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| Sonar Finds Another Clue on Location of Missing Malaysian Jet | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SYDNEY, Australia — A sensor dropped into the sea by a Royal Australian Air Force plane detected a possible acoustic signal in the same area of the Indian Ocean where a search ship had earlier detected signals that might have come from flight recorders of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, the Australian authorities overseeing the search said Thursday. | SYDNEY, Australia — A sensor dropped into the sea by a Royal Australian Air Force plane detected a possible acoustic signal in the same area of the Indian Ocean where a search ship had earlier detected signals that might have come from flight recorders of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, the Australian authorities overseeing the search said Thursday. |
| The announcement of the latest potential clue to the whereabouts of the aircraft contained few details, and the signal could turn out to be another of the many false leads that have dogged the hunt for the plane for more than a month. But it came in the same seas off Western Australia where the Ocean Shield, an Australian ship, had already collected four sets of signals — two on Saturday, two on Tuesday — that could have come from beacons attached to the plane’s two flight recorders. | The announcement of the latest potential clue to the whereabouts of the aircraft contained few details, and the signal could turn out to be another of the many false leads that have dogged the hunt for the plane for more than a month. But it came in the same seas off Western Australia where the Ocean Shield, an Australian ship, had already collected four sets of signals — two on Saturday, two on Tuesday — that could have come from beacons attached to the plane’s two flight recorders. |
| Angus Houston, the retired air chief marshal overseeing the search in the southern Indian Ocean, confirmed that an AP-3C Orion plane had detected the signal, the Australian body overseeing the search said in an emailed statement on Thursday. | Angus Houston, the retired air chief marshal overseeing the search in the southern Indian Ocean, confirmed that an AP-3C Orion plane had detected the signal, the Australian body overseeing the search said in an emailed statement on Thursday. |
| “The acoustic data will require further analysis overnight but shows potential of being from a man-made source,” Mr. Houston said in the statement. | “The acoustic data will require further analysis overnight but shows potential of being from a man-made source,” Mr. Houston said in the statement. |
| The Joint Agency Coordination Center, which is overseeing the search, said the signal had been detected by a sonar buoy, or sonobuoy, dropped from the Orion; the buoy’s radio transmits data back to the plane. The center did not give the precise location of the buoy when it caught the signal or the duration of the signal. | The Joint Agency Coordination Center, which is overseeing the search, said the signal had been detected by a sonar buoy, or sonobuoy, dropped from the Orion; the buoy’s radio transmits data back to the plane. The center did not give the precise location of the buoy when it caught the signal or the duration of the signal. |
| Such data could be used to narrow the focus in the search for wreckage and the flight recorders that may be crucial to determining what caused the plane, a Boeing 777-200, to disappear on March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. The batteries on the flight recorders’ signal beacons have been consuming power for more than 30 days — their standard operating life — and each extra day of signals could prove important to homing on in the recorders. | Such data could be used to narrow the focus in the search for wreckage and the flight recorders that may be crucial to determining what caused the plane, a Boeing 777-200, to disappear on March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. The batteries on the flight recorders’ signal beacons have been consuming power for more than 30 days — their standard operating life — and each extra day of signals could prove important to homing on in the recorders. |
| Mr. Houston said analysis had confirmed that the underwater pings detected over the weekend had most likely came from the flight data recorder, ruling out marine mammals or other vessels as the source. | Mr. Houston said analysis had confirmed that the underwater pings detected over the weekend had most likely came from the flight data recorder, ruling out marine mammals or other vessels as the source. |
| “I’m now optimistic we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft,” Mr. Houston said at a news conference in Perth, Australia, on Wednesday. But he also noted that searchers had still not found debris linked to the plane, and that once the batteries on the locaters expire, the acoustic signals will fade. | “I’m now optimistic we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft,” Mr. Houston said at a news conference in Perth, Australia, on Wednesday. But he also noted that searchers had still not found debris linked to the plane, and that once the batteries on the locaters expire, the acoustic signals will fade. |
| The coordination center said in an email that the main search zone, which had been narrowed down to about 23,000 square miles on Thursday, would be reduced again to two separate areas on Friday totaling about 18,000 square miles. Up to 12 military planes, three civilian aircraft and 13 ships would take part in the hunt on Friday, the center said. | |
| The area where Ocean Shield is now trawling for acoustic pings is about 1,000 miles northwest of Perth, and several hundred miles east of the main search area, where investigators believe that any plane debris is likely to have drifted. | The area where Ocean Shield is now trawling for acoustic pings is about 1,000 miles northwest of Perth, and several hundred miles east of the main search area, where investigators believe that any plane debris is likely to have drifted. |
| The salvage and rescue coordinator, Capt. Mark M. Matthews of the United States Navy, said in a telephone interview that Australian Navy clearance divers had been collecting small pieces of floating debris. | The salvage and rescue coordinator, Capt. Mark M. Matthews of the United States Navy, said in a telephone interview that Australian Navy clearance divers had been collecting small pieces of floating debris. |
| Captain Matthews, who is in charge of the United States Navy-operated pinger locater being towed by the Ocean Shield, described the latest reception of acoustic signals from the ship as encouraging. “To get a detection builds your confidence,” he said, especially when the last known physical location of the aircraft was thousands of miles away. | Captain Matthews, who is in charge of the United States Navy-operated pinger locater being towed by the Ocean Shield, described the latest reception of acoustic signals from the ship as encouraging. “To get a detection builds your confidence,” he said, especially when the last known physical location of the aircraft was thousands of miles away. |
| David Griffin, an oceanographer advising the Australian government on the search, is trying to track debris based on water and wind currents. He said several factors, including a false start in the wrong area, had seriously set the searchers back. | David Griffin, an oceanographer advising the Australian government on the search, is trying to track debris based on water and wind currents. He said several factors, including a false start in the wrong area, had seriously set the searchers back. |
| “The delay was the biggest obstacle,” said Dr. Griffin, a scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia’s national science agency. “The first 10 days everyone was looking up in Malaysia.” | “The delay was the biggest obstacle,” said Dr. Griffin, a scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia’s national science agency. “The first 10 days everyone was looking up in Malaysia.” |