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| Detection of deep-sea acoustic signals provides latest lead in hunt for missing airliner | Detection of deep-sea acoustic signals provides latest lead in hunt for missing airliner |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Ships rigged with underwater search gear are investigating a series of fleeting, deep sea acoustic signals — detected some 300 nautical miles apart — that could potentially be coming from the black box of a missing Malaysian airliner. | Ships rigged with underwater search gear are investigating a series of fleeting, deep sea acoustic signals — detected some 300 nautical miles apart — that could potentially be coming from the black box of a missing Malaysian airliner. |
| The signals lend a hopeful but confusing lead nearly a month after the plane’s disappearance, and officials coordinating the Australian-led search cautioned that verifying the noises could be difficult. | The signals lend a hopeful but confusing lead nearly a month after the plane’s disappearance, and officials coordinating the Australian-led search cautioned that verifying the noises could be difficult. |
| Two of the signals were detected in close proximity Friday and Saturday by a Chinese patrol ship. In a separate location of the Indian Ocean, an Australian ship on Sunday picked up a signal of its own, said retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is coordinating the Australian-led search. | Two of the signals were detected in close proximity Friday and Saturday by a Chinese patrol ship. In a separate location of the Indian Ocean, an Australian ship on Sunday picked up a signal of its own, said retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is coordinating the Australian-led search. |
| The process of verifying the noises remains difficult, and either or both could prove the latest in a string of false leads. The Chinese-detected signals came from waters that are “incredibly deep” — nearly three miles to the bottom — and more ships are racing to the area to conduct follow-up work, Houston said. | The process of verifying the noises remains difficult, and either or both could prove the latest in a string of false leads. The Chinese-detected signals came from waters that are “incredibly deep” — nearly three miles to the bottom — and more ships are racing to the area to conduct follow-up work, Houston said. |
| More critically, the batteries that power the airplane’s locator beacons are estimated to have about a month of life, meaning the acoustic signals could die out by the time the ships arrive on the scene. Sunday is the 30th day of the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. | More critically, the batteries that power the airplane’s locator beacons are estimated to have about a month of life, meaning the acoustic signals could die out by the time the ships arrive on the scene. Sunday is the 30th day of the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. |
| “This is the most difficult search in human history,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters Sunday during a visit to Tokyo. “We are searching for an aircraft which is at the bottom of a very deep ocean and it is a very, very wide search area. We need to be very careful about coming to hard and fast conclusions too soon.” | “This is the most difficult search in human history,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters Sunday during a visit to Tokyo. “We are searching for an aircraft which is at the bottom of a very deep ocean and it is a very, very wide search area. We need to be very careful about coming to hard and fast conclusions too soon.” |
| The search for the passenger jet, which Malaysian officials say crashed inexplicably in the Indian Ocean, has turned up a long list of red herrings or unverifiable leads, including several sightings of debris and floating objects. But so far, there has been no physical evidence of the plane’s whereabouts. Its presumed southern path was determined only from signals the plane emitted to a satellite while still aloft. | The search for the passenger jet, which Malaysian officials say crashed inexplicably in the Indian Ocean, has turned up a long list of red herrings or unverifiable leads, including several sightings of debris and floating objects. But so far, there has been no physical evidence of the plane’s whereabouts. Its presumed southern path was determined only from signals the plane emitted to a satellite while still aloft. |
| Finding the black box would give investigators the best chance to find clues about what happened aboard the flight, a red-eye from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. | Finding the black box would give investigators the best chance to find clues about what happened aboard the flight, a red-eye from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. |
| The Chinese-detected signals could prove a much-needed breakthrough in the search, but officials have emphasized that there is no clear connection to the missing plane. China reported that the noises it heard were at a frequency of 37.5 kilohertz, matching that emitted by a plane’s emergency locator beacons. | The Chinese-detected signals could prove a much-needed breakthrough in the search, but officials have emphasized that there is no clear connection to the missing plane. China reported that the noises it heard were at a frequency of 37.5 kilohertz, matching that emitted by a plane’s emergency locator beacons. |
| According to Chinese state-run television, crew members aboard the Haixun 01, a patrol ship, heard the noise for 10 minutes Friday. They picked up the noise again Saturday for 90 seconds, this time two nautical miles away from the original point of detection. | According to Chinese state-run television, crew members aboard the Haixun 01, a patrol ship, heard the noise for 10 minutes Friday. They picked up the noise again Saturday for 90 seconds, this time two nautical miles away from the original point of detection. |
| The signal was detected using a relatively crude sonar device called a hydrophone. | The signal was detected using a relatively crude sonar device called a hydrophone. |
| “At the moment the data we have does not provide a means of verification,” Houston said. “We have to do further investigation on the site itself.” | “At the moment the data we have does not provide a means of verification,” Houston said. “We have to do further investigation on the site itself.” |
| Houston said Sunday that the British navy’s HMS Echo and Australia’s Ocean Shield were heading to the area where the signals had been detected, about 1,000 miles west of Perth. The HMS Echo would arrive Monday after a 14-hour journey. The Ocean Shield will set off only after investigating the other “acoustic event” it had detected, Houston said. Australia had few details Sunday about that detection, and investigators were not yet sure of the frequency. | |
| Both the HMS Echo and the Ocean Shield are outfitted with a sophisticated “pinger locators” — yellow beak-like devices that hunt for signals emitted from the jet’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Prior to Sunday, both vessels were exploring a separate 150-mile track, working from opposite ends and converging in the middle. When searching for deep sea signals, the vessels must move slowly, at around 3.5 miles per hour. | Both the HMS Echo and the Ocean Shield are outfitted with a sophisticated “pinger locators” — yellow beak-like devices that hunt for signals emitted from the jet’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Prior to Sunday, both vessels were exploring a separate 150-mile track, working from opposite ends and converging in the middle. When searching for deep sea signals, the vessels must move slowly, at around 3.5 miles per hour. |
| “Underwater, the environment is quite difficult,” Houston said. “There are lots of occasions when noises will be transmitted over long distances, depending on the temperature layers in the water and so on. So there’s a complexity about working underwater that makes the task quite complex.” | |
| The search for the passenger jet currently involves 12 aircraft and 13 ships scouring an area well off the western coast of Australia. In recent days some officials involved in the search have raised concerns that the mystery of Flight 370 may never be fully solved. | The search for the passenger jet currently involves 12 aircraft and 13 ships scouring an area well off the western coast of Australia. In recent days some officials involved in the search have raised concerns that the mystery of Flight 370 may never be fully solved. |
| Even if the black box is recovered, investigators might not be able to piece together what happened shortly after takeoff, when the plane lost contact with the ground and veered from its flight path. That’s because the cockpit voice recorder contains just two hours of the most recent audio, and Flight 370 stayed airborne for another seven hours after it steered off course. | Even if the black box is recovered, investigators might not be able to piece together what happened shortly after takeoff, when the plane lost contact with the ground and veered from its flight path. That’s because the cockpit voice recorder contains just two hours of the most recent audio, and Flight 370 stayed airborne for another seven hours after it steered off course. |