Search operation for Malaysia Airlines aircraft: Update 27

Search operation for Malaysia Airlines aircraft: Update 27

Search activities for Saturday have now concluded. Approximately 252,000 square kilometres were searched.

Aircraft in the search area have continued to report sightings of objects similar to those reported on Friday.

A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force Ilyushin IL-76 reported sighting three objects in the search area.

A Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion also reported sighting multiple objects in a different part of the search area.

The objects sighted by aircraft cannot be verified or discounted as being from MH370 until they are relocated and recovered by ships.

The Haixun 01 and HMAS Success reported they have retrieved a number of objects from the ocean but so far no objects confirmed to be related to MH370 have been recovered.

Today’s search activities involved a total of eight aircraft.

They included three Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orions, a Japanese Coast Guard jet, a Japanese P3 Orion, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force Ilyushin IL-76, and one civil jet acting as a communications relay.

HMAS Success, the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration ship Haixun 01, China Rescue and Salvage Bureau ship Nan Hai Jiu, and the Chinese Navy ship Jinggang Shan arrived in the search area today and a further five ships should arrive tomorrow.

The ANZAC class frigate HMAS Toowoomba left Perth earlier tonight and is due to arrive at the search area in about three days.

The weather in the search area was described as reasonable for searching however visibility was reduced to about four kilometres with rain showers.

The search will resume in the morning.

Search operation for Malaysia Airlines aircraft: Update 25

 Five aircraft spotted multiple objects of various colours during Friday’s search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

Search activities have now concluded. A total of 256,000 square kilometres was searched.

Photographic imagery of the objects was captured and will be assessed overnight.

The objects cannot be verified or discounted as being from MH370 until they are relocated and recovered by ships.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion reported sighting a number of objects white or light in colour and a fishing buoy.

A Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion relocated the objects detected by the RNZAF Orion and reported it had seen two blue/grey rectangular objects floating in the ocean.

A second RAAF P3 Orion spotted various objects of various colours in a separate part of the search area about 546 kilometres away.

A total of ten planes were tasked by AMSA in today’s search and all have now departed the search area.

AMSA has tasked Chinese Maritime Administration patrol ship, Haixun 01, which is in the search area and will be in a position to relocate the objects on Saturday.

Friday’s search area was shifted north after international air crash investigators in Malaysia provided the latest credible lead available to AMSA.

This was on the advice of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Weather conditions in the area are expected to be reasonable for searching on Saturday.

US 7th Fleet Adds Second P-8 Poseidon to MH370 Search

PERTH, Australia (NNS) -- In an effort to pinpoint the exact location Malaysian Air MH370 landed in the Indian Ocean, U.S. 7th Fleet is sending a second P-8 Poseidon Patrol aircraft to Perth, Australia to aid in the search efforts.

The P-8 will fly from Okinawa, Japan to Perth March 28 to join an international coalition of search aircraft being coordinated by the Australian Defence Force.

"It's critical to continue searching for debris so we can reverse-forecast the wind, current and sea state since March 8th to recreate the position where MH370 possibly went into the water. We've got to get this initial position right prior to deploying the Towed Pinger Locator since the MH370's black box has a limited battery life and we can't afford to lose time searching in the wrong area," said Cmdr. Tom Moneymaker, U.S. 7th Fleet oceanographer

Harsh weather conditions, including ceilings as low as 800 feet and potential icing conditions, make the addition of the all-weather P-8 extremely valuable. In total, 7th Fleet patrol aircraft have flown 16 missions, flying more than 150 flight hours covering 220,000 square nautical miles.

In anticipation of finding MH370 debris and pinpointing a close approximation of the crash coordinates, U.S. Pacific Fleet moved a Towed Pinger Locator hydrophone and Bluefin-21 Side-scan sonar into Perth for future positioning to the crash site. 

This movement is a prudent effort to preposition equipment and trained personnel closer to the search area so that if debris is found, search coordinators will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited.

The P-3 Orion previously searching in the Northern Indian Ocean will return to previously assigned 7th Fleet missions.

In terms of mission effectiveness and reliability, the P-8A represents a leap forward for the Navy's maritime patrol and reconnaissance community. The aircraft has a maximum speed of 490 knots, a ceiling of 41,000 feet, and provides a range of more than 1,200 nautical miles with four hours on station. For a mission such as the MH370 search, the P-8 will typically fly at 5,000 feet at 350 knots, dropping to 1,000 feet to get a visual identification of any radar returns. It may also fly at 1,000 feet for an extended period of the flight, depending on the environment and mission for the flight. It has a search time of approximately eight, nine hours depending on distance to search area, though during this mission the search time on station is greatly reduced due to the distance of the search area from Perth. 

The P-8A is the most advanced long range anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft in the world. A true multi-mission aircraft, it also provides superior maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability. Built on the proven Boeing 737 airframe, the P-8A brings with it enhanced safety and reduced maintenance.

The new P-8A is part of the Navy's commitment to the Pacific rebalance, bringing newer and more capable aircraft to 7th Fleet to ensure the Navy is best postured to honor its security commitments to the Indo-Asia-Pacific and contribute to regional security and stability.

Search and recovery operation for Malaysia Airlines aircraft: Update 21

*All times are expressed in Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time (AEDT). Please note all times are approximate.

Today’s search and recovery operation in the Australian Search and Rescue Region for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is now underway.

Search activities today will involve a total of 11 aircraft and five ships.

Today’s search is split into two areas within the same proximity covering a cumulative 78,000 square kilometres.

Two Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orions, a Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, a Japanese Gulfstream jet, a US Navy P-8 Poseidon and a Japanese P-3 Orion will fly sorties throughout the day.

The first aircraft to leave Perth for the search area was the Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft around 8am.

The two RAAF AP-3C Orions are scheduled to depart before midday.

Five civil aircraft are scheduled to depart between 9.30am and 11am. A total of 34 SES volunteers will again be air observers on board the civil aircraft.

A Japan Coast Guard ultra-long range jet will depart at around 2pm.

A US Navy P8 Poseidon is scheduled to depart around 4pm.

A Japanese P3 Orion is scheduled to depart around 5pm.

HMAS Success remains in the search area about 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth and was joined by four Chinese ships – Xue Long, Kunlunshan, Haikou and Qiandaohu – in the search area.

Weather in the search area is expected to deteriorate later today.

Search operation for Malaysia Airlines aircraft continues: Update 19

Today’s search for any signs of the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft in the Australian Search and Rescue Region is now underway.

A total of six countries are now assisting in the search and recovery operation – Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.

A total of seven military and five civil aircraft will be involved in today’s search activities.

One Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft from China departed Perth around 8am for the search area.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion aircraft NZ P-3K2 departed for the search area
around 9.10am.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion is scheduled to depart Perth around 11am.

A US Navy P8 Poseidon is due to depart around 2pm.

A Japanese P3 Orion is due to depart Perth around 3pm.

A second RAAF P3 Orion is scheduled to depart for the search area around 4pm.

A Republic of Korea P3 Orion is due to depart around 5pm.

Two civil aircraft have now departed Perth for the search area. The remaining three civil aircraft will depart for the search area between 10am and midday.

A total of 34 State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers from Western Australia will be air observers on board the five civil aircraft.

HMAS Success and China’s polar supply ship Xue Long are now in the search area.

Search and recovery operation for Malaysia Airlines debris: Update 17

A search and recovery operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean will resume on Wednesday, March 25.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed on Tuesday the focus is now on search and recovery of any objects related to the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

A visual search will resume tomorrow when the weather is expected to improve after gale force winds and heavy swells resulted in the suspension of the search operation on Tuesday.

As many as twelve aircraft are expected to be involved in the search tomorrow, including seven military aircraft and five civil aircraft.

HMAS Success will return to the search area and conduct a surface sweep of an area identified on Monday afternoon by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion as the location for several objects of interest.

A total of six countries are now assisting in the search – Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.

India has also offered to join the search and recovery operation.

China’s polar supply ship Xue Long (Snow Dragon) and three other Chinese ships are expected to arrive in the search area on Wednesday.

Navy Prepares Black Box Locator for MH370 Search

PHILIPPINE SEA (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy is continuing efforts to search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. As a precautionary measure in case a debris field is located, U.S. Pacific Command has ordered U.S. Pacific Fleet to move a black box locator into the region, March 24. 

If a debris field is confirmed, The Navy's Towed Pinger Locator 25 will add a significant advantage in locating the missing Malaysian aircraft's black box.

The TPL-25 Towed Pinger Locator System is able to locate black boxes on downed Navy and commercial aircraft down to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet anywhere in the world. Commercial aircraft pingers are mounted directly on the flight recorder, the recovery of which is critical to an accident investigation.

The Pinger Locator is towed behind a vessel at slow speeds, generally 1-5 knots, depending on the depth. The tow array carries a passive listening device for detecting pingers that automatically transmit an acoustic pulse.

"In the event a debris field is located, we're moving some specialized locator equipment into the area. The Towed Pinger Locator has some highly sensitive listening capability so that if the wreck site is located, we can hear the black box pinger down to a depth of about 20,000 feet. Basically, this super-sensitive hydrophone gets towed behind a commercial vessel very slowly and listens for black box pings," said Cmdr. Chris Budde, U.S. Seventh Fleet Operations Officer.

"This movement is simply a prudent effort to preposition equipment and trained personnel closer to the search area so that if debris is found we will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited," said Budde.

If found, the acoustic signal of the pinger is transmitted up the cable and is presented audibly, and can be output to either an oscilloscope or a signal processing computer. The operator monitors the greatest signal strength and records the navigation coordinates. This procedure is repeated on multiple track lines until the final position is triangulated.

The system consists of the tow fish, tow cable, winch, hydraulic power unit, generator, and topside control console.

Most pingers transmit every second at 37.5 kHz, although the TPL can detect any pinger transmitting between 3.5 kHz and 50 kHz at any repetition rate.


FACTS:
Towed Pinger Locator 25
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4300&tid=400&ct=4

Background
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Tow Body Length - 30 inches Diameter - 35 inches Weight - 70 lbs Performance Depth - 20,000 feet of seawater Speed - 1-5 knots

Search operation for Malaysia Airlines aircraft: Update 15

A Royal Australian Air Force (A9-658) AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. photo by Jason B

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority can advise objects have been located by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion. 

HMAS Success is on scene and is attempting to locate the objects in the search for missing Malaysia Aircraft flight MH370. 

The objects were spotted in the search area about 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth by the RAAF Orion about 2.45pm (AEDT). 

The crew on board the Orion reported seeing two objects – the first a grey or green circular object and the second an orange rectangular object. 

The objects identified by the RAAF Orion are separate to the objects reported by the Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 to AMSA earlier today. 

The objects reported by the Chinese were also within today’s search area. 

The US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft sought to relocate the objects reported by the Chinese aircraft but were unable to do so. 

The US Navy P8 is remains in the search area, while a second RAAF P3 and a Japanese P3 are en route to their assigned search areas. 

The last of these aircraft will depart the search area about 11pm (AEDT). 

Seventh Fleet Continues Search for Malaysian Airlines MH370

GULF OF THAILAND (NNS) -- Seventh Fleet continues search efforts for a third day for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

USS Kidd (DDG 100), which joined the search efforts yesterday, is conducting helicopter searches in the southwest section of the Gulf of Thailand search area, while USS Pinckney (DDG 91) is conducting searches in the northeast portion of the search area, as of March 11.

The Malaysian Government, assigned these search sectors, as part of the tremendous job in water and airspace management for this international effort.

In a three and a half hour sortie, an HM-60R helicopter can typically search a 400 - 600 square nautical mile area, depending on the size of object it's trying to find, speed, wind, sea state and visibility.

The Navy P-3C Orion continues to fly search missions over both Straits of Malacca and Gulf of Thailand. With their ability to stay on station for long periods, the P-3 can cover about 1,000 - 1,500 square miles every hour. Their on-board sensors allow the crew to clearly detect small debris in the water.

U.S. Navy ships or aircraft have not reported any debris associated with aircraft wreckage at this time.