Underwater search operations for flight MH370 could end by May
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The underwater search operations for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may be completed by May 2015.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said if there were no significant delays with vessels, equipment or the weather, the underwater search area might be largely completed around May next year.
“In addition to locating the aircraft, the underwater search aims to map the MH370 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,” the bureau said.
It also said that GO Phoenix would continue to conduct underwater search operations, adding that over 11,000sq km of the seafloor has been searched.
According to ATSB on Wednesday, Fugro Equator was expected to complete bathymetric survey work in the search area.
To date, over 200,000sq km of the search area had been surveyed.
It also said that Fugro Discovery experienced a system issue with a component of the search equipment and the problem is being remedied.
“Bathymetry survey vessels spent months at sea, scanning the seafloor with multi-beam sonar to gather detailed, high-resolution data,” the bureau added.
The ATSB had published a video on its YouTube channel titled Bathymetry of the MH370 Search Area, created by Geoscience Australia, by using data from the survey.
The video reveals computer-animated flythrough, showing a visualisation of the sea floor terrain in the search area of the southern Indian Ocean.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board. The plane is believed to have ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.
