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| New Satellite Images Said to Be ‘Credible Lead’ in Malaysia Jet Hunt | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Satellite sightings of 122 objects floating southwest of Australia are “the most credible lead that we have” in the search for Flight 370, the Malaysian defense minister said Wednesday evening, adding that his country had asked Australia to try to recover the objects and see if they were debris from the missing jetliner. | KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Satellite sightings of 122 objects floating southwest of Australia are “the most credible lead that we have” in the search for Flight 370, the Malaysian defense minister said Wednesday evening, adding that his country had asked Australia to try to recover the objects and see if they were debris from the missing jetliner. |
| The search for the Malaysia Airlines plane, focused now on a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean, resumed on Wednesday after a day’s suspension due to bad weather. | The search for the Malaysia Airlines plane, focused now on a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean, resumed on Wednesday after a day’s suspension due to bad weather. |
| Eleven aircraft and five ships were scouring the target area on Thursday, officials said, hoping to locate some of the objects before the weather got worse again late in the day, as had been forecast. | Eleven aircraft and five ships were scouring the target area on Thursday, officials said, hoping to locate some of the objects before the weather got worse again late in the day, as had been forecast. |
| The defense minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said the 122 objects were visible in satellite images forwarded by Airbus Defense and Space, the main European commercial satellite company. Malaysia passed the images to Australia, which is leading the search in the area. | The defense minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said the 122 objects were visible in satellite images forwarded by Airbus Defense and Space, the main European commercial satellite company. Malaysia passed the images to Australia, which is leading the search in the area. |
| In the satellite photos, which were taken on Sunday, the objects are visible through gaps in clouds over an area of 154 square miles, or 400 square kilometers, of ocean, Mr. Hishammuddin said. The largest was about 75 feet, or 23 meters, in length, and some were bright, he noted without elaboration. Metal objects that had recently fallen into the ocean might be reflective. | In the satellite photos, which were taken on Sunday, the objects are visible through gaps in clouds over an area of 154 square miles, or 400 square kilometers, of ocean, Mr. Hishammuddin said. The largest was about 75 feet, or 23 meters, in length, and some were bright, he noted without elaboration. Metal objects that had recently fallen into the ocean might be reflective. |
| Airbus said that five of its Earth observation satellites — some equipped with high-resolution cameras, others with radar — were assisting in the search for Flight 370, and would do so as long as needed. Images and data from the satellites were being submitted to the Malaysian and Australian authorities for analysis, the company said. | Airbus said that five of its Earth observation satellites — some equipped with high-resolution cameras, others with radar — were assisting in the search for Flight 370, and would do so as long as needed. Images and data from the satellites were being submitted to the Malaysian and Australian authorities for analysis, the company said. |
| The floating objects were about 1,589 miles, or 2,557 kilometers, southwest of Perth, the authorities said. If they are found to be from the missing plane, a Boeing 777 that took off March 8 bound for Beijing with 239 people aboard, the next steps would be to figure out how far and in which direction the debris might have drifted since the aircraft came down, and then to begin an undersea search, Mr. Hishammuddin said. | The floating objects were about 1,589 miles, or 2,557 kilometers, southwest of Perth, the authorities said. If they are found to be from the missing plane, a Boeing 777 that took off March 8 bound for Beijing with 239 people aboard, the next steps would be to figure out how far and in which direction the debris might have drifted since the aircraft came down, and then to begin an undersea search, Mr. Hishammuddin said. |
| The United States Navy has sent an undersea listening device and a sonar device to the area. But each needs to be towed far underwater behind a ship traveling scarcely faster than a person walking on land, so they cannot search large areas quickly. | The United States Navy has sent an undersea listening device and a sonar device to the area. But each needs to be towed far underwater behind a ship traveling scarcely faster than a person walking on land, so they cannot search large areas quickly. |
| The listening device could pick up signals from the missing plane’s cockpit data recorders, or black boxes, before the recorders’ batteries are exhausted and they stop emitting pings, which is expected to happen in two to three weeks at the latest. But to detect the pings reliably, the device must be within about a mile of the black boxes. The sonar device will continue to work after the data recorders go silent, but it needs to be even closer to detect wreckage on the seabed. | The listening device could pick up signals from the missing plane’s cockpit data recorders, or black boxes, before the recorders’ batteries are exhausted and they stop emitting pings, which is expected to happen in two to three weeks at the latest. But to detect the pings reliably, the device must be within about a mile of the black boxes. The sonar device will continue to work after the data recorders go silent, but it needs to be even closer to detect wreckage on the seabed. |
| Recovering floating debris from the plane could provide resolution for the families and friends of the passengers and crew, who have expressed anguish that the plane was declared lost based on satellite data and not on any tangible evidence. But floating debris may be of only limited help in locating the data recorders, oceanographers said, because the debris could have drifted hundreds of miles, driven by currents, winds and wave action. | Recovering floating debris from the plane could provide resolution for the families and friends of the passengers and crew, who have expressed anguish that the plane was declared lost based on satellite data and not on any tangible evidence. But floating debris may be of only limited help in locating the data recorders, oceanographers said, because the debris could have drifted hundreds of miles, driven by currents, winds and wave action. |
| “If it has been floating for two and a half weeks, it’s not going to have much relation to the wreckage” on the seabed, said Jason Ali, an earth sciences professor at Hong Kong University who has studied currents in the Indian Ocean. | “If it has been floating for two and a half weeks, it’s not going to have much relation to the wreckage” on the seabed, said Jason Ali, an earth sciences professor at Hong Kong University who has studied currents in the Indian Ocean. |
| Mike Purcell, a senior engineer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, who led two underwater search expeditions for the wreck of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic in 2010 and 2011, said that the current search zone for Flight 370 was far more remote, with rougher seas and higher winds. “That can slow down your progress considerably, because it makes it more difficult to operate, to get the vehicles in and out of the water,” he said. On the positive side, he noted, the sea floor in the southern Indian Ocean is relatively flat. | Mike Purcell, a senior engineer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, who led two underwater search expeditions for the wreck of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic in 2010 and 2011, said that the current search zone for Flight 370 was far more remote, with rougher seas and higher winds. “That can slow down your progress considerably, because it makes it more difficult to operate, to get the vehicles in and out of the water,” he said. On the positive side, he noted, the sea floor in the southern Indian Ocean is relatively flat. |
| Military submarines can do little to help. Their sophisticated equipment for detecting signs of surface ships or other submarines is meant to be used mainly within a few hundred feet of the surface, and has only a limited ability to detect pings from the ocean floor far below, transmitted through water of varying densities and temperatures. Towed submersible devices, on the other hand, can operate at depths of 14,000 feet or more. | Military submarines can do little to help. Their sophisticated equipment for detecting signs of surface ships or other submarines is meant to be used mainly within a few hundred feet of the surface, and has only a limited ability to detect pings from the ocean floor far below, transmitted through water of varying densities and temperatures. Towed submersible devices, on the other hand, can operate at depths of 14,000 feet or more. |
| Even if the plane’s black boxes are recovered, they may not tell investigators enough to explain what happened to Flight 370, which stopped communicating with ground controllers and veered radically off course about 40 minutes after takeoff. The plane flew on for at least seven more hours, but its cockpit voice recorder would have stored only the two last hours of sound in the cockpit. The separate data recorder would have technical information from throughout the flight, but that data may not reveal the intentions of whoever was in the cockpit. | Even if the plane’s black boxes are recovered, they may not tell investigators enough to explain what happened to Flight 370, which stopped communicating with ground controllers and veered radically off course about 40 minutes after takeoff. The plane flew on for at least seven more hours, but its cockpit voice recorder would have stored only the two last hours of sound in the cockpit. The separate data recorder would have technical information from throughout the flight, but that data may not reveal the intentions of whoever was in the cockpit. |
| For now, aircraft from Australia and other countries have been scouring an area the size of the western and southwestern United States where the plane is believed to have flown after it sent its last automated signals to a satellite. Because the search area is so far from land, planes are able to spend only a few hours searching at a time before they must turn back to base. So far, none of the handful of floating objects spotted by satellites in the search zone have been found again by other aircraft sent to the same area. | For now, aircraft from Australia and other countries have been scouring an area the size of the western and southwestern United States where the plane is believed to have flown after it sent its last automated signals to a satellite. Because the search area is so far from land, planes are able to spend only a few hours searching at a time before they must turn back to base. So far, none of the handful of floating objects spotted by satellites in the search zone have been found again by other aircraft sent to the same area. |