Tag Archives: latest news for Malaysia Airlines MH 370

ATSB Peter Foley is confident in finding missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370, ATSB issues its latest update

Peter Foley of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is confident in solving the biggest aviation mystery of our era. Mr. Foley is in charge of finding the remains of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-2H6 ER 9M-MRO (msn 28420) (above) and the 239 souls on board. The search continues in the southern Indian Ocean. The wide body jetliner went missing somewhere in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014 while operating flight MH 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. So far no trace of the missing flight has been located.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia this week told Parliament that the search for MH 370 “will go on at this intensity forever”. Clearly the clock is ticking in solving this mystery.

This article by the Sydney Morning Herald interviews Mr. Foley and summaries the current search for MH 370. He believes they are searching in the right area.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Yesterday (March 5) the ATSB issued this updated Operational Update on the search for MH 370:

At the request of the Malaysian Government, Australia has accepted responsibility for the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is leading the underwater search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

This operational report has been developed to provide regular updates on the progress of the search effort for MH 370. Our work will continue to be thorough and methodical, so sometimes weekly progress may seem slow. Please be assured that work is continuing and is aimed at finding MH 370 as quickly as possible.

Key developments this week:

GO Phoenix is currently in the search area conducting underwater search operations.
Fugro Discovery recommenced search operations on February 25.
Fugro Equator recommenced search operations on February 27.
Fugro Supporter departed Fremantle on February 21 and after calibrating her AUV sensors on the test range departed for the search area on February 23. The vessel arrived in the search area on February 28.
More than 26,000 square kilometres (over 40 percent) of the priority zone have now been searched.

Map Above: ATSB. The Seventh Arc. The latest information and analysis confirms that MH 370 will be found in close proximity to the arc set out in the map and labelled as the 7th arc. At the time MH 370 reached this arc, the aircraft is considered to have exhausted its fuel and to have been descending. As a result, the aircraft is unlikely to be more than 20 NM (38 km) to the west or 30 NM (55 km) to the east of the arc.

Based on all the independent analysis of satellite communications and aircraft performance, the total extent of the 7th arc reaches from latitude 20 degrees S to 39 degrees S.

Map Below: ATSB. In addition to locating the aircraft, the underwater search aims to map the MH 370 debris field in order to identify and prioritise the recovery of specific aircraft components, including flight recorders, which will assist with the Malaysian investigation. The ATSB has utilised the data from the bathymetric survey work to prepare the initial plan for the underwater search, to be followed and referred to by all parties involved. The plan includes search timings, methods, procedures, safety precautions and the initial search areas for the various vessels.

There are three classifications for sonar contacts which are identified during the course of the underwater search. Classification 3 is assigned to sonar contacts that are of some interest as they stand out from their surroundings but have low probability of being significant to the search. Classification 2 sonar contacts are of comparatively more interest but are still unlikely to be significant to the search. Classification 1 sonar contacts are of high interest and warrant immediate further investigation.

The underwater search so far has identified over a hundred seabed features that have been classified as category 3. There have been more than 10 features that have been classified as category 2. These objects may be manmade, but expert analysis of the imagery advises that none of them resemble an aircraft debris field. Rather, they have been isolated objects, some of which have the dimensions of shipping containers. To date, no seabed features have been classified as category 1.

Source Above: ATSB and Phoenix International.

Ship movements:

GO Phoenix will depart the search area around March 6 to travel to Fremantle for a scheduled resupply visit. The vessel is expected to arrive in port around March 11.

Fugro Equator will depart the search area around March 24 to travel to Fremantle for a scheduled resupply visit. The vessel is expected to arrive in port around April 1.

Fugro Discovery will depart the search area around March 24 to travel to Fremantle for a scheduled resupply visit. The vessel is expected to arrive in port around April 1.

Fugro Supporter will depart the search area around April 2 to travel to Fremantle for a scheduled resupply visit. The vessel is expected to arrive in port around April 8.

Crew life on board search vessels

The crew of the vessels engaged in the search for MH 370 are deeply committed to their task. Crew work night and day, for weeks at a time and often in difficult conditions, to launch the search equipment and to monitor and analyse the data collected. In the following interview, Mr Paul Kennedy of Fugro talks about the challenges that the ship and its crew face.

Aboard Fugro Discovery, Paul Kennedy of Fugro describes the ship, her crew, the specialist equipment used, and the trials to test the functionality of the equipment. He also talks about the challenges and conditions that the ship and its crew face.

Mr Kennedy is the project director for the search for MH 370 on behalf of Fugro.

Source: ATSB, video by ABIS Chris Beerens, RAN.

Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. 9M-MRO lands at Kuala Lumpur before it went missing.

Malaysia Airlines aircraft slide show:

The latest theory on what happened to Malaysia Airlines missing flight MH 370

Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur) missing flight MH 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board tragically remains missing. Several articles and a book have expressed many different unproven theories. No part of the aircraft has been officially found. The latest unproven theory, written by former Proteus Airlines CEO Marc Dugain and published by Paris Match, claims the the Boeing 777-200 ER may have been hijacked by a “remote control system” and possibly shot down by U.S. forces near Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. has denied the aircraft came down near the British island.

Google Maps: Diego Garcia in the lonely Indian Ocean. A close-up of the British island below.

Read the full story from France 24: CLICK HERE

On November 10, 2014 Malaysia Airlines issued this statement (the last statement from the airline on MH 370):

Malaysia Airlines refers to recent news articles speculating on an official declaration of loss of flight MH 370.

Addressing the speculation to family members via letters, the airline highlighted that any course of action is always guided by the advice of the technical team in charge of the search operations.

The assurances given to us are that the ongoing search and recovery operations will remain and will not be discontinued.

Recent speculation in the press regarding a declaration of loss followed the expression of a personal opinion only. Any information regarding MH 370, the search and recovery operations and any matters related to the missing aircraft will only be communicated by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

Malaysia Airlines is hopeful that we will find closure to this tragedy and we support and thank our government as well as the governments of Australia and China for their invaluable assistance in this time of crisis.

The airline shares the pain and anguish of family members in having to deal and come to terms with this situation, as such we have assured them that locating the aircraft and recovering the flight data recorders remain the key priority. Every party involved in this complex operation is as determined as the families and Malaysia Airlines to find answers to our many questions.

With regard to the level of compensation available pursuant to the Montreal Convention, or similar applicable legal regime, the airline has made it very clear that payments are determined by law to take account of proven passenger and family circumstances and will be assessed accordingly.

Malaysia Airlines and its insurers remain steadfast to ensure that fair and reasonable compensation is paid to the families of all MH370 passengers in accordance with the law when the families are ready to discuss the issue. We have stated this publicly on many occasions and we reiterate that the airline will honour any commitments that we have made.

The well-being of the family members is always our main priority, and we will continue to communicate on any updates as and when we have them.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of passengers and crew of MH 370.

What do you think?

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Where is 9M-MRO? Missing Boeing 777-2H6 ER 9M-MRO (msn 28420) lands in Kuala Lumpur before the tragic disappearance.

Malaysia Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-2/Airlines-Asia2-FP/Malaysia-Airlines

ATSB issues an update for the search of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370

Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has issued an update dated October 8 for the search of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370. The ATSB believes the Boeing 777-200 ran out of fuel and spiraled down in the southern Indian Ocean. The ATSB is refining its search data using all available data. The search is likely to move further south. The ASTB issued this executive summary:

On March 8, 2014, flight MH 370, a Boeing 777- 200 ER registered 9M-MRO, lost contact with Air Traffic Control during a transition between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace. An analysis of radar data and subsequent satellite communication (SATCOM) system signalling messages placed the aircraft in the Australian search and rescue zone on an arc in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. This arc was considered to be the location close to where the aircraft’s fuel was exhausted.

Refinements to the analysis of both the satellite and flight data have been continuing since the loss of MH 370. The analysis has been undertaken by a team from the UK, US, Australia and Malaysia working both independently and collaboratively. Priority, medium and wide search areas were provided in the ATSB’s MH 370 – Definition of Underwater Search Areas (June report).

The latest analysis indicate that the next, underwater, phase of the search should be prioritized further south within the wide search area.

Work is continuing with refinements to the analysis of the SATCOM data. This ongoing work may result in changes to the prioritization and locale of search activity over the period of the underwater search.

End-of-flight scenarios:

To estimate and have confidence in a reasonable search area width, it is important to understand the aircraft system status at the time of the SATCOM transmission from the aircraft at 0019.29 (log-on request), and the variations in aircraft behaviour and trajectory that were possible from that time.

The log-on request recorded at the final arc occurred very near the estimated time of fuel exhaustion. The recorded BFO values indicated that the aircraft could have been descending at that time. Aircraft systems analysis, in particular the electrical system and autoflight system, has been ongoing. In support of the systems analysis, the aircraft manufacturer and the operator have observed and documented various end-of-flight scenarios in their B777 simulators.

The simulator activities involved fuel exhaustion of the right engine followed by flameout of the left engine with no control inputs. This scenario resulted in the aircraft entering a descending spiralling low bank angle left turn and the aircraft entering the water in a relatively short distance after the last engine flameout. However when consideration of the arc tolerances, log on messages and simulator activities are combined, it indicates that the aircraft may be located within relatively close proximity to the arc. Whilst the systems analysis and simulation activities are ongoing, based on the analysis to date, the search area width described in the June report remains reasonable with the underwater search to commence at the 7th arc and progress outwards both easterly and westerl

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Meanwhile CEO Tim Clark of Emirates believes the aircraft was always under control and may not be in the southern Indian Ocean. Tim Clark gave an interview to Der Spiegel. Read his comments here on the investigation from the Sydney Morning Herald: CLICK HERE

Maps: Google Earth.

Below: Google Earth/Flight path reconstruction group:

The ATSB issues an update on the search for Malaysia Airlines missing flight MH 370 including new underwater photos of the search area

The Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) has issued this update on the on-going search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370:

At the request of the Malaysian Government, Australia is leading the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370. All the available data indicates the aircraft entered the sea close to a long but narrow arc of the southern Indian Ocean.

The complexities surrounding the search cannot be understated. It involves vast areas of the Indian Ocean with only limited known data and aircraft flight information. While it is impossible to determine with certainty where the aircraft may have entered the water, all the available data and analysis indicates a highly probable search area close to a long but narrow arc of the southern Indian Ocean.

MH 370 Operational Search Update September 24, 2014

Bathymetric survey

The bathymetric survey provides a map of the ocean floor to ensure the safe and effective operation of equipment during the underwater search.

Over 106,000 square kilometers of the wide search area have been surveyed (see map below).

The priorities for the search will continue to be reviewed and will change over time.

Ship movements

After resupply in Fremantle, Fugro Equator commenced passage back to the search area on September 19 and arrived on September 24 to recommence survey work in the search area in preparation for the underwater search.

On September 20, the Chinese survey vessel Zhu Kezhen completed her MH 370 search mission and commenced return passage to China.

The Chinese support vessel Haixun 01 continued to be stationed at the Port of Fremantle for repairs.

Weather

A series of cold fronts will move through to the south of the area over the next four days. A significant front will approach from the west on Friday. Sea conditions between sea states 2 and 7 are expected over the next three to four days.

Underwater search

Vessels involved in the search are being jointly funded by Malaysia and Australia. Fugro Discovery and Fugro Equator (which is currently being used to survey the search area) are Fugro Survey Pty Ltd vessels, and the GO Phoenix has equipment and experts provided by Phoenix International (Phoenix).

Ship movements

Mobilization of search assets is already under way. GO Phoenix received fit-out work in Jakarta in preparation for the sea and weather conditions it is likely to encounter in the search area. GO Phoenix departed Jakarta on September 23 for the calibration area and is expected to arrive at the allocated underwater search area on October 1. GO Phoenix will search there for around 20 days before sailing to Fremantle to be resupplied.

Fugro Discovery has completed fit-out work in Durban, South Africa and commenced passage to Australia. The vessel is expected to arrive in Fremantle on October 2, whereupon search equipment and a mission crew are expected to be mobilized.

Fugro Equator, the vessel currently being used to survey the search area, is expected to be mobilized as a search vessel when its bathymetric work is complete around the end of October.

Planning

The ATSB, in consultation with the contracted search experts, is in the process of finalizing the initial plan for the underwater search, to be followed and referred to by all parties involved in the underwater search. The comprehensive plan for the underwater search will include a sequence of priority areas. The first area to be searched has already been surveyed to ensure an accurate understanding of the sea floor topography.

Search priorities

From early in the search, analysis has consistently indicated a very high probability of finding the aircraft along a defined arc in the southern Indian Ocean (where the aircraft last communicated with a ground station through a satellite). This is where the aircraft is assessed to have run out of fuel.

Since then, complex, ground-breaking technical analysis of limited communications data and aircraft flight information has been developed and refined. This work has concentrated on determining the point on the seventh arc that the aircraft was most likely to have reached. This will enable a prioritized search effort in areas along the seventh arc.

Map: The Seventh Arc in the southern Indian Ocean.

Recent refinement to the analysis has given greater certainty about when the aircraft turned south into the Indian Ocean and has produced a better understanding of the parameters within which the satellite ground station was operating during the last flight of MH 370.

Based on these refinements, the Search Strategy Working Group is finalizing its latest assessment of the highest priority areas for the search, which will most likely extend south of the previous ‘orange’ priority area.

Top Image: ATSB. Three-dimensional model of the sea floor terrain in the search area.

The ATSB announces a new search area for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today issued this summary and report announcing a new search area for Malaysia Airlines missing flight MH 370 operated with Boeing 777-2H6 ER 9M-MRO (msn 28420). Here is the summary (full report link at the bottom):

On March 8, 2014, flight MH 370, a Boeing 777-200 ER registered 9M-MRO, lost contact with Air Traffic Control during a transition of airspace between Malaysia and Vietnam. An analysis of radar data and subsequent satellite communication (SATCOM) system signalling messages placed the aircraft in the Australian search and rescue zone on an arc in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. This arc was considered to be the location where the aircraft’s fuel was exhausted.

A surface search of probable impact areas along this arc, coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, was carried out from 18 March – April 28, 2014. This search effort was undertaken by an international fleet of aircraft and ships with the search areas over this time progressing generally from an initial southwest location along the arc in a north-easterly direction. The location of the search areas was guided by continuing and innovative analysis by a Joint Investigation Team of the flight and satellite-communications data. This analysis was supplemented by other information provided to ATSB during this period. This included possible underwater locator beacon and hydrophone acoustic detections.

No debris associated with 9M-MRO was identified either from the surface search, acoustic search or from the ocean floor search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections. The ocean floor search was completed on May 28, 2014.

Refinements to the analysis of both the flight and satellite data have been continuous since the loss of MH 370. The analysis has been undertaken by an international team of specialists from the UK, US and Australia working both independently and collaboratively. Other information regarding the performance and operation of the aircraft has also been taken into consideration in the analysis.

Using current analyses, the team has been able to reach a consensus in identifying a priority underwater search area for the next phase of the search.

The priority area of approximately 60,000 km2 extends along the arc for 650 km in a northeast direction from Broken Ridge. The width of the priority search area is 93 km. This area was the subject of the surface search from Day 21-26.

Work is continuing with refinements in the analysis of the satellite communications data. Small frequency variations can significantly affect the derived flight path. This ongoing work may result in changes to the prioritisation and locale of search activity.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

The “7th Arc”

You will hear a lot about this term in the coming days. Here is the explanation:

The latest information and analysis confirms that MH 370 will be found in close proximity to the arc set out in the map and labelled as the 7th arc. At the time MH 370 reached this arc, the aircraft is considered to have exhausted its fuel and to have been descending. As a result, the aircraft is unlikely to be more than 20 NM (38 km) to the west or 30 NM (55 km) to the east of the arc.

Based on all the independent analysis of satellite communications and aircraft performance, the total extent of the 7th arc reaches from latitude 20 degrees S to 39 degrees S.

Refinement of the analysis in the coming weeks will reduce the underwater Search Area along this arc to a prioritised 17,500 sq. NM (60,000 sq. km). The prioritised length of the Search Area along the arc is expected to be 350 NM (650 km).
More information about the Search Area will be made available as soon as it is verified.

Map of the “7th Arc”: