This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight-370.html

The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Hunt for Missing Plane Resumes as Search Area Narrows Hunt for Missing Plane Resumes as Search Area Narrows
(about 1 hour later)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumed in earnest on Saturday as surveillance planes returned to the skies above a newly defined search area and a Chinese patrol ship already in the zone tried to locate unidentified floating objects that were spotted by aircraft on Friday, the Australian authorities said.KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumed in earnest on Saturday as surveillance planes returned to the skies above a newly defined search area and a Chinese patrol ship already in the zone tried to locate unidentified floating objects that were spotted by aircraft on Friday, the Australian authorities said.
Several other ships that form part of the multinational force trying to locate the Boeing 777-200 were expected to reach the zone sometime late Saturday, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is coordinating the search.Several other ships that form part of the multinational force trying to locate the Boeing 777-200 were expected to reach the zone sometime late Saturday, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is coordinating the search.
Five aircraft flying over the new search area on Friday “spotted multiple objects of various colors” floating in the water, the authority said. Officials planned to analyze images of the objects overnight and hoped the Chinese patrol ship, which arrived in the area before dawn on Saturday, would be able to locate the objects and inspect them, if not recover them for evaluation.Five aircraft flying over the new search area on Friday “spotted multiple objects of various colors” floating in the water, the authority said. Officials planned to analyze images of the objects overnight and hoped the Chinese patrol ship, which arrived in the area before dawn on Saturday, would be able to locate the objects and inspect them, if not recover them for evaluation.
But the officials involved in the search, mindful of the amount of trash adrift in the world’s oceans, said the sightings were so far inconclusive.But the officials involved in the search, mindful of the amount of trash adrift in the world’s oceans, said the sightings were so far inconclusive.
“It is not known how much flotsam, such as from fishing activities, is ordinarily there,” the authority said in its statement Saturday morning.“It is not known how much flotsam, such as from fishing activities, is ordinarily there,” the authority said in its statement Saturday morning.
At a brief news conference in Sydney, Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia said the weather conditions on Saturday were “benign for that rather inhospitable part of the world.”At a brief news conference in Sydney, Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia said the weather conditions on Saturday were “benign for that rather inhospitable part of the world.”
But he underscored the difficulty of the task, saying: “It is an extraordinarily remote location. These are inhospitable seas. It’s an inaccessible place. We are trying to find small bits of wreckage in a vast ocean, and while we are throwing everything we have at it, the task goes on.” But he underscored the difficulty of the search, saying: “It is an extraordinarily remote location. These are inhospitable seas. It’s an inaccessible place. We are trying to find small bits of wreckage in a vast ocean, and while we are throwing everything we have at it, the task goes on.”
A new analysis of radar data from the morning of March 8, as Flight 370 veered off its intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and instead flew west over Peninsular Malaysia and then south over the Indian Ocean, persuaded officials to shift the search area on Friday to a zone about 1,100 miles west of Perth, Australia.A new analysis of radar data from the morning of March 8, as Flight 370 veered off its intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and instead flew west over Peninsular Malaysia and then south over the Indian Ocean, persuaded officials to shift the search area on Friday to a zone about 1,100 miles west of Perth, Australia.
The analysis showed that the Malaysia Airlines plane was moving faster than investigators had previously estimated and therefore it would have burned fuel at a faster rate and possibly fallen into the Indian Ocean further north than previously believed, officials said. The analysis showed that the Malaysia Airlines plane was moving faster than investigators had previously estimated and therefore it would have burned fuel at a faster rate and possibly fallen into the Indian Ocean farther north than previously believed, officials said.
The new search area is about 700 miles northeast of a zone that had been the focus of search efforts for most of the week. Satellite images released in recent days by Australia, China, Thailand, Japan and the European satellite launch company Airbus Defense and Space has shown hundreds of floating objects in or very near the previous search area, giving hope that officials were getting close to finding the plane. The new search area is about 700 miles northeast of a zone that had been the focus of search efforts for most of the week. Satellite images released in recent days by Australia, China, Thailand, Japan and the European satellite launch company Airbus Defense and Space have shown hundreds of floating objects in or very near the previous search area, giving hope that officials were getting close to finding the plane.
But at a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Friday evening, Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia’s defense minister, said that considering the currents in that part of the Indian Ocean, the objects seen in the satellite images could have drifted from the new search area to the locations where they were spotted.But at a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur on Friday evening, Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia’s defense minister, said that considering the currents in that part of the Indian Ocean, the objects seen in the satellite images could have drifted from the new search area to the locations where they were spotted.
The revision of the search area was based largely on work done by analysts from Boeing Co. in Seattle, part of a multinational team of experts collaborating with Malaysian investigators, officials here said. The revision of the search area was based largely on work done by analysts from Boeing in Seattle, part of a multinational team of experts collaborating with Malaysian investigators, officials here said.
Analysts arrived at their conclusions using radar data as well as considering factors such as the amount of fuel on the plane when it departed and the altitude it was flying as it headed over the south Indian Ocean, Malaysian officials added, offering no further elaboration.Analysts arrived at their conclusions using radar data as well as considering factors such as the amount of fuel on the plane when it departed and the altitude it was flying as it headed over the south Indian Ocean, Malaysian officials added, offering no further elaboration.
Some ten aircraft flew over the new search area on Friday and eight aircraft were expected to return on Saturday. About 10 aircraft flew over the new search area on Friday, and 8 were expected to return on Saturday.
The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration ship Haixun 01 was in the area at daybreak on Saturday, Australian official said, and at least five other ships were expected to arrive in the zone by the end of the day.The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration ship Haixun 01 was in the area at daybreak on Saturday, Australian official said, and at least five other ships were expected to arrive in the zone by the end of the day.
The new search area offers more favorable conditions for the search than the previous areas, officials said. The new search area offers more favorable conditions than the previous areas, officials said.
It is only a fifth of the size of the previous search area, even though it remains large: At 123,000 square miles, or 319,000 square kilometers, it is roughly the size of New Mexico or Poland. It is only a fifth of the size of the previous search area, though still large: At 123,000 square miles, or 319,000 square kilometers, it is roughly the size of New Mexico or Poland.
It is also closer to Perth, Australia, the departure point for the search airplanes, which will now have to fly up to an hour less in each direction, allowing aircrews to spend more time combing the sea looking for debris from Flight 370.It is also closer to Perth, Australia, the departure point for the search airplanes, which will now have to fly up to an hour less in each direction, allowing aircrews to spend more time combing the sea looking for debris from Flight 370.
In addition, the ocean in the new search area is shallower in some places than in the previous search area, and the weather is less inclement, officials said. In addition, the ocean in the new search area is shallower in some places than in the previous search area, and the weather less inclement, officials said.
“It is a different ballpark,” Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at the University of New South Wales, said of the new search area. “The water in this area is more like the oceans around the Bahamas.”“It is a different ballpark,” Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at the University of New South Wales, said of the new search area. “The water in this area is more like the oceans around the Bahamas.”
But he also warned that the seabed in the area is marked by a steep ridge and that prevailing currents drag in more debris from other parts of the ocean. But he also warned that the seabed in the area was marked by a steep ridge, and that prevailing currents dragged in more debris from other parts of the ocean.
The new zone also creates a further challenge in finding the missing plane’s data recorders, which are believed to have sunk to the ocean floor wherever the aircraft first hit the ocean. Aircraft and ships have dropped buoys and tracked them for the past week in the previous search area in an attempt to document sea currents and figure out how far floating debris might have drifted from the original point of impact. The new zone also creates a further challenge in finding the data recorders, which are believed to have sunk to the ocean floor wherever the plane first hit the ocean. Aircraft and ships have dropped buoys and tracked them for the past week in the previous search area in an effort to document sea currents and figure out how far floating debris might have drifted from the original point of impact.
Martin Dolan, the chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, warned that further analyses could yet result in another change in the search area. Martin Dolan, the chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, warned that further analyses could still result in another change in the search area.
“This has a long way to go yet,” Mr. Dolan said.“This has a long way to go yet,” Mr. Dolan said.
In his news conference Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Hishammuddin struck a similar note of caution, saying that the new search area, “although more focused than before, remains considerable. And the search conditions, though easier than before, remain challenging.” In his news conference on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Hishammuddin struck a similar note of caution, saying that the new search area, “although more focused than before, remains considerable. And the search conditions, though easier than before, remain challenging.”