Hunt for MH370 homes in on ping signals
PERTH, Australia - A sea and air fleet was scouring the vast Indian Ocean on Monday for further underwater signals in the hunt for a missing Malaysian airliner before the plane's black box batteries run out.
Three separate signals have been detected so far raising hopes of solving the mystery of Flight MH370.
Up to nine military planes, three civil planes and 14 ships were to take part in Monday's operation, Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said.
Angus Houston, head of the Australian-led search mission, said Sunday the signal detections were being taken "very seriously" as time ticked down on the the black box tracking beacons.
He said Chinese vessel Haixun 01 had twice picked up an underwater signal on a frequency used for the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders – once for 90 seconds on Saturday and another more fleeting "ping" on Friday a short distance away.
A third "ping" was also being scrutinised, 300 nautical miles away, by the Australian vessel Ocean Shield.
AFP
