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| Australian aircraft detects more signals, possibly from missing plane’s black box | Australian aircraft detects more signals, possibly from missing plane’s black box |
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| An Australian aircraft on Thursday may have detected the latest in a series of deep-sea acoustic signals, authorities involved in the hunt for a missing Malaysian airliner said, raising confidence that search teams are closing in on wreckage that presumably lies at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. | An Australian aircraft on Thursday may have detected the latest in a series of deep-sea acoustic signals, authorities involved in the hunt for a missing Malaysian airliner said, raising confidence that search teams are closing in on wreckage that presumably lies at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. |
| Officials say the signals, detected over the past six days, could be coming from the black box of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The first four transmissions were picked up by an Australian navy vessel, the Ocean Shield. But the latest “possible signal” was detected by an Australian surveillance plane operating in the same area, the Australian agency coordinating the multination search said in a statement. | Officials say the signals, detected over the past six days, could be coming from the black box of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The first four transmissions were picked up by an Australian navy vessel, the Ocean Shield. But the latest “possible signal” was detected by an Australian surveillance plane operating in the same area, the Australian agency coordinating the multination search said in a statement. |
| The plane, an Australian air force P-3 Orion, has been dropping sonar buoys — listening devices — in the vicinity of where the earlier pings were heard. | The plane, an Australian air force P-3 Orion, has been dropping sonar buoys — listening devices — in the vicinity of where the earlier pings were heard. |
| “The acoustic data will require further analysis overnight but shows potential of being from a man-made source,” retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is in charge of the search, said in a statement. | |
| The signals, though not conclusively linked to the plane, have reinvigorated a search that had languished for weeks with dead ends and false leads. Houston said Wednesday that he believed crews might identify evidence of the plane’s remains within a matter of days. | The signals, though not conclusively linked to the plane, have reinvigorated a search that had languished for weeks with dead ends and false leads. Houston said Wednesday that he believed crews might identify evidence of the plane’s remains within a matter of days. |
| The search is centered on an area about 1,415 miles northwest of Perth, a city on the western coast of Australia. The planned search area Thursday — about 22,300 square miles — is the smallest since the plane vanished March 8. | |
| The disappearance of Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members on a planned route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, has turned into one of the most confounding aviation mysteries on record. The Boeing 777 is presumed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, having traveled in its final hours in a direction opposite from its scheduled flight path. Malaysian officials say the plane was deliberately steered off course by somebody on board, though they have not completely discounted some kind of mechanical failure. | The disappearance of Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members on a planned route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, has turned into one of the most confounding aviation mysteries on record. The Boeing 777 is presumed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, having traveled in its final hours in a direction opposite from its scheduled flight path. Malaysian officials say the plane was deliberately steered off course by somebody on board, though they have not completely discounted some kind of mechanical failure. |
| “At the end of the day, if we do not stray from the course, we will find out” some answers about what happened to the plane, Malaysia’s defense minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said Thursday in an interview with the BBC. “I know we will find the plane. It’s just a matter of when.” | “At the end of the day, if we do not stray from the course, we will find out” some answers about what happened to the plane, Malaysia’s defense minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said Thursday in an interview with the BBC. “I know we will find the plane. It’s just a matter of when.” |
| Australian officials had few details about the latest detection and did not specify the location of the transmission. | Australian officials had few details about the latest detection and did not specify the location of the transmission. |
| The surveillance plane was able to listen for the deep-sea sounds because of a move Wednesday to drop the sonar buoys. Those buoys stay on the surface but deploy hydrophones to a depth of 1,000 feet. The buoys are equipped with radios that transmit any data back to the aircraft. | The surveillance plane was able to listen for the deep-sea sounds because of a move Wednesday to drop the sonar buoys. Those buoys stay on the surface but deploy hydrophones to a depth of 1,000 feet. The buoys are equipped with radios that transmit any data back to the aircraft. |
| The search for MH370’s black box is a daunting task and will ultimately require not just listening devices but underwater drones and robotic, claw-like devices that could retrieve debris. For now, though, search teams are trying only to pick up more transmissions, which would allow for a better estimate about where to begin the labor-intensive underwater operation. | The search for MH370’s black box is a daunting task and will ultimately require not just listening devices but underwater drones and robotic, claw-like devices that could retrieve debris. For now, though, search teams are trying only to pick up more transmissions, which would allow for a better estimate about where to begin the labor-intensive underwater operation. |
| The black box’s emergency beacons could run out of battery power within hours or days, Australian officials say. Already, they may be operating beyond their 30-day power supply. Search officials have not concluded that the signals are coming from a black box, but they say the frequencies are consistent with what would be expected of tracking pings from a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder. | The black box’s emergency beacons could run out of battery power within hours or days, Australian officials say. Already, they may be operating beyond their 30-day power supply. Search officials have not concluded that the signals are coming from a black box, but they say the frequencies are consistent with what would be expected of tracking pings from a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder. |
| An underwater drone, known as the Bluefin-21, will begin deep-dive sorties only after more signals are detected or officials determine that the black-box batteries have likely died. The Bluefin-21 would be operating in nearly three-mile depths, near its technical limit. | An underwater drone, known as the Bluefin-21, will begin deep-dive sorties only after more signals are detected or officials determine that the black-box batteries have likely died. The Bluefin-21 would be operating in nearly three-mile depths, near its technical limit. |
| The detection of additional pings could help narrow the underwater search area, which is around 500 square miles. The Bluefin-21, which moves about four mph, would need weeks to cover that zone. It would first travel to the depths and likely make overlapping, back-and-forth patterns over the search area. | |
| “The system can be programmed to follow a number of possible routes,” Christopher Johnson, a U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman, said in an e-mail, “but the most likely would follow a pattern that would resemble how someone might mow their lawn — back and forth over the area until the entire programmed sector is covered.” | |
| Johnson added that “we believe the equipment will be able to operate at the depths we would likely encounter.” | Johnson added that “we believe the equipment will be able to operate at the depths we would likely encounter.” |