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| Satellite Photos Send Jet Hunt to Southern Indian Ocean | Satellite Photos Send Jet Hunt to Southern Indian Ocean |
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| SYDNEY, Australia — Aircraft and ships rushed to scour a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean on Thursday after satellite photographs showed tantalizing glimpses of two large floating objects that might be pieces of the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner. But the first searchers on the scene could not find the objects. | |
| A P-3 Orion aircraft dispatched by the Royal Australian Air Force was “unable to locate debris — cloud and rain limited visibility,” according to a Twitter message posted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is managing the search in that part of the ocean. A United States Navy P-8A Poseidon also searched in the area and returned to a base near Perth, Australia, after finding “nothing of significance to report,” according to a message from the Seventh Fleet, which is overseeing the American military contribution to the search. | A P-3 Orion aircraft dispatched by the Royal Australian Air Force was “unable to locate debris — cloud and rain limited visibility,” according to a Twitter message posted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is managing the search in that part of the ocean. A United States Navy P-8A Poseidon also searched in the area and returned to a base near Perth, Australia, after finding “nothing of significance to report,” according to a message from the Seventh Fleet, which is overseeing the American military contribution to the search. |
| The Maritime Safety Authority said Friday’s search of the area, which is 2,500 kilometers, or 1,500 miles, southwest of Perth on Australia’s west coast, would include four military aircraft, including two Royal Australian Air Force Orion planes. | The Maritime Safety Authority said Friday’s search of the area, which is 2,500 kilometers, or 1,500 miles, southwest of Perth on Australia’s west coast, would include four military aircraft, including two Royal Australian Air Force Orion planes. |
| “A total of six merchant ships have assisted in the search,” the authority said. | “A total of six merchant ships have assisted in the search,” the authority said. |
| The stretch of ocean where the objects were spotted is remote and little traveled. But a cargo ship that happened to be relatively close, bound for Melbourne, Australia, from the island of Mauritius, was diverted south from its usual route two days ago at the request of the Australian authorities. It reached the area of the satellite sighting late on Wednesday, the first ship to arrive there, but it also saw nothing on Thursday. An Australian naval vessel dispatched to the area, the Success, was still several days away. | The stretch of ocean where the objects were spotted is remote and little traveled. But a cargo ship that happened to be relatively close, bound for Melbourne, Australia, from the island of Mauritius, was diverted south from its usual route two days ago at the request of the Australian authorities. It reached the area of the satellite sighting late on Wednesday, the first ship to arrive there, but it also saw nothing on Thursday. An Australian naval vessel dispatched to the area, the Success, was still several days away. |
| Executives of Hoegh Autoliners, the Norwegian owners of the cargo ship, said at a news conference in Oslo on Thursday that the ship and its crew of 19 were at the authorities’ disposal and would remain in the area as long as needed. Ingar Skiaker, the company’s chief executive, and Sebjorn Dahl, its head of human resources, said the vessel, a car carrier named the St. Petersburg, had radar equipment and powerful searchlights that would be used to scan the ocean surface around the clock. | Executives of Hoegh Autoliners, the Norwegian owners of the cargo ship, said at a news conference in Oslo on Thursday that the ship and its crew of 19 were at the authorities’ disposal and would remain in the area as long as needed. Ingar Skiaker, the company’s chief executive, and Sebjorn Dahl, its head of human resources, said the vessel, a car carrier named the St. Petersburg, had radar equipment and powerful searchlights that would be used to scan the ocean surface around the clock. |
| The plane, Flight 370, with 227 passengers and a crew of 12, took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the early hours of March 8 bound for Beijing, and stopped communicating with ground controllers about 40 minutes later. For more than an hour, military radar tracked a plane that was probably Flight 370, veering sharply off the original course and flying west toward the Indian Ocean; automatic satellite signals emitted by the plane suggested that it kept flying for hours after that, with the last signal detected about a half-hour before it would have exhausted its fuel. | The plane, Flight 370, with 227 passengers and a crew of 12, took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the early hours of March 8 bound for Beijing, and stopped communicating with ground controllers about 40 minutes later. For more than an hour, military radar tracked a plane that was probably Flight 370, veering sharply off the original course and flying west toward the Indian Ocean; automatic satellite signals emitted by the plane suggested that it kept flying for hours after that, with the last signal detected about a half-hour before it would have exhausted its fuel. |
| By that point, the signals indicated, the plane was probably somewhere along a broad arc sweeping from Central Asia through Southeast Asia and out into the ocean; officials are concentrating on the southern portion of the arc as the most likely area, and that is roughly where the floating objects were seen. | By that point, the signals indicated, the plane was probably somewhere along a broad arc sweeping from Central Asia through Southeast Asia and out into the ocean; officials are concentrating on the southern portion of the arc as the most likely area, and that is roughly where the floating objects were seen. |
| John Young, the general manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency response division, sought on Thursday to moderate any hopes that parts of the jet might finally have been found after 12 days. He said the southern Indian Ocean was liable to contain some large pieces of debris, like containers lost overboard from merchant vessels. | John Young, the general manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s emergency response division, sought on Thursday to moderate any hopes that parts of the jet might finally have been found after 12 days. He said the southern Indian Ocean was liable to contain some large pieces of debris, like containers lost overboard from merchant vessels. |
| One of the floating objects, he said, appeared to be around 24 meters (79 feet) long, but he could not say what shape it was or whether it had markings on it that would identify it. The other appeared to be about 5 meters (16 feet) long, he said. “The fact there are a number located in the same area makes it worth looking at,” Mr. Young said at a news conference in Canberra, calling the sighting “probably the best lead we have right now.” | One of the floating objects, he said, appeared to be around 24 meters (79 feet) long, but he could not say what shape it was or whether it had markings on it that would identify it. The other appeared to be about 5 meters (16 feet) long, he said. “The fact there are a number located in the same area makes it worth looking at,” Mr. Young said at a news conference in Canberra, calling the sighting “probably the best lead we have right now.” |
| The satellite images, which were released to the public, are dated March 16. “The imagery has been progressively captured by satellites passing over various areas,” John McGarry, air commodore of the Royal Australian Air Force, said at the Canberra news conference. “The task of analyzing the imagery is quite difficult. It requires drawing down frames and going through it frame by frame.” He added that the images were passed to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as soon the signs of floating debris were discovered. | The satellite images, which were released to the public, are dated March 16. “The imagery has been progressively captured by satellites passing over various areas,” John McGarry, air commodore of the Royal Australian Air Force, said at the Canberra news conference. “The task of analyzing the imagery is quite difficult. It requires drawing down frames and going through it frame by frame.” He added that the images were passed to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as soon the signs of floating debris were discovered. |
| A senior American investigator said he was “highly skeptical” that the debris spotted on satellite came from an airplane. “I’ve seen the pictures,” he said. “Those pieces are pretty damned big.” | A senior American investigator said he was “highly skeptical” that the debris spotted on satellite came from an airplane. “I’ve seen the pictures,” he said. “Those pieces are pretty damned big.” |
| In a crash, he said, the airplane usually breaks up into smaller pieces. | In a crash, he said, the airplane usually breaks up into smaller pieces. |
| If he is correct, it would be the second large piece of debris that was initially identified as possibly being part of the plane and turned out to be something else; a few days after the crash, the Chinese released a satellite picture of something they said might be wreckage from a Boeing 777. It was also too big. | If he is correct, it would be the second large piece of debris that was initially identified as possibly being part of the plane and turned out to be something else; a few days after the crash, the Chinese released a satellite picture of something they said might be wreckage from a Boeing 777. It was also too big. |
| The investigator also said that a review of the cargo manifest showed that the plane was carrying lithium batteries, but that this was not unusual, and that the plane’s pattern of movements, as recorded by radar, “wouldn’t fit with any known inflight fire we’ve had to date.” | The investigator also said that a review of the cargo manifest showed that the plane was carrying lithium batteries, but that this was not unusual, and that the plane’s pattern of movements, as recorded by radar, “wouldn’t fit with any known inflight fire we’ve had to date.” |
| Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister of Malaysia, which is in overall charge of the search and investigation into the plane’s disappearance, said at a news conference near Kuala Lumpur later on Thursday that the information from Australia had been “actually corroborated to a certain extent from other satellites.” He did not elaborate. | Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister of Malaysia, which is in overall charge of the search and investigation into the plane’s disappearance, said at a news conference near Kuala Lumpur later on Thursday that the information from Australia had been “actually corroborated to a certain extent from other satellites.” He did not elaborate. |
| Cmdr. William J. Marks, spokesman for the Seventh Fleet, said on Wednesday that if the ocean search turned up suspected debris, aircraft would fly over it at close range and use electro-optical and infrared camera equipment, which can discern objects much more sharply than a naked human eye, to identify it. The aircraft, he added, “could provide the necessary information to lead salvage ships to the wreckage.” | Cmdr. William J. Marks, spokesman for the Seventh Fleet, said on Wednesday that if the ocean search turned up suspected debris, aircraft would fly over it at close range and use electro-optical and infrared camera equipment, which can discern objects much more sharply than a naked human eye, to identify it. The aircraft, he added, “could provide the necessary information to lead salvage ships to the wreckage.” |
| The P-8A Poseidon search plane was able to spend about three hours over the area where investigators believed the debris would be, and a similar flight was planned for Friday, Commander Marks said in an email on Friday. | The P-8A Poseidon search plane was able to spend about three hours over the area where investigators believed the debris would be, and a similar flight was planned for Friday, Commander Marks said in an email on Friday. |
| The Success, the Australian naval vessel on its way to the area, “is well equipped to recover any objects located and proven to be from MH370,” the Australian maritime authority said in a statement. | The Success, the Australian naval vessel on its way to the area, “is well equipped to recover any objects located and proven to be from MH370,” the Australian maritime authority said in a statement. |
| Tim Farrar, a former systems engineer in California who advises companies on satellite and telecommunications issues, said the investigators appeared to have identified the target area using the plane’s final satellite signal and assuming that it was flying a straight course at a steady speed toward the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. | Tim Farrar, a former systems engineer in California who advises companies on satellite and telecommunications issues, said the investigators appeared to have identified the target area using the plane’s final satellite signal and assuming that it was flying a straight course at a steady speed toward the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. |
| “If debris from the plane is found in the predicted area, that suggests that the plane would not have been under active pilot control during the last few hours of flight,” Mr. Farrar said in an interview. “The assumption is if you’re going off into the Southern Ocean, presumably the pilots were incapacitated by a fire or something, and it was flying on autopilot until the fuel ran out.” | “If debris from the plane is found in the predicted area, that suggests that the plane would not have been under active pilot control during the last few hours of flight,” Mr. Farrar said in an interview. “The assumption is if you’re going off into the Southern Ocean, presumably the pilots were incapacitated by a fire or something, and it was flying on autopilot until the fuel ran out.” |