Robot sub to launch seabed search for missing MH370

 Bluefin-21, the US-supplied underwater drone fitted to Ocean Shield. 

The hunt for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was set to switch to the ocean floor today using a robot submersible after suspected black box signals were detected, one month to the day since the jet vanished.

After describing sonic "pings" picked up by the naval vessel Ocean Shield as the "most promising lead" so far, the head of the Australian-led search operation warned that hopes of finding surface debris were fading.

Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said that the moment was nearing to deploy the US-made autonomous underwater vessel Bluefin-21 to scour for wreckage on the seabed.

"I haven't had the discussion this morning, we'll be having that discussion a little later on," he told national radio. "I imagine we'd be getting very close to that point."

The search is now focusing on a 600-kilometre arc of the southern Indian Ocean, far off the coast of western Australia.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss sounded a note of optimism.

"Today is another crucial day as we try and reconnect with the signals that perhaps have been emanating from the black box flight recorders of MH370," he said.

"The connections two days ago were obviously a time of great hope that there had been a significant breakthrough."

But he added: "It was disappointing that we were unable to repeat that experience yesterday."

Ocean Shield is criss-crossing the area to try to home in on the signals again before launching the five-metre long submersible sonar device, and Truss indicated the deployment was imminent.

"I understand that we are using the autonomous vehicle to examine the waters in the areas of interests of today," he said.

The signals are being investigated as the clock ticks past the 30-day lifespan of the emergency beacons on the two data recorders from the Malaysia Airlines jet, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

"As a consequence there is a chance the locator beacon is about to cease transmission, or has ceased transmission," Houston said.

"I think it's absolutely imperative to find something else and hopefully when we put the autonomous vehicle down, its capability is such that it'll be able to find wreckage.

"Unfortunately with the passage of time, oceanic drift and all the rest of it – particularly as a cyclone went through that area in the last few days – the chances of finding anything on the surface are diminishing with time."

The US Navy's Bluefin 21 Artemis autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) being hoisted back on board the Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield. The hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could soon head to the ocean floor using an autonomous sonar vessel after possible black box signals were detected. – AFP pic, April 8, 2014.

Houston explained that the 4.5 kilometre depth of the ocean floor was the absolute operating limit for a Bluefin-21, which is designed for deep sea surveying and can carry video cameras.

"It can't go deeper than that, so it's quite incredible how finely balanced all of this is," he said.

"It's a long, painstaking process, particularly when you start searching the depths of the ocean floor."

When the sonar detects unusual formations on the ocean floor, it is brought back to the surface to fit cameras before returning to the seabed.

"You can't have the side sonar and the camera down there together, it's one or the other," Houston said.

"We will continue sortie after sortie until such time as we pick up evidence that there's something unusual on the ocean floor. We would then send down the camera.

"What we're after is wreckage, a debris field as people would say."

Up to 11 military planes, three civilian planes and 14 ships were Tuesday set to take part in the unprecedented search 2,268 kilometres northwest of Perth, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said.

Ocean Shield, which picked up two series of pulses lasting two hours and 20 minutes and then 13 minutes, are operating at the northern end of the defined search area. China's Haixun 01 and Britain's HMS Echo will work the southern end.

Commander William Marks of the US Seventh Fleet has said one of the signals picked up strengthened for a time, then weakened, indicating crews were near its source.

"That is encouraging because that is what you would expect if you are indeed moving toward the black box – that it should get stronger and as you move away from it, it should get weaker," he told AFP. – AFP, April 8, 2014.

MH370 FLIGHT : Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak full Press Statement 24/3/2014

This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). They informed me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path.

Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

We will be holding a press conference tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation.

Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time.

MH370 : Last communications with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors.said.. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak at Saturday's news conference.

LIVE UPDATES FROM THE ‪#‎MH370 PRESS CONFERENCE AT KLIA

15th March 2014, 2:18PM

By the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

* We have conducted search operations over land and sea, in the South China Sea, Straits of Melaka, The Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean. At every stage we acted on verified information and followed every credible lead, which sometimes led us nowhere.

* There has been intense speculation. We understand the desperate need for information. On behalf of the families and those watching around the world, we have a responsibility to the investigation and the families to only release information that has been confirmed and corroborated.

* The search was done near MH370’s last known position at the South China Sea. At the same time it was brought to our attention by RMAF that based on their primary radar the aircraft (unidentified) made a turn back and flew north to Straits of Melaka.

* Data was corroborated with relevant authorities, we expanded area of search to include Straits of Melaka and later to the Andaman Sea

* Earlier this morning, PM was briefed by FAA, NTSB, AAIB, the Malaysian authorities and the acting Minister of Transport on new information that shed further light on what happened to MH370.

* Based on new satellite communications, we can say with high degree of certainty that the aircraft communications system was disabled just before the aircraft reached the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Shortly afterwards near the border between Malaysia and the Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft’s transponder was switched off. From this point onwards, the RMAF primary data showed that an aircraft which was believed (but not confirmed) to be MH370 did a turn back and went northwest of Malaysia. This movement was consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane.

* Based on raw satellite data which was obtained from the satellite data’s service provider, we can confirm that the aircraft shown in the primary radar data was MH370.

* After much forensic work and deliberation - the FAA, NTSB, AAIB and the Malaysian authorities who had been working separately on the same data concur: according to the new data, the last confirmed communications between plane and satellite was at 8.11am local time on Saturday 8 March. The investigation team is making further calculation which will indicate how far aircraft may have flown after last point of contact to help us to refine search.

* We are unable to confirm the precise location of the plane when it last made contact with the satellite. However, based on new data, the aviation authorities of Malaysia and their intentional counterparts have determined that the last communications with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors: Northern Corridor: approximately at the border of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan to Northern Thailand. Or Southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the Southern Indian Ocean.

* In lieu of the latest development, Malaysia refocused their investigation to crew and passengers on board. Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear, that investigation is still ongoing to determine why it deviated from its original flight path.

* The new information has significantly impacted the nature and scope of SAR. We are ending our operations at the South China Sea and reassessing the deployment of our assets. As the two new corridors involved many countries, the relevant embassies have been invited to the briefing on the info by technical experts.

* MAS has been informing the families on this new development. The search for MH370 has entered a new phase over the last 7 days and we are looking into every possibility.

* For the families and friends of those involved, we hope this new info brings us one step closer to finding the plane