Australian
Maritime Safety Authority Emergency Response General Manager John Young:
We would like to update you on
some credible information AMSA has received from the ATSB which will see the
search area refocused today.
The AMSA search for any sign of
the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been shifted to an area north
following advice from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
An international air crash
investigation team in Malaysia provided updated advice to the ATSB, which has
examined the information and determined an area 1100 kilometres to the north
east of the existing search area is now the most credible lead as to where
debris may be located.
The new search area is approximately
319,000 square kilometres, about 1850 kilometres west of Perth.
The Australian
Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO) is re-tasking satellites to capture
images of the new area.
Weather conditions are better in
the revised area and ten aircraft have been tasked for today’s search.
They include two Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orions, a Japanese Coast Guard Gulfstream 5 jet, a Japanese
P3 Orion, a Republic of Korea P3 Orion, a Republic of Korea C130 Hercules, a
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion, a Chinese People’s Liberation
Army Air Force Ilyushin IL-76, a United States Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft, and
one civil Australian jet acting as a communications relay.
Four of the ten aircraft are
overhead the search area, with a further six planes to fly over the area today.
A further RAAF P3 Orion has been
placed on standby at RAAF Base Pearce in WA to investigate any reported
sightings.
Six ships are relocating to the
new search area including HMAS Success and five Chinese ships. Chinese Maritime
Safety Administration (MSA) patrol ship, Haixun 01, is in the search area. HMAS
Success is expected to arrive in the search area late tomorrow night.
A US towed pinger locator and
Bluefin-21 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle have arrived in Perth to assist with
location and recovery of the black box.
The depth of the water in the
search area is between 2000 and 4000 metres.
These will be fitted to
Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield which will arrive in Western Australia
in the coming days.
Australian
Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan:
Thank you, Mr. Young.
The ATSB, as Australia’s
transport investigation agency, is working with a range of other international
expert organisations to analyse available data and determine the best area to
search.
The key pieces of information
being analysed relate to early positional information from the aircraft and
later polling of a satellite by an aircraft system.
The new information is based on
continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of
Malacca before radar contact was lost.
It indicated the plane was
travelling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage
and reducing the possible distance it travelled south into the Indian Ocean.
The international investigative
team supporting the search continues their analysis, which could still result
in further refinement of the potential flight path.
This has been combined with
information about the likely performance of the aircraft—such as speed and fuel
consumption for example—to arrive at the best assessment of the area in which
the aircraft is likely to have entered the water.
The information provided by the
international investigative team is the most credible lead we currently have in
the search of aircraft wreckage.
However, this information needs
to be continually adjusted for the length of time elapsed since the aircraft
went missing and the likely drift of any wreckage floating on the ocean
surface.
Finally, let me stress that under
international convention, Malaysia has investigative responsibility for
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. At this stage, the ATSB’s main task is to
assist in the search for the aircraft.
All times expressed in Australian
Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT).
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