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Clock Ticks as Search for Missing Plane Intensifies in New Zone More Ships and Planes Join Search for Jetliner
(about 7 hours later)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — More than three weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared, and with still no trace of the missing plane, the international search effort intensified on Sunday with nine planes and eight naval vessels scouring the latest search area, about 1,100 miles west of Perth, Australia, officials said. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — With no trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 more than three weeks after it disappeared, the international search effort intensified early Monday, with 10 planes and 10 ships scouring the latest search area about 1,100 miles west of Perth, Australia, officials said.
Other ships were en route to the zone and were expected to arrive in the next several days, including an Australian naval vessel, the Ocean Shield, outfitted with special equipment to detect the pings of the plane’s data recorders, or black boxes, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the search.Other ships were en route to the zone and were expected to arrive in the next several days, including an Australian naval vessel, the Ocean Shield, outfitted with special equipment to detect the pings of the plane’s data recorders, or black boxes, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the search.
As in the two previous days of searching, aircraft spotted more debris floating in the zone’s rough waters, the authority said. On Saturday, crews on two of the ships pulled several objects from the zone’s rough waters, raising hopes that perhaps the first physical evidence of the missing Boeing 777-200 had been found. As in the two previous days of searching, aircraft spotted more debris floating in the zone, the authority said.
But the debris turned out to be “fishing equipment and other flotsam,” the authority said in a statement late Sunday. On Saturday, crews on two of the ships pulled several objects from the rough waters, raising hopes that perhaps the first physical evidence of the missing Boeing 777-200 had been found. But the debris turned out to be “fishing equipment and other flotsam,” the authority said in a statement late Sunday.
In Malaysia, more than two dozen relatives of Chinese passengers on Flight 370 arrived from China on Sunday to press Malaysian officials for more answers about the investigation. The Malaysian government has endured withering criticism by the relatives and friends of Chinese passengers, both in Malaysia and in China, who have accused officials of withholding information about the disappearance of the plane and not doing enough to find it. In Malaysia, more than two dozen relatives of Chinese passengers on Flight 370 arrived from China on Sunday to press Malaysian officials for more answers about the investigation. The Malaysian government has endured withering criticism from the relatives and friends of Chinese passengers, both in Malaysia and in China, who have accused officials of withholding information about the disappearance of the plane and not doing enough to find it.
The group staged a protest at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur and demanded an apology from the Malaysian government for declaring last week that the plane had crashed into the Indian Ocean, saying there was insufficient evidence to support that conclusion. The group protested at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur and demanded an apology from the Malaysian government for declaring last week that the plane had crashed into the Indian Ocean, saying there was insufficient evidence to support that conclusion.
Government officials said later that they planned to hold a briefing for the family members that would include “high-level representatives of the Malaysian government.”Government officials said later that they planned to hold a briefing for the family members that would include “high-level representatives of the Malaysian government.”
The Ocean Shield, an offshore support vessel that will be carrying the ping-detecting listening device, was supposed to depart from Perth on Sunday, but its departure was rescheduled for Monday, officials said. The ship will also be carrying an unmanned underwater vehicle. The Ocean Shield, an offshore support vessel that will be carrying the ping-detecting device, was supposed leave Perth on Sunday, but its departure was rescheduled for Monday, officials said. The ship will also be carrying an unmanned underwater vehicle.
But the ping detector’s utility, in the absence of more-specific information about the location of the wreckage, is questionable. The device will be towed behind the ship at no more than about five knots, or about six miles per hour, and needs to be within about a mile of the black boxes to pick up the signal reliably, making for a slow and painstaking process. The new search area, which was established on Friday, is roughly the size of Poland. But the ping detector’s utility, in the absence of more specific information about the location of the wreckage, is questionable. The device will be towed behind the ship at no more than about five knots, or about six miles per hour, and needs to be within about a mile of the black boxes to pick up the signal reliably, making for a slow and painstaking process. The new search area, which was established on Friday, is roughly the size of Poland.
Searchers, however, say there is no time to waste: The device will be ineffective once the batteries powering the black boxes die, which is expected to happen next week.Searchers, however, say there is no time to waste: The device will be ineffective once the batteries powering the black boxes die, which is expected to happen next week.
The recovery of debris from Flight 370 might also help pinpoint the location of the wreckage, though experts are doubtful.The recovery of debris from Flight 370 might also help pinpoint the location of the wreckage, though experts are doubtful.
When debris is found quickly enough after a crash into the sea, investigators can trace its drift back to the impact site and conduct an underwater search for the black boxes. But in the case of Flight 370, any debris, if found, might well have drifted hundreds of miles since the plane’s disappearance and be of limited use in locating the crash site. When debris is found quickly enough after a crash into the sea, investigators can trace its drift back to the impact site and conduct an underwater search for the black boxes. But in the case of Flight 370, any debris, if found, might well have drifted hundreds of miles since the plane’s disappearance and be of limited use in finding the crash site.
Still, recovered items from the plane might allow investigators to rule in or out certain events that could have caused a crash. Scorch marks, for example, might indicate that there was a fire, and the nature of any fire damage could offer clues about its source.
In the case of the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, the fact that the oxygen masks had not deployed and that life vests remained in their pouches indicated that those on board had not had time to prepare for an impact. Investigators also deduced from the damage that the plane hit the water at high speed, and they were able to tell which part of the plane hit the water first. Autopsies on the bodies recovered from the site revealed that the impact was extremely violent.
Confirmed aircraft debris would also provide final evidence that the plane had crashed into the ocean and offer at least partial resolution of any lingering doubts of the families and friends of the passengers and crew.
But search experts warned that the approaching winter in the Southern Hemisphere could force a delay of several months to any comprehensive underwater search-and-recovery mission.
While the wreckage of the plane probably rests in cold, deep waters and is unlikely to degrade significantly in the coming months, experts said, the prospect of a delay would be hard for search experts to explain to the family members and to politicians who want to demonstrate that they are doing everything possible to find out what happened.
The search area was shifted after new analysis of radar data from the morning of March 8 — when Flight 370 apparently veered off its intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing — determined that the plane was traveling faster than previously thought and therefore would have burned fuel more quickly and possibly fallen into the Indian Ocean farther north than previously believed.The search area was shifted after new analysis of radar data from the morning of March 8 — when Flight 370 apparently veered off its intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing — determined that the plane was traveling faster than previously thought and therefore would have burned fuel more quickly and possibly fallen into the Indian Ocean farther north than previously believed.
The new zone is about 700 miles north of the previous search area.The new zone is about 700 miles north of the previous search area.