the exact location of the probe as analysis is still ongoing, but said it was clearly further south.

"It is already clear from the provisional results of our analysis that the search zone will be south of the previous search area," a bureau spokesman told AFP.

"But still on the seventh arc where the aircraft last communicated with the satellite."

Australian officials have said repeatedly that the revised search zone will be in the area of the seventh arc, or the final satellite "handshake" from the plane. It is believed to be when the aircraft ran out of fuel and was in descent.

Citing unnamed US sources, The West Australian newspaper said Friday that Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) would soon announce the hunt would move 800 kilometres southwest from where it was previously focused.

It said sources had revealed that survey ship Fugro Equator was already operating in this area and would soon be joined by Chinese vessel Zhu Kezhen.

A massive aerial and underwater search for MH370, which had 239 people onboard when it diverted from its Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight path on March 8, has failed to find any sign of the plane.

Scientists from British satellite operator Inmarsat told the BBC earlier this week that the search had yet to target the most likely crash site, or "hotspot", after becoming diverted by pings thought at the time to have originated from the plane's black boxes.

It was not clear from The West Australian report whether the new search area overlaps with the "hotspot".

Until now, the most intensive search had been with a mini-sub in the area where the pings were detected. The area has now been ruled out as the final resting place of MH370. The source of the noises is unknown.

JACC said Friday that the revised search zone, based on an intensive study of satellite communications from the jet and other data, would be announced by the end of the month.

It said the Fugro Equator was now working in this zone.

"Located along the seventh arc, that area is consistent with provisional analysis of satellite and other data that is being used to determine the future search area," it said.

Australian officials announced earlier this week that a survey of the sea bed, as yet mostly unmapped and crucial to the success of the underwater search, had resumed.

The two ships -- Fugro Equator and Zhu Kezhen -- will survey an area up to 6,000 metres (20,000 feet) deep and covering up to 60,000 square kilometres before an a contractor begins an intensive undersea probe looking for debris.


Source : Sapa-AFP /ns
Date : 20 Jun 2014 10:51
 
Just speculating, but perhaps behind this search is a real power struggle between China and the West. I suspect the Chinese are doing all they can to be the first to discover the wreckage. This would send an emphatic message to the world that the great Peoples Republic is technologically superior and can do what the best in the West cannot.

I wonder if the Western allies (UK, Oz, USA) are aware of this, and so are holding the Inmarsat data and analysis close to their chests so as not to give the PRC a leg-up.
 
Arthur said:
Just speculating, but perhaps behind this search is a real power struggle between China and the West. I suspect the Chinese are doing all they can to be the first to discover the wreckage. This would send an emphatic message to the world that the great Peoples Republic is technologically superior and can do what the best in the West cannot.

I wonder if the Western allies (UK, Oz, USA) are aware of this, and so are holding the Inmarsat data and analysis close to their chests so as not to give the PRC a leg-up.
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Have you cleared this with jingaling yet?
 
MH370 on autopilot before crash - investigators

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/mh370-autopilot-before-crash-investigators-6012802

This is getting more and more bizarre. I am surprised that this story has slowly disappeared out of main stream media.

Was on a passenger plane yesterday over the open ocean. For the first time ever while flying I got a bit anxious, just the thought of what must have gone on aboard this plane freaked me out a little. We seriously need to know what went on here to make sure this never happens again.
 
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Read somewhere they found evidence on his computer that he wanted to hijack the plane to a small island?
 
they are going to start in August again looking down below.

And on news24 , the wife of the pilot said it was her husband saying, goodnight.
 
El Reg has an interesting piece here on the seven pings, including a link to a 64-page report by the Ozzie ATSB.

El Reg said:
Handshakes one and seven are of most interest, because both were initiated by MH370.

“A log-on request in the middle of a flight is not common and can occur for only a few reasons,” the report suggests. “These include a power interruption to the aircraft satellite data unit (SDU), a software failure, loss of critical systems providing input to the SDU or a loss of the link due to aircraft attitude.”

Both handshakes are suspected as resulting from an interruption of power supply to the SDU. The first, perhaps, because of some disruption to power flow. The seventh is suspected as having been made after the craft ran out of fuel and is therefore of great interest to searchers.
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MALAYSIA TO DEPLOY MORE EQUIPMENT IN MH370 SEARCH

Malaysia will send more equipment to the southern Indian Ocean to join the search for Flight MH370 which went missing four months ago, a minister said Sunday.

Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said a Malaysian navy ship equipped with a multi-beam echo sounder -- a device to map the ocean floor --would set sail on August 4 for the deep-sea search zone far off western Australia.

State energy firm Petronas, together with Deftech and Phoenix International, would deploy a towed device called a synthetic aperture sonar to scan the ocean floor, he said.

Shipbuilder Boustead Heavy Industries, together with iXBlue Australia, would send a deep towed side scan sonar with a remotely operated vehicle.

"Instructions for immediate mobilisation have been given and the assets are expected to reach the search area in mid-August 2014," Hishammuddin said.

He did not give a cost estimate.

Another Malaysian vessel which was deployed in April will stay in the search area, he added.

The Malaysia Airlines flight lost contact on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard.

It is believed to have veered off course and -- based on satellite data analysis -- to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

But an extensive Australian-led search has so far found no sign of wreckage.

Australian officials announced last month that the search would shift further south based on a review of the satellite data.

They also said the Boeing 777 was almost certainly on autopilot when it ran out of fuel and crashed.

The most likely scenario, the officials said, was that the pilots and crew suffered from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, and became "unresponsive", which can occur when a plane loses air pressure at high altitude.

The underwater search will start in the new area, covering up to 60,000 square kilometres (23,166 sq miles) in the southern Indian Ocean, in August and take up to 12 months.


Source : Sapa-AFP /aw
Date : 06 Jul 2014 10:41
 
AFTER MH17 TRAGEDY, AUSTRALIA ASSURES SEARCH FOR MH370 GOES ON

Australia said the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 continued uninterrupted Wednesday, even as the head of the search coordination agency was sent to Ukraine to help with the MH17 tragedy.

Australia leads the multinational search for MH370 which disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people and is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

It has also been drawn into the latest incident to befall Malaysia Airlines, with 28 nationals and at least nine permanent residents onboard MH17 which was apparently shot down last week in Ukraine.

"The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on 8 March on a flight to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, continues uninterrupted," Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said.

"We remain fully committed to conducting a thorough undersea search of the likely impact zone in the Indian Ocean."

On Monday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott appointed retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston as his special envoy to lead Australia's efforts on the ground in Ukraine to help recover, identify and repatriate Australians killed in the downing of MH17.

Houston also heads the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) which coordinates Australia's support for the MH370 search.

Truss said Australia owed it to the families of all of those on board MH370, as well as the travelling public and the wider world, to solve the mystery of what befell the Boeing jet.

"Deputy Coordinator Judith Zielke will oversee the operations of the JACC, ensuring that the public and other stakeholders, particularly the families of those on board, are well informed about the progress of the search," he said.

Despite an extensive air, sea surface and underwater search, no trace of MH370 has ever been found.

Experts are now surveying an area of about 60,000 square kilometres using two vessels, Chinese survey ship Zhu Kezhen and an Australian-contracted vessel, to map the ocean floor, considered crucial for the underwater search.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is coordinating this work, is assessing tenders to engage a contractor to manage this element of the search, Truss said.

"The underwater search is likely to commence in early September and take up to 12 months to complete," he said.

"It will aim to locate the aircraft and any evidence (such as debris and the flight recorders) to assist the Malaysian investigation of the disappearance of MH370."

Australian officials have said MH370 was almost certainly on autopilot when it ran out of fuel and crashed, with the crew likely "unresponsive" due to a lack of oxygen.


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 23 Jul 2014 09:08
 
Garyvdh said:
Australian officials have said MH370 was almost certainly on autopilot when it ran out of fuel and crashed, with the crew likely "unresponsive" due to a lack of oxygen
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The autopilot must have done a quite gentle landing, with the plane not breaking up, as no debris relating to this plane has been found.

Would anyone familiar with autopilots like to comment ?
 
Jola said:
The autopilot must have done a quite gentle landing, with the plane not breaking up, as no debris relating to this plane has been found.

Would anyone familiar with autopilots like to comment ?
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It looks as if it is possible:

Most modern airliners are equipped to land automatically under autopilot control (called "autoland"), but most landings are carried out by hand by the pilots. The autopilot is used for landing if the weather conditions are so poor that the pilots cannot see the runway, because the autopilot can land the airplane even in zero visibility, whereas pilots are legally required to have the runway in sight before they can land by hand.

The advantage of autoland is that it allows a flight to land at its destination even when the airport is fogged in. This avoids an expensive diversion to another airport. Without autoland capability, pilots must be able to see the runway, so if the airport is fogged in, they are forced to fly to another airport that has clear weather. Having autoland saves a lot of money, even though autoland systems are very expensive.

In fact, most of a flight these days is flown by the autopilot under computer control; the pilots just watch and monitor, ready to take over if anything goes wrong with the computers. Pilots usually fly the take-off and landing, mainly because those are the fun parts, but the landing can be fully automated if necessary.

So your cousin is half right: Airliners can land on autopilot. But they don't do it routinely; it's more the exception to the rule.

Smaller aircraft usually cannot land with the autopilot, mainly because autolanding requires extremely expensive, multiply-redundant autopilot systems that are only affordable for large commercial airliners (and some business jets).
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