Flight MH370: First Images Of Seafloor Search Released
The agency leading the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 released new images of their efforts on Thursday, revealing what their teams are recording as they scour the floor of the Indian Ocean for the missing plane.
The new images, released as part of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s latest operational report, depict a highly detailed profile of the seafloor gathered by searchers as they work to uncover MH370’s location. According to the Daily Mail, the search for flight MH370 has now exceeded nine months, with no sign of the plane’s final resting place.
Flight MH370: ‘Extraordinary’ first picture of seabed search for missing jetliner http://t.co/pmKVa9ywlv pic.twitter.com/05e7GYbysk
— Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) December 12, 2014
“The image is a synthetic aperture sonar acoustic image of the sea floor gathered by GO Phoenix. This is indicative of the resolution and quality of the data and that it is revealing important detail of the sea floor,” the report noted.
“In addition to locating the aircraft, the underwater search aims to map the MH370 debris field in order to identify and prioritize the recovery of specific aircraft components, including flight recorders, which will assist with the Malaysian investigation.
“The ATSB has utilized 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.”
Amazing bathymetry images from MH370 search area released by Geoscience Australia http://t.co/OlWFVrhXRK pic.twitter.com/rBQGS01zam
— GreatOceanQuarterly (@GreatOceanQrtly) December 12, 2014
One of the vessels searching for MH370, the GO Phoenix, returned to the area on Tuesday to rejoin the effort. Two other ships, the Fugro Discovery and the Fugro Equator, are also continuing operations in the MH370 search area.
According to the Mirror, over 9,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean floor has so far been explored in the search for flight MH370, while 200,000 square kilometers of the search area has been surveyed. The primary arc of the search area, where MH370 is thought to have crashed, covers 60,000 square kilometers off the coast of Western Australia.
Last month, a pilot experienced with Boeing 777s penned an op-ed in which he asserted that flight MH370 likely disappeared due to deliberate intervention. As the Inquisitr previously reported, he pointed to innate redundancies in the airplane’s computer systems to allege that the course deviation MH370 displayed must be initiated with deliberate intent.
No sign of the plane or the 239 people on board has been detected since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the Indian ocean on March 8th.
[Image: ATSB via the Daily Mail]
