MH370 Missing Aircraft Investigation -Search history.

pugsnotdrugs13

I was thinking to set up a thread where people can come and look for updates on the MH370 plane, as the media seems to be all over the place, and other threads are flowing with bickering theorists and conspiricits. So we can come here to check for new information on the investigation, for example I wake up every morning & flick through 20 pages of a thread to see if they've found the plane.

So here it is, easily accessible!
When posting new information, please provide us with reliable sources & links


mods feel free to shut it down if you don't like the idea

What we know so far:
A timeline of major developments since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished last week with 239 people on board, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Saturday 8 March

- Malaysia Airlines says the Boeing 777 lost contact with air traffic control at around 1.30am (5.30pm Friday Irish time), about an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Initially, authorities had put the last contact time at 2.40am.

- Vietnam says the plane went missing near its airspace. It launches a search operation that expands into a huge international hunt in the South China Sea, involving dozens of ships and aircraft from countries including the US and Japan.

- Tearful relatives of the 153 Chinese passengers criticise Malaysia Airlines over a lack of information.

- Vietnamese planes spot two large oil slicks near the plane's last known location, but it proves a false alarm.

- It also emerges that two passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports, fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack.

Sunday 9 March

- Malaysia says it is probing a possible terror link to the jet's disappearance. The US sends FBI agents to assist in the investigation.

- Malaysia raises the first of several suggestions that the plane may have veered radically off-course, with the air force chief saying it may have turned back towards Kuala Lumpur for no apparent reason.

- A Vietnamese plane spots possible debris off southwest Vietnam, but this yields no sign of the airliner.

Monday 10 March

- Authorities double the search radius to 100 nautical miles (equivalent to 185km) around the point where MH370 disappeared from radar.

- China lashes out at Malaysia, saying it needs to speed up the investigation.

- Malaysia sends ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft, but a Vietnamese vessel that gets there first finds only flotsam.

- Chemical analysis by Malaysia disproves any link between oil slicks found at sea and the missing plane.

Tuesday 11 March

- The search area now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast, and an area to the north of Indonesia's Sumatra island - all far removed from the flight's scheduled route.

- Authorities identify the two men with stolen passports as young Iranians who are believed to be illegal immigrants - not terrorists.

Wednesday 12 March

- Malaysia expands the search zone to include the Malacca Strait off the country's west coast and the Andaman Sea north of Indonesia, hundreds of kilometres away.

- Malaysia's air force chief says an unidentified object was detected on military radar north of the Malacca Strait early Saturday - less than an hour after the plane lost contact - but says it is still being investigated.

- At a heated news conference, Malaysian officials deny that the search is in disarray after China says conflicting information about its course is "pretty chaotic".

- It emerges that US regulators warned months ago of a "cracking and corrosion" problem on Boeing 777s that could lead to a mid-air break-up - but the manufacturer later confirms that the warning did not apply to the missing plane, which had a different kind of antenna.

Thursday 13 March

- Malaysia dismisses a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US investigators suspect the plane flew on for four hours after its last known contact, based on data sent from its engines.

- Authorities in Kuala Lumpur also say that Chinese satellite images of suspected debris in the South China Sea are yet another false lead.

- India steps up its search, sending three ships and three aircraft to the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Friday 14 March

- The hunt spreads to the Indian Ocean after the White House cites unspecified "new information" that the jet may have flown on after losing contact.

- Multiple US media reports, citing US officials, say the plane's communication system, not the engines, continued to "ping" a satellite for hours after it disappeared, suggesting it may have travelled a huge distance in an unknown direction.

- A US warship, initially deployed to Thailand, is among the vessels joining the Indian Ocean search.

Saturday 15 March

- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak holds a news conference on the search, saying communications aboard the missing jet were switched off and its course deliberately changed by someone on board before the aircraft disappeared a week ago. However, he stopped short of saying it had been hijacked.

- Police began searching the home of the pilot of the missing flight, 53-year-old Zaharie Ahmad Shah.

SOURCE:RTÉ.IE
http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0315/602476-timeline-the-hunt-for-flight-mh370/

pclancy

OK thanks pugs, you beat me to it.

Updates only in this thread please and post your source of where it came from

No theories, speculation, general discussion, ranting, questions etc.

For the above discussions use this thread insteador the good old Ask an Airline Pilot thread

Would really appreciate your cooperation with making this an easy to read resource until such a time as this incident comes to some kind of end...if we will post usefull links to news sources and media releases it will become a valuable source of info.

So please, no general discussion, just links and info as above.

Thrill

China state media says China has begun search for missing flight MH370 in Chinese territory.

http://www.trust.org/item/20140318030709-mmje5

Thrill

Chinese state media say background checks on Chinese nationals on missing jet show no terror links.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_MALAYSIA_PLANE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-03-17-23-54-15


EDIT: Updated link.

Thrill

No reason to suspect MH370 enters Lao airspace: Lao Civil Aviation chief -

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-03/18/c_133194857.htm

fits

Turn off course was programmed into flight computers
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1

weisses

MH370 PRESS BRIEFING BY HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN,

MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND ACTING MINISTER OF TRANSPORT

18 MARCH 2014, 5:30PM

Introductory statement

Yesterday I stated that the search for MH370 has entered a new phase, which brings new diplomatic, technical and logistical challenges.

Today, I would like to give you an update on the logistical and diplomatic aspects of the search.

The search and rescue operations have taken on a new international dimension. The search is still co-ordinated by Malaysia, but our partners have taken an increasing role in organising and carrying out operations, both within their own territory and also within agreed search sectors. My colleague the Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Anifah Aman will give a more detailed statement on our diplomatic efforts in a moment.

On the logistical front, over the past 24 hours we have been working hard with other countries to narrow the search corridors. Our focus is on four tasks: gathering information from satellite surveillance, analysis of surveillance radar data, increasing air and surface assets, and increasing the number of technical and subject matter experts.

On satellite surveillance, I cannot disclose who has what satellite capability, but I can confirm we have contacted every relevant country that has access to satellite data.
On analysis of radar data, in the southern corridor Australia and Indonesia have agreed to take the lead of their respective parts of the search corridor. In the northern corridor, China and Kazakhstan have agreed to lead in the search areas closest to their countries.

On air and surface assets, I have spoken to almost all ASEAN leaders to request further support, including assets with deep ocean surveillance detection capabilities. We are also asking international partners who have assisted us before to take another look at their primary radar data.

Operational update

In the northern corridor, we have divided the search area into seven quadrants. Each of the seven quadrants is 400 nautical miles by 400 nautical miles – or 160,000 square nautical miles in total.

We have also divided up the southern corridor into seven quadrants. Just like in the north, each quadrant covers an area of 160,000 square nautical miles.

The entire search area is now 2.24 million square nautical miles.

This is an enormous search area. And it is something that Malaysia cannot possibly search on its own. I am therefore very pleased that so many countries have come forward to offer assistance and support to the search and rescue operation.

In terms of the deployment of specific assets:

Today, the Royal Malaysian Navy deployed two more ships to the southern corridor. This deployment includes a Super Lynx helicopter, which can operate from either ship. This brings the total number of Malaysian ships deployed to the southern corridor to four; with two Super Lynx helicopters.

Today, Malaysia also deployed two C-130 aircraft to the Indonesian sector of the southern search corridor.

Other countries are also contributing the following assets:
The United States has deployed one P-8 Poseidon, and will redeploy a P-3 Orion aircraft.

Australia, as I mentioned yesterday, has deployed three P-3 Orions and one C-130 Hercules.

New Zealand is redeploying a P-3 Orion to support Australian search efforts.

The Republic of Korea has committed one P-3 Orion and one C-130 Hercules.

Japan has committed two P-3 Orions, two C-130s and one Gulfstream jet.

The UAE has committed one C-17 aircraft and one Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft.

The assets from Korea, Japan, and the UAE are currently in Malaysia awaiting orders from their respective governments.

Aside from deploying its assets to the northern corridor, China has also made arrangements with Australia to deploy an aircraft to the southern corridor.


ACARS

I would like to clarify what has been said about ACARS and the sequence of events before the air turn back.
On Saturday, we stated that – and I quote:

“Based on new satellite information, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the East coast of peninsular Malaysia. Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft’s transponder was switched off.”

These findings were drafted together with representatives from the lead international investigators, based on the information available at the time.

Yesterday Malaysia Airlines clarified that we cannot determine exactly when ACARS had been disabled, only that it occurred within a specific time range: from 01:07 – approximately when the aircraft reached the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, and the last ACARS transmission occurred – to 01:37, which was the next scheduled reporting time. That is indeed the case.

This does not change our belief, as stated, that up until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, the aircraft’s movements were consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. That remains the position of the investigating team.

It is also important to recognise that the precise time ACARS was disabled has no bearing on the search and rescue operation. We know that the last known position of the plane as confirmed by the international investigations team was in either the northern or southern corridors, which is where our search and rescue efforts are focused. Our priority has always been to find the aircraft.

Police investigation

I am aware there is a lot of interest in the Royal Malaysia Police investigation into the passengers and crew of MH370. I hope you understand that I cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation, which is still on-going.
I would also like to state that the search for MH370 is bigger than politics. I urge all Malaysians to put our differences aside and unite during this difficult time as we focus on finding the aircraft and the 239 people on board.

Concluding remarks

The search for MH370 remains our top priority. We will continue to provide you with operational updates, including further information about assets being deployed, as soon as they are available.

In the last few days we have been intensively contacting our friends across the search regions. The co-operation we saw in the first phase continues in this new phase. In fact, there is even more commitment to assist us in this much larger and more complex multinational operation.

In the meantime our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those on board.

ENDS

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=737218799656469&id=178566888854999&stream_ref=10

Jawgap

USN Poseidon P-8A arriving into Perth to help with the search in the southern sector......

Thrill

Malaysia gives up some control of search for missing plane to other countries, splits search area into 14 sections.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/malaysian-authorities-cede-search-control/2014/03/18/3d112454-ae91-11e3-96dc-d6ea14c099f9_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost


The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has expanded to 2.24 million nautical miles.

http://time.com/28960/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-search-widens-record/

.

Thrill

Thailand’s military said Tuesday that its radar detected a plane that may have been Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 just minutes after the jetliner’s communications went down, and that it didn’t share the information with Malaysia earlier because it wasn’t specifically asked for it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/thailand-gives-radar-data-10-days-after-plane-lost/2014/03/18/1eb2d682-ae9c-11e3-b8b3-44b1d1cd4c1f_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

Thrill

Insurer Allianz Pays Compensation to Malaysia Airlines.
Lead Insurer Begins Paying Out on Flight MH370.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303287804579447503270167682

It is common practice in the insurance industry to pay compensation for a missing plane in a timely manner even if the aircraft's fate is still unclear, she noted. Insurance contracts usually include an agreement about a time limit for payouts.

WSJ sub required




No sign from search that pilots planned Flight 370's route change

An initial search of the pilots' personal computers and e-mails found nothing to indicate that the sudden deviation in the aircraft's route was planned, U.S. officials said Tuesday after being briefed by Malaysian authorities.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/18/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/

V_Moth

Plane ("Jumbo Jet") seen flying low over Maldives at 6.15am.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/missing-malaysian-flight-mh370-maldives-islanders-saw-low-flying-plane-30102740.html

wil

Malaysia Civil servants cautioned not to spread inaccurate information.
The Public Services Department (PSD) Director-General Tan Sri Mohamad Zabidi Zainal said a directive had been issued to about 1.4 million civil servants cautioning them to refrain from spreading inaccurate information or speculating about MH370.

New Strait Times 19 Mar


Acting Transport Minister (and Defense Minister) Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein conducts closed door briefing for ruling party backbenchers

The briefing, he said, was done at the parliamentarians’ request.
"This was not to share ideas or discuss sensitive issues about the investigation,” stressed Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister.
He said the parliamentarians had a responsibility to convey an accurate picture of the situation.
"The whole world is looking at us and it's important for us to be well-informed,” he said.

New Strait Times 19 Mar

sopretty

http://elevateaviation.blogspot.ie/2014/03/flight-370-what-really-happened-in.html

pclancy

Investigators now turning their attention to the Southern "Corridor"

(Reuters) - Investigators probing the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board believe it most likely flew into the southern Indian Ocean, a source close to the investigation said on Wednesday.

An unprecedented search for the Boeing 777-200ER is under way involving 26 nations in two vast search "corridors", one arcing north overland from Laos towards the Caspian Sea, the other curving south across the Indian Ocean from west of Indonesia to west of Australia.

"The working assumption is that it went south, and furthermore that it went to the southern end of that corridor," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The view is based on the lack of any evidence from countries along the northern corridor that the plane crossed their airspace, and the failure to find any trace of wreckage in searches in the upper part of the southern corridor.

China said on Wednesday it had not yet found any sign of the aircraft crossing into its territory.

Malaysian and U.S. officials believe the aircraft was deliberately diverted perhaps thousands of miles off course, but an exhaustive background search of the passengers and crew aboard has not yielded anything that might explain why.

Flight MH370 vanished from civilian air traffic control screens off Malaysia's east coast at 1:21 a.m. local time on March 8 (1721 GMT March 7), less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.

Investigators piecing together patchy data from military radar and satellites believe that someone turned off vital datalinks and turned west, re-crossing the Malay Peninsula and following a commercial route towards India.

After that, ephemeral pings picked up by one commercial satellite suggest the aircraft flew on for at least six hours, but it is not known for sure if it went north or south. The data from the satellite placed the plane somewhere in one of the two corridors when the final signal was sent at 8:11 a.m.

Last week, a source familiar with official U.S. assessments said it was thought most likely the plane flew south, where it presumably would have run out of fuel and crashed into the sea.

Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-malaysiaairlines-flight-idUSBREA2701720140319

constance tench

THERE is a new twist in the missing MH370 saga, theories of what could have happened to the aircraft and the search area which now spans 2.24 million square miles.

It was believed that the flight was seen flying at a very low altitude over the Maldives Islands at 6.15am on the morning of March 8. This story somehow confirms that it was last seen flying in a south-eastern direction, towards a mysterious island in the Indian Ocean known as Diego Garcia.

It was reported in local newspapers that the little island was amongst the landing strips found in Captain Zaharie's personal flight simulator. The captain was the pilot of MH370.

http://malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/29-4-tile/493658-diego-garcia-airstrip-in-the-middle-of-nowhere.html

BigCon

"[UPDATED 5.34PM] Regarding the plane been sighted in Maldives, I can confirm this is untrue." - Press Conference By Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

http://malaysiandigest.com/frontpage/282-main-tile/492200-updated-8-42am-missing-mh370.html

Thrill

Data deleted from simulator of missing plane's pilot: Malaysian home minister.

Zahid said computer forensics experts were now busy working on retrieving the deleted files.


He said that the police were not accusing Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the lead pilot of the missing plane, of any wrong-doing or giving pressure on any of his family members, while they were conducting a thorough and intensive investigation.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-03/19/c_133198530.htm

wil

several updates on New Straits Times

ACARS cannot be disabled
(anonymous 777 pilots)
The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) cannot be totally disabled from the aircraft as it goes in standby mode much like a telephone on flight mode.
That is why, despite being turned off, satellites could still “ping” the ACARS on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after it went off-radar.
Pilots use ACARS on a normal day only to receive short messages and weather reports, or to send short massages.
They can even use a three-step selection process which can alert air traffic controllers of any emergency or hijacking, as long as there is battery life.
......
According to a commercial airline Boeing 777 pilot who requested anonymity, ACARS is a system that works on Very High Frequency (VHF) and Satellite Communication (SATCOMM).
“It is Mas procedure to switch ACARS, VHF, and High Frequency selection off but this is only for flights to China as the service provider for Mas does not cover China. Some if not all pilots switch them all off for a while and then later switch SATCOMM back on to force the system into SATCOMM mode.”

When asked what steps could have been taken in the case of a hijacking or emergency, the pilot said that in the cockpit, one VHF receiver is always in emergency frequency 121.5 for air defence and other aircraft to call.

---

China says no sign yet airliner entered its territory

---

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has revealed that data logs in three flight "games" found on MH370 pilot Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah's flight simulator have been deleted.
He said local police forensic teams and their international counterparts were now working to retrieve the missing logs from three flight simulation programmes - Flight Simulator X, Flight Simulator 9 and XFlight10.

---

Najib holds discussion with ministers, senior officials
The discussion was held at his office in Parliament House.
In his Facebook, Najib also shared a picture during the discussion which included him with Hishammuddin, Anifah, Armed Forces chief Gen Tan Sri Zulkifli Mohd Zin and Royal Malaysian Air Force chief Gen Tan Sri Rodzali Daud.

---

M'sian govt dealing issue in responsible way - South Korea'

---

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has revealed that data logs in three flight "games" found on MH370 pilot Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah's flight simulator have been deleted.

He said local police forensic teams and their international counterparts were now working to retrieve the missing logs from three flight simulation programmes - Flight Simulator X, Flight Simulator 9 and XFlight10.

wil

Frustration with the search for flight MH370, boiled over into chaotic scenes as Chinese relatives were dragged away from journalists.
They were attempting to speak to Chinese journalists outside the daily press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
A BBC reporter was pushed away from the relatives who were carrying banners criticising the handling of the case.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26644085

Thrill

No signs of aircraft detected by Indonesian military radar.

JAKARTA: Indonesian Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro yesterday said the republic's military radar in Sabang, Aceh, did not detect any signs that the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 might have flown over the province's airspace.

http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-missing-mh370-font-no-signs-of-aircraft-detected-by-indonesian-military-radar-1.522270?ModPagespeed=noscript

Iwannahurl

Malaysian authorities reportedly seeking access to data from Australian radar installations.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/flight-mh370-malaysia-wants-access-to-data-from-pine-gap-20140319-352ta.html

The radar installations are Pine Gap in the Northern Territory and the Jindalee Radar Network.

EDIT: Jindalee reference in this post a few days ago: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89485535&postcount=3151

Comhrá

Yet another twist: MH370 may have gone the Northern direction?

http://airnation.net/2014/03/19/370-pakistan/

Thrill

Obama says plane search a 'top priority'

In his first on camera comments on the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Obama offered thoughts and prayers to the relatives of the missing passengers.

“I want them to be assured that we consider this a top priority,” Obama told Dallas television station KDFW in an interview at the White House.

“We have put every resource that we have available at the disposal of the search process,” he said.

“There has been close cooperation with the Malaysian government.”

http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-missing-mh370-font-obama-says-plane-search-a-top-priority-1.522542?ModPagespeed=noscript

Thrill

Satellites Detect Possible MH370 Debris In Southern Indian Ocean, Aircraft On Way To Site

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says two objects have been found in the Indian ocean which could be debris from the missing Malaysian Airlines jet.


Aircraft are on their way to the site now. Abbott also said the objects will be difficult to find, and may not be related to the jet, which has been missing for more than 12 days.


The Australian Maritime Safety Authority will hold a press conference within 90 minutes.


More to come …

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/satellites-detect-possible-mh370-debris-in-southern-indian-ocean-aircraft-on-way-to-site-2014-3

Thrill

Link contains video of Australian Prime Ministers statement.

http://media.smh.com.au/news/national-news/mh370-have-we-found-it-5278048.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nc&eid=socialn%3Atwi-13omn1677-edtrl-other%3Annn-17%2F02%2F2014-edtrs_socialshare-all-nnn-nnn-vars-o%26sa%3DD%26usg%3DALhdy28zsr6qiq

Jawgap

More info here

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/20/mh370-two-possible-objects-may-have-been-found-in-australian-search-zone#block-532a6f1de4b015397016d548

fits

Here is one of the images. Hard to see if its anything tbh

knucklehead6

From CNN

A flight crew combing the southern Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 say they're getting radar hits of "significant size," indicating something lying below the water's surface, ABC News reported Thursday.

wil

cnn
A Royal Australian Air Force search plane dispatched to the remote spot was unable to find either object amid rain, clouds and limited visibility Thursday afternoon, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said on Twitter. A U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft also searched the area and found nothing, a Navy official said.
A Norwegian merchant ship had also reached the site, its owner confirmed Thursday. But as darkness fell over the region, it seemed unlikely further information would come until Friday.

ABC Australia
RAAF scours Indian Ocean for possible 'debris field' from MH370
Posted 9 hours 46 minutes ago | Updated 37 minutes ago
Australian search planes are scouring the southern Indian Ocean after satellites spotted objects "possibly related" to the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says it has received an expert assessment of commercial satellite imagery of objects it suspects may indicate a "debris field" from the flight, floating in the ocean 2,500 kilometres south-west of Perth.
Four Australian search planes, as well as aircraft from the US and New Zealand, have been sent to join the hunt.
This evening AMSA said there was limited visibility in the area and the crew of an RAAF P3 Orion in the search zone had been unable to find any debris.
At a press conference earlier today, AMSA's John Young said the images indicated that one of the objects measured around 24 metres in length.

NST
But a Royal Australian Air Force Orion sent Thursday to investigate possible wreckage from the Boeing 777 failed to spot debris, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.

The P-3 surveillance aircraft was sent to the Indian Ocean search zone some 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth after Australia revealed the presence of two objects at sea possibly related to flight MH370.

“RAAF P3 crew unable to locate debris. Cloud & rain limited visibility,” AMSA said on its Twitter feed. “Further aircraft to continue search for #MH370.”

Three more long-range surveillance planes — one each from Australia, New Zealand and the United States — were due to inspect the area where satellite images taken Sunday showed the two objects, one as large as 24 metres (79 feet) in size.

BBC
UK sends Royal Navy

WSJ
Critical data was delayed
:mad::o:(
Please read it all.

Tabnabs

According to Olav Sollie, head of ship owning i Höegh Autoliners, their ship the «St. Petersburg» was requested to alter course to specific coordinates two days ago. The company has agreed to allow the ship to remain in the area and assist with the search. The ship will continue to seach through the night with radar and with search lights switched on.

Tabnabs

A second merchant ship, M/V Greenery Seas, appears to have joined the search.

https://m.facebook.com/IHSMaritime/photos/a.421294981286694.98286.404969079585951/603734519709405/?type=1&theater&utm_content=buffer9d866&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Plus a possible third.

http://ihsmaritime.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/mh370-search-off-australia/?utm_content=buffer69f3c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Supercell

CAPT ZAHARIE THE SCAPEGOAT? Who was he calling just minutes before MH370 took off?

The pilot of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane made a mystery phone call just minutes before flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur, it emerged last night.
Investigators are now urgently trying to work out who Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah spoke to in the cockpit before the plane took off on March 8.
There is a hope that the phone call could hold the answer to the plane's mysterious disappearance.

Full article: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=247612:all-out-to-make-pilot-the-scapegoat-who-was-capt-zaharie-calling-just-minutes-before-mh370-took-off?&Itemid=2#ixzz2wYUieAOI

guyjohn

<Snip>

Please use the other thread for speculation/theories,this thread is for updates only.

weisses

From satellites to binoculars, the hardware being used in the search for the missing Malaysian plane off Australia’s west coast ranges from the sophisticated to the simple. Here’s a look at some of the equipment being used in the search for Flight 370, which went missing on March 8.

ORION PLANES:
The plane most utilized in the search so far has been the Lockheed P-3 Orion, a four-engine turboprop favored by the Australian and New Zealand defense forces. Because the search area in the southern Indian Ocean is so remote—some 2,500 kilometers southwest of Perth—it’s an eight-hour round trip, leaving the planes just two or three hours to search.
One advantage of this plane is that it can fly at low altitudes for long periods. Mike Yardley, an air commodore with New Zealand’s air force, said that his team’s Orion flew at just 200 feet above the water Thursday to stay below thick clouds and fog—which requires intense concentration by the two pilots.
The Orion has a crew of 13, some of whom are stationed on an observation deck to search. As well as using their eyesight, Yardley said they also use a state-of-the-art radar system and three cameras—one infrared, one long-range, and one high resolution. The combination of systems helps them detect almost anything that’s on the surface, he said. The crew also films everything so they can review what they’ve seen after they return to base.
The Orion comes equipped with a sonar system for searching below sea level, although it’s not being used in this search, Yardley said.
Other planes used in the search Friday include a United States Navy P-8 Poseidon, which has been designed for anti-submarine warfare, and a civilian Bombardier Global Express, a long-range corporate jet with state emergency service observers on board. More planes are on the way.

BINOCULARS:
The Norwegian cargo vessel Hoegh St. Petersburg arrived in the area late Thursday and used lights to search overnight.
The Filipino crew of 20 was planning to use binoculars and their eyesight to scour the water Friday. The ship had been carrying a load of cars from South Africa to Australia before being asked to join in the search.
Another commercial ship was due to arrive later Friday and three Chinese naval ships were heading to the area. China also planned to send an icebreaker that happened to be in Perth following a voyage to Antarctica.
Any plane debris that is found will be transported back by the Australian navy ship the HMAS Success, which is due to arrive at the search site Saturday.

BUOYS WITH GPS:
The New Zealand Orion plane dropped two buoys Thursday that will help searchers figure out where any debris might drift. Searchers were also planning to drop more buoys from a C-130 Hercules military transport plane.
The buoys resemble a poster tube, each about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long, with an antenna that transmits a GPS signal that can be tracked by searchers.
The idea is that the buoys drift in a manner similar to any debris, giving searchers clues as to where debris might move over time. The system isn’t perfect—the wind can move the buoys at a different rate than larger objects—but is designed to factor in some of those variables.

IMAGES FROM SPACE:
Satellite images taken by a private company and released by the Australian government appeared to show two large objects, which prompted searchers to investigate further.
However, the images aren’t definitive. They came from a DigitalGlobe satellite that can look left or right, but which gets lower quality images the father to the side it looks.
The satellites aren’t like the all-powerful ones in the movies that can, say, read a license plate from space. The images appear to be little more than smudges to the untrained eye, and need experts to interpret them. One thing experts look for are reflections, which can help indicate whether a smudge is an object or just water movement.
Australian authorities have redirected other commercial satellites to the area to take higher resolution images, which may provide more answers.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/587805/satellites-to-binoculars-used-in-flight-370-search

Tenger

Perhaps a better ship to have on site could be Royal Navy vessel HMS Echo which has been dispatched to the area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Echo_(H87)

HMS Echo is the first of two multi-role hydrographic survey ships commissioned by the Royal Navy............On 20 March 2014 Echo was in the Indian Ocean when redeployed......... to join the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Prior to this, she was mid-way through an 18-month deployment "to improve charts used by seafarers throughout the world".......Echo was expected to arrive in the search area within 48–72 hours.

wil

The official AMSA news site detailing todays (and everydays) search roster and updates. All pdfs

https://www.amsa.gov.au/media/

https://twitter.com/AMSA_News

detailed media kit
http://www.amsa.gov.au/media/incidents/mh370-search.asp

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has tasked six aircraft to be involved in today’s search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion departed for the search area at around 9am. Two ultra long range commercial jets departed for the search area at around 9.15am.

A second RAAF P3 Orion is due to depart for the search area at approximately 11am.

A New Zealand P3 Orion is due to depart for the search area at approximately 1pm.

A third RAAF P3 Orion aircraft is due to depart for the search area at approximately 3pm.

Due to the distance to and from the search area, the P3 Orion aircraft involved have an endurance of approximately two (2) hours of search time. The ultra long range commercial jets have an endurance of approximately five (5) hours of search time.

Two merchant vessels are currently in the search area. The Royal Australian Navy HMAS Success is also en route to the search area and is due in the area late this afternoon.

Four self locating datum marker buoys (SLDMB) dropped in the search area earlier this week continue to report water movement data back to AMSA

---

Malaysia asks US for underwater search equipment, and Pentagon considers.
http://stream.wsj.com/story/malaysia-airlines-flight-370/SS-2-475558/

The Pentagon is weighing a request from Malaysia for sonar equipment to bolster the so-far frustrated search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, as concerns grow that any debris may have sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Malaysia's Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein asked for undersea surveillance equipment in a phone call with US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, as the Pentagon tallied US$2.5 million in costs so far in the nearly two-week-old search.

wil

China sends 7 ships to southern Indian Ocean

CHINA said it was sending seven ships to help search for the missing Malaysian aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean as news emerged that India had declined a similar aid offer from Beijing for the search further north in the Andaman Sea. News of the deployments came as Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott disclosed that Chinese President Xi Jinping was "devastated" by the incident. -

---

China Xinhua News ‏@XHNews · 35m
Chinese Air Force IL-76 transport plane takes off from Royal Malaysia Airforce Base in Subang in search of MH370

---

Bad start for high-level Malaysian delegation in Beijing
Relatives of those on missing plane accuse KL of hiding vital facts
THE high-level delegation sent by Malaysia to Beijing to explain the search efforts was meant to pacify angry Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysian jetliner. But the first meeting it had with some 200 to 300 family members at the Metropark Lido Hotel in Beijing yesterday ended up acrimonious from the get-go, with the relatives accusing the Malaysian government of hiding crucial information. "You have wasted so much time," one family member shouted when the briefing started at 10am. Over the next three hours or so, the delegation, made up of Malaysian civil aviation, military and Malaysia Airlines officials, elaborated on technical information of the search, but did not reveal any new information

Nibs05

http://news.sky.com/story/1230164/missing-plane-china-spots-large-object-in-sea

The Chinese government has said it has located a large object in the sea after viewing satellite imagery.

During a news conference in Kualu Lumpur on Saturday, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was handed a piece of paper containing details of the apparent discovery.

The object is thought to be 72ft long (22m) and 98ft wide (30m) and was spotted somewhere in the southern search corridor in the Indian Ocean.

Chinese authorities are expected to reveal more information over the discovery later.

wil

Nibs05 wrote: »

http://news.sky.com/story/1230164/missing-plane-china-spots-large-object-in-sea

In a later press statement, the transport ministry clarified that there was one “suspected” object with an estimated size of 22.5 metres by 13 metres (74 by 43 feet).
Hishammuddin had provided different dimensions which the statement said was the result of a telephone miscommunication

---

object was spotted on March 18, two days after the satellite image announced by Australia. -- Reuters

---

(Full) statement by Hishammuddin
...
Operational update:

In the northern corridor, in response to diplomatic notes, we can confirm that China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Laos, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have verbally informed the search and rescue operation that, based on preliminary analysis, there have been no sightings of the aircraft on their radar.

With respect to the southern corridor, today two Chinese Ilyushin IL-76s will arrive in Perth to begin operations. The Shaanxi Y-8 which arrived yesterday will be operating from Subang air base in Malaysia. China is also sending an additional two ships from the Andaman Sea to join the five Chinese ships already in the southern corridor.

Two Indian aircraft, a P-8 Poseidon and C-130 Hercules, arrived in Malaysia at 18:00 yesterday to assist with the search.

HMS Echo is currently in the Persian Gulf and is en route to the southern corridor. The ship is equipped with advanced sensors that allow it to search effectively underwater.
<snip>..
.
A cyclone warning has been declared for Tropical Cyclone Gillian, which is located in the southern corridor. Very strong winds and rough seas are expected there today....

---

No sign of plane entering India airspace
The response from India is crucial because any radar data from that country could help identify whether the jet turned north or south after disappearing on March 8, but the issue is also sensitive because of the presence of military radar

India has said it is possible that the military radars were switched off as it operates on an "as required" basis in that area.

A reluctance to share sensitive military radar data in a region where countries are wary of each other has hampered investigators' attempts to solve the baffling disappearance, officials have said. -- Reuters

ProfessorPlum

New images of 'possible jet debris'
Last updated 4 minutes ago


Malaysia says it has received new satellite images from France showing potential debris from missing flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

This is the third set of images in a week of possible debris in the area.

Australia is coordinating the search and earlier said it was investigating sightings of a pallet and other items.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course.

Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors - one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west.

However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and the satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.

A statement published on the Malaysian ministry of transport's Facebook page said: "This morning, Malaysia received new satellite images from the French authorities showing potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor.

"Malaysia immediately relayed these images to the Australian rescue co-ordination centre."


(On phone - can't link web address - from BBC news site)

wil

AMSA search concluded today

"There were no sightings of significance."

A total of eight aircraft and HMAS [FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Success [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial][/FONT][/FONT]supported ......
Chinese military Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft and Japanese P-3C aircraft will join the search on Monday

wil

Australia 'clutching' at leads after new data
...
"The French sighting is I guess a piece of new material because that is in a completely different location.
That is about 850 kilometres north of our current search area..
While Malaysian authorities initially said the latest data came in the form of images,
France's foreign ministry clarified this, saying it came in the form of "satellite-generated radar echoes".

A radar echo is an electronic signal that contains information about the location and distance of the object which bounces the signal back.

ardle1

A Chinese search plane, finds/spots suspicious white and square objects floating in the Southern Indian Ocean! (no link available)....


Link Update: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-images-show-debris-jetliner-23023844

Hogzy

Emergency Family Meeting called in Kuala Lumper.

News breaking now on Sky News. Looks like a major update.

wil

UK AAIB, Inmarsat Northern / Southern corridors analysis
Last position WAS in Indian ocean west of Perth
announced by Malaysian PM today

vicwatson

wil wrote: »

UK AAIB, Inmarsat Northern / Southern corridors analysis
Last position WAS in Indian ocean west of Perth
announced by Malaysian PM today

Full text of statement by Malaysian PM -

"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."

Iwannahurl

The aeroplane had Inmarsat’s ‘Classic Aero’ satellite system, which collects information such as location, altitude, heading and speed, and sends it through Inmarsat’s satellites into their network.

This ‘ACARS’ (aircraft communications addressing and reporting system) was switched off or interrupted early in the flight, meaning no such information was available to track the plane.

However the Classic Aero system still sent hourly ‘pings’ back to Inmarsat’s satellite for at least five hours after the aircraft left Malaysian airspace, the company discovered.

These pings contained no data – they were just a simple ‘hello’ to keep the link open – however their timing and frequency contained hidden mathematical clues.

The company looked at the ‘Doppler effect’ – tiny changes in the frequency of the ping signal, caused by the relative movement of the satellite and the plane (the Doppler effect is the reason why, for example, police sirens are a different pitch or frequency depending on whether they are travelling toward you or away from you).

This analysis allowed Inmarsat to map two huge ‘corridors’ for the plane’s possible location, in big arcs stretching thousands of kilometres north and south of the point where the last radar contact with MH370 was made.

Australian and US experts took this information, added some assumptions about the plane’s speed, and narrowed the southern option into an area of ocean that could be realistically searched.

Meanwhile, Inmarsat went back to its satellite data. Its new analysis found that the northern route did not quite correlate with the frequency of the pings from the plane – meaning the plane must have been heading south.

It also suggested that the plane had been travelling at a steady cruising altitude above 30,000 feet.

They compared satellite data from MH370 with that from previous Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 flights, going back a few weeks, in order to better model the movement of the plane.

“This really was a shot in the dark,” Chris McLaughlin, senior vice president of external affairs at Inmarsat told the BBC. “It’s a credit to the scientific team that they managed to model this.

“Just a single ‘ping’ can be used to say the plane was both powered up and travelling. And then by a process of elimination comparing it to other known flights and established that it went south.”

The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch also contributed to the analysis.

Emphasis added.


http://www.smh.com.au/world/mh370-search-how-new-satellite-data-confirmed-malaysia-airlines-plane-was-lost-20140325-hvme8.html#ixzz2wujGLhWT

Mech1

Terrible circumstances to prove a theory, but all in all, we gotta say "well done Inmarsat" I recon they have probably been releasing daily updates to the relevant people as this theory got more and more convincing.

Synode

Search suspended due to adverse weather. Things going from bad to worse.

From here:

Search suspended
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) has suspended the search for debris and other signs of the missing plane due to adverse weather conditions.

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, the Amsa said:

Due to rough seas, HMAS Success departed the search area early this morning and is now in transit south of the search area until seas abate. A sea state ranging between 7 to 8 is forecast today with waves up to two metres and an associated swell of up to four metres.

The area is also forecast to experience strong gale force winds of up to 80km/h, periods of heavy rain, and low cloud with a ceiling between 200 and 500 feet.

AMSA has undertaken a risk assessment and determined that the current weather conditions would make any air and sea search activities hazardous and pose a risk to crew. Therefore, AMSA has suspended all sea and air search operations for today due to these weather conditions.

AMSA has consulted with the Bureau of Meteorology and weather conditions are expected to improve in the search area in the evening and over the next few days. Search operations are expected to resume tomorrow, if weather conditions permit.

HMAS Success will return to the search area once weather conditions improve.

wil

BBC News 25/3/2014 11:28GMT
excerpts below, full article at
Missing Malaysia plane: What we know




What do we know about the plane's disappearance?

00:41, 8 March: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Saturday, 8 March (16:41 GMT, 7 March), and was due to arrive in Beijing at 06:30 (22:30 GMT).
Malaysia Airlines says the plane lost contact less than an hour after takeoff. No distress signal or message was sent.

01:07: The plane sent its last ACARS transmission - a service that allows computers aboard the plane to "talk" to computers on the ground. Some time afterwards, it was silenced and the expected 01:37 transmission was not sent.

01:19: The co-pilot was heard to say "All right, good night" to Malaysian air traffic control.
A few minutes later, the plane's transponder, which communicates with ground radar, was shut down as the aircraft crossed from Malaysian air traffic control into Vietnamese airspace over the South China Sea.

01:21: The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said the plane failed to check in as scheduled with air traffic control in Ho Chi Minh City.

02:15: Malaysian military radar plotted Flight MH370 at a point south of Phuket island in the Strait of Malacca, west of its last known location. Thai military radar logs also confirmed that the plane turned west and then north over the Andaman sea.

08:11: (00:11 GMT, 8 March) Seven hours after contact with air traffic control was lost, a satellite above the Indian Ocean picked up data from the plane in the form of an automatic "handshake" between the aircraft and a ground station.
This information, disclosed a week after the plane's disappearance, suggested the jet was in one of two flight corridors, one stretching north between Thailand and Kazakhstan, the other south between Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

08:19: There is some evidence of a further "partial handshake" at this time between the plane and a ground station but experts are still working on analysing this data, the Malaysian transport minister said on 25 March.

09:15: (01:15 GMT) This would have been the next scheduled automatic contact between the ground station and the plane but there was no response from the aircraft.