Captain's Log 27.05.17: HSSS entry 170527 - That man again..
(05-20-2017, 07:25 AM)kharon Wrote: Well aided and nicely abetted.
Higgins – “Mr Hood did not respond to questions from The Australian about whether he would seek permission from members of the SSWG to grant the FOI request, and whether Malaysian authorities had asked for this and other material to be suppressed.”
That man ‘Iggins asks one of the top ten most important questions which should be asked of the ATSB. The fully justified deep suspicion which arose when the Dolan and the ATSB took over the search/rescue/recovery operation from AMSA has never been satisfactorily allayed and remains a large part of the ‘cover-up’ and collusion support argument. Although there was no direct evidence of ‘criminal activity’ (or any other activity for that matter) I believe its safe to say there was – in one form or another – a criminal act committed. The preponderance of available ‘evidence’ supports the argument.
It matters not ‘who’ committed 'the act'; at least not in the first instance. The law is quite clear, the ATSB cannot assume control of an investigation when criminal activity is ‘suspected’. I say we are well past the point of even questioning whether this was a ‘criminal act’. Dolan and the ATSB had been proven, through a Senate committee hearing to be party to a gross manipulation of an accident investigation; (see Pel-Air). The very idea of pulling the AMSA out of controlling the search and passing the same along into the care of the discredited Dolan was outlandish. Clearly, the move from an ICAO annexe 12 to annex 13 based operation precluded ‘deep and meaningful’ investigation of criminal acts. In short, the move declared that no criminal activity had occurred. This single stroke of the pen, very effectively, precluded any chance of a wide investigation and narrowed the search to that for the ‘aircraft’ alone. To add insult to injury, the AMSA ‘team’ of experts analysts was side lined (dumped) and only the CSIRO opinion of drift modelling was considered. In short the ‘search’ was manipulated and reduced from a multi point focus effort to one single, very narrow, tightly controlled channel. I digress.
Byron - Kudos to Ean Higgins and The Australian for refusing to let the highly suspect matter of what happened to MH370 fade into obscurity. The truth always has a way of eventually surfacing. I shortly have a meeting in USA with parties interested in privately funding a resumption of the search. The proposed search area is a deep trench to the north of the ATSB searched area, based on the excellent calculations of Captain Simon Hardy and agrees with the drift modelling. Captain Byron Bailey.
If the data Australia refuses to release belongs to Malaysia; then why does Hood simply just say so. “Sorry folks, if it were our data, we would release it without hesitation; but, it ain’t”. “If you want it, petition the Malaysian government, it all belongs to them”. But Hood does not say this – clearly, that’s not case. So, like Higgins and Byron, I’m left wondering just who is running this country?
Although I mildly disagree with ‘the Captain’ being guilty argument – purely for lack of evidence (benefit of the doubt) I hasten to add. I can lend my full support to Byron’s opinion and Higgins dogged determination to get to the bottom of this pit of deceit, half truths and misdirection. Well done both, efforts on behalf of those left behind much appreciated. This aircraft must be found, it is the only way the truth can ever be determined. Shame on Malaysia and Australia both.
The mathematician who led the analysis of satellite data in the hunt for MH370 has spoken of its limitations.
Quote:The mathematician who led the complex analysis of satellite data in the hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has told a select audience of its limitations, saying it only provides “some vague hints about the speed and direction that the aircraft was doing”.
Neil Gordon, who leads the Data and Information Fusion Group in the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, also said in an unreported address last week: “You’re never going to end up with an ‘X marks the spot’.”
Dr Gordon’s remarks to a small gathering of the Institute of Public Administration in Canberra are likely to fuel the international debate over whether the satellite data is good enough to support the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s theory that MH370 went down in a rapid, unpiloted crash.
The IPA seminar also heard some revealing disclosures from the senior federal public servant in charge of co-ordinating the government agencies involved in the search effort, in which she spoke of “a few bumps along the way” in dealing with representatives of the other two governments involved, China and Malaysia. Judith Zielke, the head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, told the seminar: “The biggest thing that I have learnt from being involved in the search is actually the huge cultural differences between all the countries involved.”
The ATSB’s head of the underwater search, Peter Foley, also addressed the event, telling of the fears he had that someone on the search vessels would be seriously injured or killed in the treacherous seas of the southern Indian Ocean where the agency had defined a 120,000sq km search area.
MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014 on a scheduled trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with its radar transponder turned off 40 minutes into the flight and radio contact cut.
Analysis of hourly automatic electronic “handshakes” from the aircraft to ground stations via an Inmarsat satellite indicated the Boeing 777 came down somewhere along a band in the southern Indian Ocean.
That assessment, Dr Gordon said, came from one type of data measuring the time the signals took to get to and from the aircraft to the satellite and the ground station.
“There’s no data attached to those communications, there is no ‘I am here’ type information, but there is some metadata attached to those which you can use in a way it’s not, in a sense, intended for, to produce some predictions,” Dr Gordon said.
In addition to that, Dr Gordon said, “It turns out there’s another piece of metadata attached to this which you can use to give some vague hints about the speed and direction that the aircraft was doing.”
That data measuring a Doppler effect was used by the ATSB to conclude MH370 went down in what’s become known as a “death dive”, the theory the bureau relied on to define its search area.
In its public statements, the ATSB, under pressure over the failure of the search to find the aircraft, has expressed confidence in this conclusion.
In a recent statement criticising The Australian for reporting critiques of the search strategy by international pilots, aviation experts, air crash investigators and scientists and the counter view of many of them that a rogue pilot hijacked MH370 and flew it outside the search area, ATSB communications manager Carl Fellows wrote:
“The metadata from the aircraft’s satellite communications system has been painstakingly analysed by leading experts … this analysis concludes that the aircraft was in a high and increasing rate of descent at the end of flight.”
ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood has refused, despite calls from families of the MH370 victims in Australia and around the world, to grant a freedom of information request from The Australian seeking what the bureau claims to be those supporting analyses.
Many international experts disagree with the ATSB’s conclusions, with former airline pilot and top air crash investigator John Cox telling The Australian: “I do not believe there is sufficient data in the Inmarsat data to draw any conclusion on the rate of descent.”
Against the ATSB’s bold statements for public consumption, Dr Gordon’s remarks to the IPA audience were more cautious.
“You have got these things which in a sense have never been used for this purpose before, so you put a big effort into checking that you understand them correctly,” he said.
“The key thing you have to remember is there’s lots of uncertainty that’s feeding into this.”
ATSB spokesman Dan O’Malley denied the bureau exaggerated, saying: “There are a range of possible rates of descent, all of which are high and increasing.””
Malcolm Turnbull has discussed with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak the circumstances in which the hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could be resumed, and said Australia stands ready to do “everything it can” to see it happen.
The move comes as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is preparing to release a report on its unsuccessful search for the aircraft, which may also present new evidence for its claim that it is “highly likely” the Boeing 777 lies in a proposed new search zone to the north.
The Prime Minister’s revelation that he has repeatedly raised the issue with his Malaysian counterpart also follows renewed activism among relatives of the Australian, Chinese and other victims who disappeared with the plane when it went down more than three years ago.
Mr Turnbull saidhe had made representations in the interest of the families of the six Australians on board, with his spokesman saying “the Prime Minister raises this issue with his Malaysian counterpart every time they speak”.
“Malaysia is the lead nation in the investigation into the disappearance of MH370, but Australia stands ready to assist in any way it can,” the spokesman said.
“At present, the search for MH370 has been suspended, but if any credible evidence emerges, the Australian government will do everything it can in partnership with Malaysia to ensure the search is resumed.”
A government source said Mr Turnbull was not pressuring the Malaysian government to restart the search, describing it more as a means of “keeping MH370 as a frontline issue”.
On March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew, MH370 doubled back on a scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing 40 minutes into the flight, with its radar transponder turned off and radio contact terminated.
Satellite tracking data showed that it ended up somewhere along a band in the southern Indian Ocean.
About the same time the ATSB’s underwater search of a 120,000sq km zone ended in January, it held a conference of international experts, which identified a new potential search area of 25,000sq km.
The three governments involved in the subsea search which cost $200 million — Malaysia, China and Australia — have taken the joint position that no new search will be undertaken without new evidence indicating the specific location of the plane.
But it is thought that Malaysia is the least enthusiastic to resume the hunt, while ATSB officials are known to be keen to do so and believe they have a strong case.
The ATSB recently said a new “drift modelling” study by the CSIRO charting the discovery of debris from the plane found on and off the coast of Africa further supported the evidence that the aircraft lies in the proposed new target zone.
Most of the passengers on MH370 were Chinese nationals. Yesterday the association representing their families issued a statement saying a letter of appeal signed by 1000 members had been sent to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reading, in part:
“Concerning the parties responsible for the unknown fate of MH370, Malaysian government, Malaysia Airlines, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the parties must honour and fulfil the promise of finding the plane, passengers and crew, without interruption, ceasing or abandonment.”
&..
Malcolm Turnbull has revealed he has taken up the cause of the Australian families of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 victims with his Malaysian counterpart, making the disclosure following his receipt of a letter this week from a Queensland woman whose husband disappeared with the aircraft three years ago.
Danica Weeks, who was left a single mother looking after two young boys when her husband Paul was lost, wrote to the Prime Minister on Wednesday calling on him to press Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to restart the search.
Mr Turnbull told The Australian he had already made representations in the interest of the families of the six Australians on board MH370, with his spokesman saying “the Prime Minister raises this issue with his Malaysian counterpart every time they speak”.
“Malaysia is the lead nation in the investigation into the disappearance of MH370, but Australia stands ready to assist in any way it can,” the spokesman said. “At present, the search for MH370 has been suspended, but if any credible evidence emerges, the Australian government will do everything it can in partnership with Malaysia to ensure the search is resumed.”
MH370 doubled back on a scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing 40 minutes into the flight, with its radar transponder turned off and radio contact terminated. Satellite tracking data showed it ended up somewhere along a band in the southern Indian Ocean.
At the request of Malaysia, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau ran what proved to be a fruitless $200m underwater search for the aircraft which ended in January.
While the ATSB has identified a new potential search area to the north of the last one, which it says is “highly likely” to contain the aircraft, the three governments involved — Malaysia, China and Australia — have insisted no new hunt will be undertaken without evidence indicating the specific location of the aircraft.
ATSB officials are known to be keen to resume the search.
In her letter to Mr Turnbull, Ms Weeks wrote of what she called “the daily torment Malaysia Airlines and ultimately the Malaysian government have imposed upon the families … in its dealing with this situation”.
“Time is no healer for us, that is a luxury only afforded to those who get a proper goodbye and who know what happened to their loved ones,” she wrote.
“I find it extremely distressing the Malaysian government’s inclination to cease searching and the perception they wish to ‘brush MH370 under the carpet’.”
Ms Weeks also expressed her dismay at the refusal of ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood to release key material regarding the search for the aircraft.
Mr Hood has supported ATSB general manager for strategic capability Colin McNamara’s decision to knock back a freedom of information request from The Australian for assessments of the satellite data by experts, which the bureau claims supports what has become known as its “death dive” theory that the Boeing 777 went down in a rapid, unpiloted crash with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Mr McNamara said in his rejection of the FOI request that to release the material could “cause damage to the international relations of the commonwealth.”
In her letter to Mr Turnbull, Ms Weeks claimed the ATSB “is unwilling to be open about the basis of its findings.” Mr Turnbull’s spokesman said the FOI request was a matter for the ATSB.
The developments come as a Queensland barrister acting pro bono for some of the MH370 families, Greg Williams, is preparing an online survey to gauge their “satisfaction or dissatisfaction” with the performance of the ATSB, the Australian government, and Malaysian authorities.
Really have to admire Danica Weeks and her efforts to extract some decency, truth and transparency from the Australian and Malaysian governments. Most people in her situation would be battling to remain upright and sane in the convoluted web of deceit and disinformation surrounding the tragic disappearance and post search efforts of MH370 - shame on Najib, Liow, Turnbull and Chester...
Malcolm Turnbull has discussed with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak the circumstances in which the hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could be resumed, and said Australia stands ready to do “everything it can” to see it happen.
The move comes as the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is preparing to release a report on its unsuccessful search for the aircraft, which may also present new evidence for its claim that it is “highly likely” the Boeing 777 lies in a proposed new search zone to the north.
The Prime Minister’s revelation that he has repeatedly raised the issue with his Malaysian counterpart also follows renewed activism among relatives of the Australian, Chinese and other victims who disappeared with the plane when it went down more than three years ago.
Mr Turnbull saidhe had made representations in the interest of the families of the six Australians on board, with his spokesman saying “the Prime Minister raises this issue with his Malaysian counterpart every time they speak”.
“Malaysia is the lead nation in the investigation into the disappearance of MH370, but Australia stands ready to assist in any way it can,” the spokesman said.
“At present, the search for MH370 has been suspended, but if any credible evidence emerges, the Australian government will do everything it can in partnership with Malaysia to ensure the search is resumed.”
A government source said Mr Turnbull was not pressuring the Malaysian government to restart the search, describing it more as a means of “keeping MH370 as a frontline issue”.
On March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew, MH370 doubled back on a scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing 40 minutes into the flight, with its radar transponder turned off and radio contact terminated.
Satellite tracking data showed that it ended up somewhere along a band in the southern Indian Ocean.
About the same time the ATSB’s underwater search of a 120,000sq km zone ended in January, it held a conference of international experts, which identified a new potential search area of 25,000sq km.
The three governments involved in the subsea search which cost $200 million — Malaysia, China and Australia — have taken the joint position that no new search will be undertaken without new evidence indicating the specific location of the plane.
But it is thought that Malaysia is the least enthusiastic to resume the hunt, while ATSB officials are known to be keen to do so and believe they have a strong case.
The ATSB recently said a new “drift modelling” study by the CSIRO charting the discovery of debris from the plane found on and off the coast of Africa further supported the evidence that the aircraft lies in the proposed new target zone.
Most of the passengers on MH370 were Chinese nationals. Yesterday the association representing their families issued a statement saying a letter of appeal signed by 1000 members had been sent to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reading, in part:
“Concerning the parties responsible for the unknown fate of MH370, Malaysian government, Malaysia Airlines, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the parties must honour and fulfil the promise of finding the plane, passengers and crew, without interruption, ceasing or abandonment.”
&..
Malcolm Turnbull has revealed he has taken up the cause of the Australian families of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 victims with his Malaysian counterpart, making the disclosure following his receipt of a letter this week from a Queensland woman whose husband disappeared with the aircraft three years ago.
Danica Weeks, who was left a single mother looking after two young boys when her husband Paul was lost, wrote to the Prime Minister on Wednesday calling on him to press Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to restart the search.
Mr Turnbull told The Australian he had already made representations in the interest of the families of the six Australians on board MH370, with his spokesman saying “the Prime Minister raises this issue with his Malaysian counterpart every time they speak”.
“Malaysia is the lead nation in the investigation into the disappearance of MH370, but Australia stands ready to assist in any way it can,” the spokesman said. “At present, the search for MH370 has been suspended, but if any credible evidence emerges, the Australian government will do everything it can in partnership with Malaysia to ensure the search is resumed.”
MH370 doubled back on a scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing 40 minutes into the flight, with its radar transponder turned off and radio contact terminated. Satellite tracking data showed it ended up somewhere along a band in the southern Indian Ocean.
At the request of Malaysia, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau ran what proved to be a fruitless $200m underwater search for the aircraft which ended in January.
While the ATSB has identified a new potential search area to the north of the last one, which it says is “highly likely” to contain the aircraft, the three governments involved — Malaysia, China and Australia — have insisted no new hunt will be undertaken without evidence indicating the specific location of the aircraft.
ATSB officials are known to be keen to resume the search.
In her letter to Mr Turnbull, Ms Weeks wrote of what she called “the daily torment Malaysia Airlines and ultimately the Malaysian government have imposed upon the families … in its dealing with this situation”.
“Time is no healer for us, that is a luxury only afforded to those who get a proper goodbye and who know what happened to their loved ones,” she wrote.
“I find it extremely distressing the Malaysian government’s inclination to cease searching and the perception they wish to ‘brush MH370 under the carpet’.”
Ms Weeks also expressed her dismay at the refusal of ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood to release key material regarding the search for the aircraft.
Mr Hood has supported ATSB general manager for strategic capability Colin McNamara’s decision to knock back a freedom of information request from The Australian for assessments of the satellite data by experts, which the bureau claims supports what has become known as its “death dive” theory that the Boeing 777 went down in a rapid, unpiloted crash with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Mr McNamara said in his rejection of the FOI request that to release the material could “cause damage to the international relations of the commonwealth.”
In her letter to Mr Turnbull, Ms Weeks claimed the ATSB “is unwilling to be open about the basis of its findings.” Mr Turnbull’s spokesman said the FOI request was a matter for the ATSB.
The developments come as a Queensland barrister acting pro bono for some of the MH370 families, Greg Williams, is preparing an online survey to gauge their “satisfaction or dissatisfaction” with the performance of the ATSB, the Australian government, and Malaysian authorities.
Really have to admire Danica Weeks and her efforts to extract some decency, truth and transparency from the Australian and Malaysian governments. Most people in her situation would be battling to remain upright and sane in the convoluted web of deceit and disinformation surrounding the tragic disappearance and post search efforts of MH370 - shame on Najib, Liow, Turnbull and Chester...
Robyn Ironside, National Aviation Writer, News Corp Australia Network
May 25, 2017 12:30am
Subscriber only MALAYSIA Airlines has been ordered by a US Court to reveal what it knows about MH370 after the carrier claimed a “third party” was to blame for the flight’s disappearance.
A motion to compel, granted in part by US District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ordered Malaysia Airlines to disclose any evidence it had of third party involvement in MH370, including the identity.
It followed Malaysia Airlines’ own claim in its response to the next of kin suing the carrier, that a “third party tortfeasor (wrongdoer) was responsible for Flight MH370”.
A Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, like the one that disappeared in the Southern Indian Ocean. Picture: Supplied
Lawyers for the families questioned if Malaysia Airlines was referring to Boeing — as the manufacturer of the 777-200ER.
“If that third-party is Boeing, then Boeing’s liability would be the critical and perhaps the only issue in this case,” said the motion to compel.
The flight on March 8, 2014, disappeared less than an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur to fly to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Although debris from the 777 have been recovered, the fuselage and black box recorders have not been found and there has been no official explanation for the aircraft’s disappearance.
Australian Danica Weeks is among the next of kin involved in the complex court case against the airline and its insurer Allianz — as well as aircraft manufacturer Boeing.
Her New Zealand-born husband Paul, was among those on the flight thought to have crashed in the Southern Indian Ocean.
US lawyer Floyd Wisner welcomed the order by Judge Brown Jackson, but said he was not hopeful of Malaysia Airlines complying.
The airline, Allianz and Boeing were trying to get the case thrown out of the US court, because of jurisdictional issues — and they were likely to succeed, Mr Wisner said.
Danica Weeks' is among those battling for compensation for the loss of loved ones on MH370. Picture: Matthew Poon/News Corp Australia Under the Montreal Convention, next of kin are restricted to suing the carrier in five places — the airline’s home country, the country of departure, the destination country, where the airline ticket was purchased or where the passenger lived.
Mr Wisner said that meant a lot of families could only sue the airline in Malaysia or China — neither of which provided much prospect of success.
“I’d like to see Malaysia Airlines hauled into court in the US,” he said.
“If we had jurisdiction we’d have no problem proving liability. A Malaysian Court is only going to give (next of kin) a very low level of damages.”
In its “motion to dismiss” filed in the District of Columbia court, Boeing’s attorneys argued Malaysia was the right country in which to hear the claims.
“Malaysia is leading the civil investigation and the Royal Malaysian Police are conducting an independent investigation,” said Boeing’s motion.
“Malaysia’s government has expressed its strong interest in resolving claims and the Malaysian courts are already handling litigation.”
The matter is continuing in the District of Columbia.
The 2014 disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
Now, scientists believe they've narrowed down the potential search area to a fraction of space that was searched in December 2016.
CSIRO researchers say they're more confident than ever in the precise location, which has been missed by the work that scoured the ocean floor, as well as the aerial surveillance.
But how did they get to this point?
Investigators have known for some time that the plane crashed somewhere along a line known as the seventh arc, to the west of Western Australia.
They came to this conclusion by looking at the plane's last transmission on March 8, 2014, and then examining a large search area in the Indian ocean, which was partially based on how far the plane could have glided.
That position was at latitude 39 to 36 degrees south along the seventh arc, but nothing turned up in the hunt.
Last December, they thought an area that spanned 25,000 kilometres at latitude 32 to 36 degrees south, pictured below outlined in orange, was the right place to look.
Within that new region outlined in December, they have since narrowed it down greatly to a relatively small area near 35 degrees south.
The most recent research by the CSIRO has strengthened scientists' belief this is where the plane may be found. Play (2.3 MB) GIF: MH370's known flight path, the search area, and where the debris washed up
Is there hope of finding MH370?
"We think we know quite precisely where the plane is," Dr David Griffin from the CSIRO told a national marine conference in Darwin.
He said while the physical search was suspended in January this year, the work had continued in Australian laboratories, modelling ocean drift.
That's a scientific method that involves looking at what the ocean currents were doing on the day of the crash, and matching it with where debris has and hasn't landed, such as the piece of wing, called the flaperon, which landed on Reunion Island off the eastern coast of Africa.
It can direct scientists towards where the plane might have landed based on where the debris turned up.
Dr Griffin said another piece of debris washed up in Tanzania, and apart from the location of the discovery being a vital clue, the specific damage to the piece of the plane was able to tell investigators the plane had a fast and hard landing.
It's a theory boosted by the fact the flaperon, which is designed to reduce speed, hadn't been deployed either.
The observation that no debris has washed up on the West Australian coast is also an important clue.
It means the ocean current must have been flowing in a particular direction — and not towards Australia, which Dr Griffin says leads back to only one place on the arc where the plane had crashed. Again, that's 35 degrees south.
"There's a strong current crossing across the seventh arc at [latitude] 35 degrees south, so we think the plane crashed into that current going to the north-west," Dr Griffin said.
Quote:"That explains why debris didn't arrive in Australia."
The scientists used satellite technology to precisely calculate the height of the sea level, down to the centimetre, which is a key to figuring out where the ocean was flowing on March 8, 2014.
A detailed map of the sea level can reveal where the ocean currents are and what speed they're going.
"And so that's the basis of how we know this current was flowing across the seventh arc at this time," Dr Griffin said.
Where to from here?
The physical search of the ocean floor and aerial surveillance has already cost $180 million. It was suspended until authorities said they needed "credible evidence" to resume searching.
The CSIRO has handed over this work to the appropriate authorities, who will decide whether to resume the search for MH370.
"Since then we've been further scrutinising that work, and being a bit bolder to realise that 'yes, the answer has been there since December', that 'yes, actually there really is only a very small number of places which are consistent with all the evidence'."
A screenshot of the Geoscience Australia MH370 data on its website. (Geoscience Australia)
Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester says the publication of high resolution maps of the Indian Ocean has uncovered no new information to warrant a resumption of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Geoscience Australia said on Wednesday it had released the sea floor mapping data covering 278,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean off the Western Australia coast.
Known as bathymetry data, the material being made available to the public features sea floor topography maps that show with a high resolution 6km wide and 15km long ridges that rise 1,500m above the sea floor, as well as fault valleys 1,200 metres deep and 5km wide.
The maps were used in the unsuccessful search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER 9M-MRO that disappeared on March 8 2014 enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 passengers and crew.
Australia, China and Malaysia agreed to suspend the search for the aircraft in January after scouring 120,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean.
The three countries said at the time they would be open to resuming the search effort if there was credible new evidence which led to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft.
However, Chester said the data released on Wednesday did not meet that requirement.
“No new information has been discovered to determine the specific location of the aircraft and the underwater search remains suspended,” Chester said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and sympathies continue to be with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.
“We remain hopeful that new information will come to light and that at some point in the future the aircraft will be located.”
Some 20 items of debris believed to have come from the missing 777-200ER have been found along the east and south coast of Africa, the east coast of Madagascar and the Islands of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean, including a wing flaperon that underwent Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) analysis in Canberra.
Geoscience Australia published a video of the overview of the MH370 search area on its YouTube channel:
Geoscience Australia noted only 10 to 15 per cent of the world’s oceans have been mapped using the sonar technology that was used in the search for MH370, with the maps produced having a resolution about 15 times higher than those previously available. It was one of the largest marine surveys ever conducted.
While the data was collected to assist in locating the Malaysia Airlines 777-200ER, Geoscience Australia environmental division chief Stuart Minchin said it also had valuable scientific uses.
“This data is unique both because of the remote location of the search area, and because of the sheer scale of the area surveyed,” Dr Minchin said in a statement on the Geoscience Australia website.
“This data will contribute to a greater understanding of the geology of the deep ocean and the complex processes that occur there; it will be important for a range of future scientific research, including oceanographic and habitat modelling. While tragically the aircraft has not yet been found, I am proud we could bring the organisation’s expertise to bear on such important work.”
Geoscience Australia said more data was being prepared for public release some time in mid-2018.
A Geoscience Australia video published in May explained the mapping of the ocean floor:
& the M&M prepared statement for 6D:
Quote:
Statement
Media Release
DC216/2017
19 July 2017
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester today welcomed the release of Geoscience Australia's sea floor data collected in the search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
Mr Chester said the data covered 710,000 square kilometres of the southern Indian Ocean uncovering volcanoes, ridges and sea mounts, and provided a better understanding of the sea floor processes.
“The search for MH370 has involved state of the art equipment and the Australian Government, with the support of Malaysia and the People's Republic of China, has always been committed to releasing this data to the public,” Mr Chester said.
“No new information has been discovered to determine the specific location of the aircraft and the underwater search remains suspended.
“Our thoughts and sympathies continue to be with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.
“We remain hopeful that new information will come to light and that at some point in the future the aircraft will be located.”
An image of ‘faulted volcanoes’ produced from the MH370 search area. Picture: Geoscience Australia An image of the ‘Diamantina Trench’.
Ean Higgins
The Australian
12:00AM July 21, 2017
They look like visions from the more sci-fi landscapes of Game of Thrones — towering, sharp mountains and ridges, dramatic blue-tinged canyon valleys winding into the distance, strings of volcanoes bursting out of the ground.
What was not found in the extraordinary underwater landscape was what the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was looking for: the remains of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and the 239 souls on board.
But in the process of unsuccessfully hunting for MH370, the ATSB commissioned surveys of the sea bed that reveal stunning, never before seen images of some of deepest parts of the world’s oceans ever mapped in such detail.
The released data has been put up on the website of Geoscience Australia.
The images also have again highlighted just how challenging the hunt for the Boeing 777 was in the 120,000sq km search area selected by the ATSB in the southern Indian Ocean.
The searchers had to navigate their sonar imaging “tow fish” around massive underwater features that could hide aircraft debris at depths of up to 6km.
Some of the underwater canyons were scanned by an autonomous, torpedo-like machine that was pre-programmed to hunt for MH370 on its own and return to the surface after completing its mission.
Despite extensive mapping of the sea floor before actually beginning search operations, one of the vessels involved, the Fugro Discovery, early last year ran its tow fish into what was described as “a mud volcano which rises 2200m from the sea floor”.
The vessel lost the tow fish, although the sonar imaging device was later recovered.
MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board. It deviated from its planned route 40 minutes into the flight, with its radar transponder turned off and radio communications cut.
Primary radar and automatic satellite tracking signals indicate the aircraft doubled back over Malaysia before turning on a long track south.
Marine scientists and geologists have been salivating ahead of the release of the mapping data.
Chief of Geoscience Australia’s environmental geoscience division, Stuart Minchin, said only 10-15 per cent of the world’s oceans had been surveyed with the kind of technology used in the search for MH370, making this remote part of the Indian Ocean “among the most thoroughly mapped regions of the deep ocean on the planet”.
Dr Minchin pointed to images revealing ridges 6km wide and 15km long that rise 1500m above the sea floor, and fault valleys 1200m deep and 5km wide.
“This data will contribute to a greater understanding of the geology of the deep ocean and the complex processes that occur there,” he said.
At the request of Malaysia the ATSB planned and directed the $200 million search for MH370, but critics in the professional aviation and air crash investigation community claim it was flawed in assuming the aircraft crashed in an unpiloted dive rather than being flown to the end and outside the search area by a rogue pilot.
Families of the victims in Australia and overseas have expressed anger at the refusal of ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood to agree to a freedom of information request from The Australian to release assessments of the satellite data from international experts the bureau claims back up its “death dive” theory.
The ATSB is keen to renew the search in an area immediately to the north of that surveyed, but the Malaysian government has insisted it will not be resumed without new credible information indicating the precise location of the aircraft.
Quote:Missing Flight MH370 Breakthrough Likely In 4 Years, Malaysia Airline CEO Says
By Suman Varandani@suman09 On 07/26/17 AT 8:28 AM
A breakthrough in the disappearance of Flight MH370 could be made within the next four years, Malaysia Airlines CEO Peter Bellew said Wednesday. The flight went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.
"(Given) the advances in scientific research around the location where the aircraft may have gone down ... I personally would be very surprised if in the next three or four years, we don't get a breakthrough. I think that's the timescale we're looking at," Bellew told CNBC.
Despite a multimillion-dollar search in remote parts of the southern Indian Ocean, the Boeing 777-200 could not be found. Several debris pieces also washed up at various locations but could not unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the jet.
Last week, Australia released maps of the ocean floor where Flight MH370 was believed to have crashed. However, authorities have released information collected during the search of the plane in detailed maps of the sea floor, and which many scientists think could be useful in future ocean research.
The search for the plane was called off in January but Australian authorities said it’s possible the search could continue in the future if concrete evidence about the jet's location was found.
“We remain hopeful that new information will come to light and that at some point in the future the aircraft will be located,” Australia’s Transport Minister Darren Chester said earlier.
On July 13, Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) said two debris pieces found in the island nation of Seychelles could possibly be from the missing Flight MH370.
"The direction of flow of the sea currents make it likely that the (debris) came from the general direction where other parts (of MH370) have been found in Indian Ocean countries," a senior SCAA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters at the time. The SCAA said in a statement they contacted Malaysian authorities "who have shown an interest, and with whom we expect to work closely."
The plane's disappearance has also raised several conspiracy theories which went as far as a hijack or a terrorist attack. Some theorists also claimed the pilot of the plane may have deliberately crashed the plane.
In March, an independent analysis by a team of aviation and mathematical experts concluded the aircraft was in a “spiral dive” moments before it crashed into the ocean. The report confirmed the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s conclusion about the plane’s final moments.
“Considering that the newly available data generally support the conclusions of the official investigators, it remains a mystery as to why Malaysia withheld the data for so long and why it chose to release the data at this time,” Victor Iannello of the Independent Group said, the West Australian reported..
Artificial intelligence technologies and other advances could lead to a breakthrough that helps locate the wreckage of the ill-fated MH370, according to Malaysia Airlines boss Peter Bellew.
Mr Bellew said he thinks that over time “there will be advances in science that will help locate the wreckage eventually”.
A “vast” amount of scientific research had been taking place since the MH370 disaster, he said.
The flight disappeared in 2014, with 239 people on board, during a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing; it is considered one of the biggest aviation mysteries.
The search for MH370 has cost Australia, Malaysia and China about $200 million.
But the underwater search was officially suspended in January when traces of the Boeing 777 could not be found after a search of 120,000sq km of ocean.
Mr Bellew, a former executive of Irish low-cost airline RyanAir, said there were people “who are spending a lot of their own resources at the moment and co-ordinating with authorities”.
“I do think somebody will make a breakthrough somewhere around this, or a combination of people,” he told The Australian yesterday.
“It will create a situation where there will be some chance of pinpointing the location of where the aircraft may well be”.
He pointed to “the availability of artificial intelligence that’s coming on stream, the cheap availability of high-capacity computing power, processing power, the focus that some leading universities around the world are starting to put into research projects and individuals that are doing doctorate research”.
Mr Bellew — in Sydney to speak on the future of the airline sector at the CAPA Australia Pacific summit this week — said finding the wreckage “might unlock closure for some people.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is expected to release its report on the failed search for MH370 shortly.
The three governments involved in the underwater search have said no new search would be undertaken unless there was new evidence on the specific location of the plane.
After the MH370 and MH17 disasters of 2014, the carrier was taken off Malaysia’s stock exchange as part of a restructure. Yesterday, Mr Bellew said the crashes “will always have an impact and it’s something we will never forget” but the carrier was “moving in the right direction” to return to profitability in a competitive marketplace, with bookings up in Australia.
The plan is to relist the company in Malaysia in 2019.
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - A US exploration company has offered to take on the search for flight MH370 which was suspended earlier this year, the firm and a Malaysian minister said Thursday, offering new hope to families of the missing.
No trace of the Boeing 777, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board, was found during a lengthy deep sea hunt in the southern Indian Ocean off western Australia, with the search called off in January.
Ocean Infinity, a seabed exploration firm which says it has the world's largest and most advanced commercial fleet of underwater vehicles for conducting searches, said it had proposed continuing the hunt.
"I can confirm that we have made an offer," a spokesman said in an emailed statement to AFP, without giving further details.
Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi confirmed a company had made an approach and was only asking for payment in the event they find the plane.
He said the firm had made a "good offer", and added negotiations were ongoing with the country's Department of Civil Aviation.
"The company is demanding payment in the event the wreckage is found," he told AFP.
"We have to work out the details, what we want most is the wreckage and the black box."
He added that the agreement of Australia and China would be needed for a deal to be reached. China, where most of the passengers came from, and Australia were both involved in the search.
Grace Nathan, a Malaysian lawyer whose mother Anne Daisy was on the plane, urged authorities to accept the offer.
"There is no point waiting any longer, we really do not lose anything," she said. "It seems to be a perfect offer from a company that is equipped to undertake this search."
So far, three fragments of MH370 have been found on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.
Australia's national science body CSIRO said in April that MH370 was "most likely" lying north of the former search zone -- a 120,000 square kilometre (46,000 square mile) area largely defined through satellite "pings" and the flight's estimated fuel load.
But the country's transport minister previously said the underwater probe would not resume unless new evidence about the specific location of the aircraft emerge.
Ocean Infinity has a fleet of six underwater vehicles which can collect seabed data at a depth of 6,000 metres (19,700 feet).
..But the country's transport minister previously said the underwater probe would not resume unless new evidence about the specific location of the aircraft emerge...
Yet another potential aviation embarrassment for minister Chester...
An apparently well resourced privately funded offer to keep looking for MH370 puts the Australian, Malaysian and Chinese authorities on the spot
Ben Sandilands
Editor of Plane Talking
An Ocean Infinity website graphic
An American oceanographic exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, has offered to launch a radically faster seabed search for the sunk wreckage of missing flight MH370 for an undisclosed fee paid only if it succeeds in finding the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014.
The offer, publicised by independent MH370 researcher Victor Iannello puts authorities in Malaysia, Australia and China on the spot in terms of support, given the controversial suspension of the official tripartite search in January contrary to a recommendation by Australian scientists to make a final examination of a comparatively small section of the southern Indian Ocean seabed to the southwest of Perth, Western Australia.
The Australian transport safety investigator, the ATSB, managed the now suspended oceanic search on behalf of its Malaysia and China partners in the quest to find the wreckage, and locate and recover, if possible, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
There is nothing to prevent any entity from searching for the main wreckage from MH370, although there are long standing internationally agreed rules that seek to avoid disturbing any aircraft wreckage pending a examination by an accident inquiry that conforms to the protocols of the International Civil Aviation Organisation which was founded in 1947.
[url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/tag/mh370][/url]
MH370 was over the Gulf of Thailand early on March 8, 2014, on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, when it abruptly ceased to be visible to air traffic control systems as a transponder identified flight.
Automatically generated signals from MH370 picked up by an Inmarsat communications satellite indicated that the jet eventually flew into southern Indian Ocean airspace before running out of fuel.
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - A US exploration company has offered to take on the search for flight MH370 which was suspended earlier this year, the firm and a Malaysian minister said Thursday, offering new hope to families of the missing.
No trace of the Boeing 777, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board, was found during a lengthy deep sea hunt in the southern Indian Ocean off western Australia, with the search called off in January.
Ocean Infinity, a seabed exploration firm which says it has the world's largest and most advanced commercial fleet of underwater vehicles for conducting searches, said it had proposed continuing the hunt.
"I can confirm that we have made an offer," a spokesman said in an emailed statement to AFP, without giving further details.
Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi confirmed a company had made an approach and was only asking for payment in the event they find the plane.
He said the firm had made a "good offer", and added negotiations were ongoing with the country's Department of Civil Aviation.
"The company is demanding payment in the event the wreckage is found," he told AFP.
"We have to work out the details, what we want most is the wreckage and the black box."
He added that the agreement of Australia and China would be needed for a deal to be reached. China, where most of the passengers came from, and Australia were both involved in the search.
Grace Nathan, a Malaysian lawyer whose mother Anne Daisy was on the plane, urged authorities to accept the offer.
"There is no point waiting any longer, we really do not lose anything," she said. "It seems to be a perfect offer from a company that is equipped to undertake this search."
So far, three fragments of MH370 have been found on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.
Australia's national science body CSIRO said in April that MH370 was "most likely" lying north of the former search zone -- a 120,000 square kilometre (46,000 square mile) area largely defined through satellite "pings" and the flight's estimated fuel load.
But the country's transport minister previously said the underwater probe would not resume unless new evidence about the specific location of the aircraft emerge.
Ocean Infinity has a fleet of six underwater vehicles which can collect seabed data at a depth of 6,000 metres (19,700 feet).
..But the country's transport minister previously said the underwater probe would not resume unless new evidence about the specific location of the aircraft emerge...
Yet another potential aviation embarrassment for minister Chester...
An apparently well resourced privately funded offer to keep looking for MH370 puts the Australian, Malaysian and Chinese authorities on the spot
Ben Sandilands
Editor of Plane Talking
An Ocean Infinity website graphic
An American oceanographic exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, has offered to launch a radically faster seabed search for the sunk wreckage of missing flight MH370 for an undisclosed fee paid only if it succeeds in finding the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014.
The offer, publicised by independent MH370 researcher Victor Iannello puts authorities in Malaysia, Australia and China on the spot in terms of support, given the controversial suspension of the official tripartite search in January contrary to a recommendation by Australian scientists to make a final examination of a comparatively small section of the southern Indian Ocean seabed to the southwest of Perth, Western Australia.
The Australian transport safety investigator, the ATSB, managed the now suspended oceanic search on behalf of its Malaysia and China partners in the quest to find the wreckage, and locate and recover, if possible, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
[url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/08/10/world/asia/ap-as-malaysia-missing-plane.html?partner=IFTTT]US Company Offers to Take Financial Risk of New MH370 Search
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUG. 11, 2017, 12:09 A.M.
CANBERRA, Australia — U.S. seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity said on Friday it had offered to take the financial risk of a renewed search for the missing Malaysian airliner, as victims' families urged the Malaysian government to agree to a private-sector hunt for Flight 370's wreckage.
Malaysia, Australia and China suspended a nearly three-year search in the southern Indian Ocean in January after scouring 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of remote seabed and failing to find any trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Ocean Infinity said it remained hopeful that Malaysia would accept its offer to continue the search using a team of advanced, fast-moving deep-sea drones fitted with sonar equipment.
"The terms of the offer are confidential, but I can ... confirm that Ocean Infinity have offered to take on the economic risk of a renewed search," the company said in an email.
"We're in a constructive dialogue with the relevant authorities and are hopeful that the offer will be accepted," it added.
Voice370, a support group for families of the 239 people on board, said under the terms of the offer made in April, Ocean Infinity "would like to be paid a reward if and only if it finds the main debris field."
"Why hasn't Malaysia accepted this win-win offer?" Voice370 asked in a statement.
Malaysia did not immediately respond on Friday to the families' question.[size=undefined]
An international board of experts has concluded, based on analysis of Boeing 777 debris that drifted and washed up on western Indian Ocean beaches, the flight most likely crashed in a 25,000-square-kilometer (9,700-square-mile) area of ocean on the northern boundary of the last search zone, far southwest of Australia.
But Malaysia, Australia and China agree that the newly identified area is too big to justify resuming the publicly funded search, which has already cost $160 million.
Australia has coordinated the search on Malaysia's behalf because Flight 370 crashed in Australia's zone of search and rescue responsibility on March 8, 2014, after flying far off course on a journey from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.
Transport Minister Darren Chester declined to comment on the possibility of a private search.
"Malaysia, as the state of registry for the aircraft, retains overall authority for any future search and any questions regarding possible future search efforts should be directed there," his office said in a statement.
"Australia stands ready to assist the Malaysian government in any way it can," it added.[/size]
I had the opportunity to converse with Oliver Plunkett, who is the CEO of Ocean Infinity (OI). My goal was to learn more about OI’s offer to search for MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean (SIO). Although Mr Plunkett would not disclose the details of the confidential negotiations with Malaysia, he did provide information that is helpful to understanding the general terms of OI’s proposal.
First, OI’s offer is structured such that OI assumes 100% of the economic risk for the search. OI will NOT receive any payment if the wreckage is not found. So it would appear that if the success fee that OI is proposing is less than what Malaysia would have spent in conducting the search using conventional techniques, this is an extremely attractive offer.
I learned a bit more about the recent sea trials that Ocean Infinity recently conducted in the North Atlantic. The tests demonstrated that the underwater autonomous vehicles (AUVs) could be successfully launched and recovered. Each AUV also demonstrated that it could independently scan the seabed. Mr Plunkett said he was pleased with the results so far. Further work is planned at deeper depths and over a wider range of conditions. Mr Plunkett also explained that although the unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) could not be used in the roughest of sea states, the search for MH370 could nonetheless occur over a wide range of conditions. This is because the mission is to scan the seabed and identify the wreckage rather than to generate precise maps.
I inquired about the window of opportunity for completing the negotiations with Malaysia and starting the search. (We know from previous underwater search efforts that the search season in the SIO runs approximately from December to March.) Mr Plunkett is optimistic that Malaysia and OI will reach an agreement in a time frame that allows for adequate time to prepare for a search that begins this season.
Finally, I asked whether OI had already determined the specific area to search. Mr Plunkett explained that OI intends to complement its internal resources with input from other organizations and other outside experts to help define the search area. OI has already had some interaction with the ATSB, which he believes is completely committed to finding the wreckage. I don’t expect that OI’s search area will be very different than what we have been discussing here.
Over the course of our discussion, it became apparent that Mr Plunkett was aware of the many posts and discussions that appear on this blog.
With such a favorable offer on the table from an innovative and qualified firm, I remain optimistic that the seabed search will re-start. However, for the search to begin this season, the window of opportunity to complete the negotiations is narrowing. It is imperative that Malaysia not miss this opportunity.
The CSIRO has used satellite data provided by French authorities to further narrow down the area where it is believed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed.
The CSIRO and Geoscience Australia have analysed images of objects in the Indian Ocean, which were taken about two weeks after the plane disappeared on March 8, 2014.
The CSIRO report's co-author, oceanographer David Griffin explained why they were only analysed recently.
"In 2014 some satellites saw some items on the surface, but at that point there were lots of sightings from the satellites and none of those turned out to actually be relevant," he said.
"So that information was set aside. More recently, we've focused in on this area near 35 [degrees] south."
'Impossible to be sure' objects from MH370
Geoscience Australia has determined 12 of the objects were probably manmade.
Dr Griffin said they were seen 200 kilometres west of the "seventh arc", where it is thought the plane crashed.
"The question is how could something drift 200 kilometres west? And the answer is that we know that there is a narrow ocean current at that point, at that time which would explain why bits of the plane could be seen by satellite," he said.
The CSIRO said if the objects were from a plane, drift analysis was consistent with an area determined as having the highest probability of containing wreckage.
Its report said: "We think it is possible to identify a most likely location of the aircraft, with unprecedented precision and certainty. This location is 35.6 [degrees south], 92.8 [degrees east]."
It went on to say other nearby locations were "certainly possible" with a "high degree of confidence that an impact in the southern half of the 2016-proposed search area" was more consistent with debris in the images than an impact in the northern half.
However, Dr Griffin said it could not be determined for sure that the objects were from MH370, or any plane.
Quote:"No, that's the kicker, is that it's impossible to be totally sure that they are from the plane, but the thing is that they are not natural items; they are large objects which clearly are not wave caps.
"They are in the area where we expect to see debris if we are right about where the plane hit the water.
"If you assume that they are then they definitely do help refine our estimate of where the plane hit the water."
Dr Griffin said the only places left to search were close to what's already been covered.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has advised caution, saying the objects had not been identified as being from MH370.
It said the CSIRO's drift study found the believed location of the objects identified in most of the satellite images on March 8 was consistent with the area determined by experts in the First Principles Review.
The bureau's chief commissioner Greg Hood said the information in the Geoscience and CSIRO reports "may be useful in informing any further search effort that may be mounted in the future".
The Federal Government said Malaysia was the lead investigator.
The foreword of the CSIRO's report said: "This work is dedicated to the 239 people aboard flight MH370".
Via the Oz:
Breakthrough in hunt for MH370
Flight MH370 was a Boeing 777.
The Australian
4:11PM August 16, 2017
New evidence released by the air safety bureau may have determined the area in which MH370 disappeared three and a half years ago.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released a pair of reports which analysed data gathered during the search for the Malaysian Airlines flight.
They feature satellite images and drift modelling from debris washed up in the Western Indian Ocean.
That drift modelling initially released late last year identified a new area of 25,000sq km just outside the original search area.
The CSIRO’s reverse drift modelling have now refined down to an area of 5000sq km, isolating the most likely location of MH370.
Greg Hood, Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), urged caution on the new findings.
The MH370 search area has been narrowed down.
“Clearly we must be cautious,” Mr Hood said. “These objects have not been definitely identified as MH370 debris.”
“Geoscience Australia identified a number of objects in the satellite imagery which have been classified as probably man-made.
“The image resolution is not high enough to be certain whether the objects originated from MH370 or are other objects that might be found floating in oceans around the world.”
Images taken by a French Military satellite show apparent debris were discarded by governments and authorities in late March 2014 - before the ATSB became involved in the search.
The area covered by the imagery was not one that was searched from the air at that time, but is close to the underwater search area.
GeoScience Australia has been examining satellite images taken in the weeks after the loss of MH370 in an area identified last year and found 12 objects considered to be man made, and 28 possibly man made.
Mr Hood said “the information contained within the Geoscience Australia and CSIRO reports may be useful in informing any further search effort that may be mounted in the future”.
EMILY RITCHIE Journalist
Sydney @emritchiejourno [img=0x0]https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/3bdbf7775ed466c42fa0795ff09415ea/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
Families of passengers on lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have demanded a resumption of the search for the jet after startling evidence released yesterday narrowed the likely crash site of the aircraft to two areas on the edge of the original search zone.
Four satellite images taken two weeks after the plane and its 239 passengers and crew went missing in March 2014 have been re-examined, prompting Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO to home in on two narrow strips, no larger than 10km-30km each, to the east and west of the original search site.
Their report places the most likely location of the aircraft “with unprecedented precision and certainty” at 35.6°S, 92.8°E — in the Indian Ocean, findings that are considered more precise than any previous analysis.
The Australian and Malaysian governments said last night the images did not constitute evidence that would prompt resumption of the search, which was abandoned after covering 120,000sq km of ocean at a cost of $200 million, $60m of which Australia contributed.
Byron Bailey, a former senior captain with Emirates who now flies private jets, said the Australian government and the ATSB should be “ashamed of themselves”. “What I can’t understand is why it has taken 3½ years before a French satellite’s images prompted action by the ATSB.”
He said he expected the plane would be largely intact and that the captain had had enough fuel to perform a controlled landing above a very deep sea trench.
The satellite images, released yesterday by the ATSB, contain up to 70 objects, of which up to 12 were “possibly man-made”, according to Geoscience Australia. Their dimensions match some of the plane debris that washed up on African beaches last year.
The images were acquired with the help of French authorities, taken in the southern Indian Ocean within a 25,000sq km area on the periphery of the original search area.
Victorian Jennifer Chong, whose husband Chong Ling Tan was onboard MH370, said yesterday she and other families of MH370 victims would be calling on both the Malaysian and Australian governments to re-establish a search.
“This certainly warrants a new search,” Ms Chong said. “I think it is really interesting that they’ve only discovered this now, three years after, even though the images were taken shortly after the incident. My first response is anger because they’ve had these images for such a long time.”
Ms Chong added she was grateful the incident was still being investigated, even after the underwater search was abandoned in January.
Geoscience Australia received the images from the ATSB for analysis on March 23 and considers 12 objects to be man-made, and 28 possibly man-made.
An ATSB spokesman said this satellite imagery reanalysis was part of a systematic process of review that commenced last year.
Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester said he welcomed the new reports, but added it was important to note they did “not provide new evidence leading to a specific location of MH370”.
“Malaysia is the lead investigator and any future requests in relation to searching for MH370 would be considered by Australia at that time,” Mr Chester said.
Malaysian Transport Minister Dato Sri Liow Tiong said the newly defined area was not enough to go on and it was hoped debris-drift modelling would help narrow the location further.
Investigators have known for two years that the plane crashed somewhere along a line known as the seventh arc, to the west of Western Australia.
According to the CSIRO drift report, the new debris was located near the seventh arc, which made it “impossible to ignore”.
The plane would “most likely” be located in two narrow (10km-30km) strips east and west of the completed search area. ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood urged caution on the new findings. “These objects have not been definitely identified as MH370 debris,” Mr Hood said. “Geoscience Australia identified a number of objects in the satellite imagery which have been classified as probably man-made. The image resolution is not high enough to be certain whether the objects originated from MH370 or are other objects that might be found floating in oceans around the world.”
The images, taken by a French Military satellite, show apparent debris that was disregarded by governments and authorities in late March 2014 — before the ATSB became involved in the search.
CSIRO oceanographer David Griffin said this was because countless other photos of debris uncovered at the time led to fruitless searches.
Is it just me (& Byron bailey)?? - Don't you think it is passing strange that at virtually the same time as the public exposure of Ocean Infinity 'no find, no fee' offer to the Malaysian Government, that this latest ATSB/CSIRO/GeoScience findings is also made public?
So these SAT Phots are nearly 3.5 years old and they have just (23 March 2017 received by GA) analysed them...
Also with a quick check to when that Geoscience Australia report was copied to PDF - Download Geoscience Australia satellite imagery analyses report [ Download PDF: 17.14MB] - it would appear that the ATSB/CSIRO etc. have sat on the report for more than 2 weeks...WTD -
As usual when it comes to MH370, something smells here...
MH370 mystery deepens as Australian woman whose husband was a passenger hits out at the Transport Minister.
[img=0x0]https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/9588426f71b3e44ece91d1382b0d2326/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img] An Australian woman whose husband was a passenger on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 says she is “seething” and has lashed out at Australian and Malaysian authorities for shrugging off new satellite evidence that may have pinpointed the plane’s crash site.
The comments come as oceanographers from the CSIRO say they have “unprecedented” confidence that they can use Australia’s biggest supercomputer to find MH370’s wreckage on a tiny strip of sea floor.
Despite mounting calls for the search to be resumed, transport safety bureaucrats are failing to take steps that could substantiate the scientists’ conclusion.
The inaction infuriated Danica Weeks, who was left to take care of her two children after her husband Paul disappeared with the plane on March 7, 2014.
She has urged Transport Minister Darren Chester to put greater pressure on his Malaysian counterparts.
[img=558x458]http://cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/954722336341229570/1024/10/scaletowidth#tl-954722336341229570;1043138249'[/img]
New CSIRO modelling of images of possible debris, taken by a French surveillance satellite just 15 days after the flight went down with 239 passengers and crew, tracks its likely resting place to a narrow band of the Indian Ocean just outside an earlier search zone.
Mr Chester said on Wednesday while he welcome the reports, they did not provide evidence leading to a specific location of MH370 and that it was up to Malaysia to initiate a new search.
Ms Weeks said the new reports were as specific as could be hoped for. “I’m infuriated. No, I’m seething at Darren Chester’s response,” she said. “This is a Boeing 777 that has had something go wrong. It’s gone missing and it’s a commercial aeroplane. Until we know what happened, nobody can board a commercial aeroplane and feel safe. That means you, and that means me.”
David Griffin, principal research scientist with CSIRO’s Oceans and Atmosphere division, said the pinpointed strip was 100km long at most and possibly as little as 10km wide. He was confident that if searchers looked there they would find something, and such an undertaking would be a minor investment compared with efforts so far. “You can never be sure, but we used about seven lines of evidence to come to that conclusion,” he said.
The finding hinges on assumptions that up to nine objects captured in one of the images, classified in a Geoscience Australia report as “probably man-made”, are from the aircraft. “To completely reject the possibility that any of these objects are pieces of (MH370) is difficult to defend,” CSIRO’s report says.
However, the GA researchers left open the possibility that the objects were “wave glint” or some other natural phenomenon. They said the best way to be sure would be to analyse other images taken by the same instrument on the same satellite and in a “similar sea-state”, but where “unnatural” debris was unexpected.
“For this reason, examination of further images is likely to be of value,” the GA report says.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which has responsibility for obtaining the extra images, was asked whether, when and how the bureau would acquire them. A spokesman said it was “considering future actions”.
It would focus particular attention on an area 3000sq km at most — a far cry from the 120,000sq km region already scoured with deep-sea sonar. Dr Griffin said scientists owed their new-found confidence to the fact the images had been taken 15 days after the flight went down. Previous modelling had hinged on wreckage that washed up 500 days later on Reunion, about 4000km away.
“We’re only having to backtrack for two weeks in this case,” he said. The estimates made use of an ocean current model the agency has been refining for 15 years as part of its efforts to build Australia’s forecasting capability. “I can throw in particles in any random place in the world, and track them forwards or backwards for a week, a year, 10 years,” he said.
Quote:MH370: more searching questions for ATSB over fiasco
BYRON BAILEY
The Australian
12:00AM August 18, 2017
The recent discovery of French military satellite photos, ignored 3½ years ago, that show some large pieces of debris in an area that agrees with CSIRO drift modelling of a B777 flaperon and the offer by US seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity, of Houston, to renew the search at its own financial risk bring to light the whole sorry fiasco that was the previous search by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
It’s interesting that the Malaysian government has not accepted the offer by Ocean Infinity, and it raises the question: what are they hiding?
Two months ago, I had a meeting in Los Angeles with a journalist who has written several books on criminal investigation and has her research teeth deep into everything associated with MH370. It was revealed to me that Captain Zaharie Shah received a two-minute phone call immediately prior to his departure on the ill-fated MH370 flight. The suspicion, yet to be confirmed, is that this phone call was from the Malaysian Prime Minister’s office.
A week after MH370 vanished, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak, gave his first official statement on the matter, saying the disappearance was no accident but the result of a “deliberate action by someone on the plane”. Less than an hour after its departure, at 12.41am, someone switched off the aircraft’s two main modes of contact, the automated aircraft communications addressing and reporting system and the transponder that sends the plane’s unique signals to air traffic control, and turned the now hidden aircraft around. It is obvious to airline pilots this had to be one of the flight crew.
With the Malaysian PM so adamant that this was no accident and the discovery of a deleted flight plan from Captain Shah’s home computer that led to the southern Indian Ocean, revealed by the FBI but denied by the ATSB, why did the then deputy prime minister Warren Truss and the ATSB go with a rubbish accident theory that has wasted more than three years. The FBI-ATSB link was confirmed by The New Yorker magazine in 2016.
It’s time also for Transport Minister Darren Chester to stop refusing the FOI request for release of documents pertaining to the MH370 search.
Byron Bailey is a former Emirates captain. He now flies private jets.
(08-17-2017, 07:54 PM)Peetwo Wrote: Pressure mounts on resumed search for MH370 - err maybe??
The CSIRO has used satellite data provided by French authorities to further narrow down the area where it is believed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed.
The CSIRO and Geoscience Australia have analysed images of objects in the Indian Ocean, which were taken about two weeks after the plane disappeared on March 8, 2014...
Quote:"No, that's the kicker, is that it's impossible to be totally sure that they are from the plane, but the thing is that they are not natural items; they are large objects which clearly are not wave caps.
EMILY RITCHIE Journalist
Sydney @emritchiejourno [img=0x0]https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/3bdbf7775ed466c42fa0795ff09415ea/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
Families of passengers on lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have demanded a resumption of the search for the jet after startling evidence released yesterday narrowed the likely crash site of the aircraft to two areas on the edge of the original search zone.
Four satellite images taken two weeks after the plane and its 239 passengers and crew went missing in March 2014 have been re-examined, prompting Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO to home in on two narrow strips, no larger than 10km-30km each, to the east and west of the original search site.
Their report places the most likely location of the aircraft “with unprecedented precision and certainty” at 35.6°S, 92.8°E — in the Indian Ocean, findings that are considered more precise than any previous analysis.
The Australian and Malaysian governments said last night the images did not constitute evidence that would prompt resumption of the search, which was abandoned after covering 120,000sq km of ocean at a cost of $200 million, $60m of which Australia contributed.
Byron Bailey, a former senior captain with Emirates who now flies private jets, said the Australian government and the ATSB should be “ashamed of themselves”. “What I can’t understand is why it has taken 3½ years before a French satellite’s images prompted action by the ATSB.”
He said he expected the plane would be largely intact and that the captain had had enough fuel to perform a controlled landing above a very deep sea trench.
The satellite images, released yesterday by the ATSB, contain up to 70 objects, of which up to 12 were “possibly man-made”, according to Geoscience Australia. Their dimensions match some of the plane debris that washed up on African beaches last year.
The images were acquired with the help of French authorities, taken in the southern Indian Ocean within a 25,000sq km area on the periphery of the original search area.
Victorian Jennifer Chong, whose husband Chong Ling Tan was onboard MH370, said yesterday she and other families of MH370 victims would be calling on both the Malaysian and Australian governments to re-establish a search.
“This certainly warrants a new search,” Ms Chong said. “I think it is really interesting that they’ve only discovered this now, three years after, even though the images were taken shortly after the incident. My first response is anger because they’ve had these images for such a long time.”
Ms Chong added she was grateful the incident was still being investigated, even after the underwater search was abandoned in January.
Geoscience Australia received the images from the ATSB for analysis on March 23 and considers 12 objects to be man-made, and 28 possibly man-made.
An ATSB spokesman said this satellite imagery reanalysis was part of a systematic process of review that commenced last year.
Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester said he welcomed the new reports, but added it was important to note they did “not provide new evidence leading to a specific location of MH370”.
“Malaysia is the lead investigator and any future requests in relation to searching for MH370 would be considered by Australia at that time,” Mr Chester said.
Malaysian Transport Minister Dato Sri Liow Tiong said the newly defined area was not enough to go on and it was hoped debris-drift modelling would help narrow the location further.
Investigators have known for two years that the plane crashed somewhere along a line known as the seventh arc, to the west of Western Australia.
According to the CSIRO drift report, the new debris was located near the seventh arc, which made it “impossible to ignore”.
The plane would “most likely” be located in two narrow (10km-30km) strips east and west of the completed search area. ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood urged caution on the new findings. “These objects have not been definitely identified as MH370 debris,” Mr Hood said. “Geoscience Australia identified a number of objects in the satellite imagery which have been classified as probably man-made. The image resolution is not high enough to be certain whether the objects originated from MH370 or are other objects that might be found floating in oceans around the world.”
The images, taken by a French Military satellite, show apparent debris that was disregarded by governments and authorities in late March 2014 — before the ATSB became involved in the search.
CSIRO oceanographer David Griffin said this was because countless other photos of debris uncovered at the time led to fruitless searches.
Is it just me (& Byron bailey)?? - Don't you think it is passing strange that at virtually the same time as the public exposure of Ocean Infinity 'no find, no fee' offer to the Malaysian Government, that this latest ATSB/CSIRO/GeoScience findings is also made public?
So these SAT Phots are nearly 3.5 years old and they have just (23 March 2017 received by GA) analysed them...
Also with a quick check to when that Geoscience Australia report was copied to PDF - Download Geoscience Australia satellite imagery analyses report [ Download PDF: 17.14MB] - it would appear that the ATSB/CSIRO etc. have sat on the report for more than 2 weeks...WTD -
As usual when it comes to MH370, something smells here...
in a Sky News interview yesterday our NFI minister for Non-aviation Chester and the biggest Australian aviation disaster to ever be inflicted on a long suffering industry, said...
Ashleigh Gillon: Minister, on another matter yesterday we saw a new set of evidence released which purported to pinpoint the likely region, location, of the missing MH370 plane. Last night on this program we interviewed the aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas; he was very excited by this new set of data. Have a listen...
CSIRO has examined these images, exactly where they were taken, and again using reverse drift modelling has said yes, that these are consistent with exactly where we say this aeroplane is, this is where the debris would have drifted to so the culmination of the two things together gives us absolute certainty that this is where the plane is.
...Minister, are you also convinced that we now could find the plane pretty easily if searchers did target this new location identified by this evidence released yesterday?
Darren Chester: Well no I'm not and nothing about the search for MH370 has been easy as I'm sure you're well aware. We have searched 120,000 square kilometres of ocean floor and keep in mind we are talking about a search area which is more than 2,000 kilometres off the coast of Perth in some of the most inhospitable waters in the world. The sea conditions they have been experiencing have seen waves in excess of 15 to 20 metres. The search is being carried out in depths of water in excess of four kilometres, sometimes up to six kilometres. So, it has been an incredibly difficult search, really at the edge of human endeavour and scientific technology and expertise.
So it has been an amazing search effort and a frustrating search effort in the sense that we haven't been able to locate MH370 but it is important to note and the ATSB chief Greg Hood noted yesterday that yes, the satellite imagery was of interest but nothing on the imagery was confirmed as being debris from MH370. Certainly, we believe that the imagery indicated that they were manmade objects in the water but that is consistent with other imagery that has been recovered in other oceans of the world when you find manmade objects in the water. So it is not a precise location as some people might like to think. The actual underwater search was suspended earlier this year on the basis that until we had credible new evidence leading to a specific location we would suspend that search effort. I'm hopeful that there will be a breakthrough that will provide some comfort to the relatives of the passengers on board the aircraft who have waited for more than three years now for some level of comfort but we don't intend to resume the underwater search at this stage.
Ashleigh Gillon: But Minister crash investigators, the top experts in the world, are saying that this is that new set of credible evidence that you have been looking for. Malaysia has said that it is now considering the evidence as well. If it does decide to go ahead with another search, would Australia contribute to that financially? Is there any more money on the table from Australia for another search after spending, well I think it is around $60 million so far, will we be willing to contribute again if Malaysia decides to go down that path?
Darren Chester: Well quite rightly as you indicated, Malaysia is the leader investigator, lead agency in terms of the search for MH370 as Malaysian Airlines was obviously originated from Malaysia. But we've worked very closely with Malaysia and the Chinese on the tripartite search effort. Now the total search effort has cost in the order of $200 million and you are right, of the underwater search component about $60 million was paid for by the Australian Government. There have been no requests to us from the Malaysian Government to resume the search effort and we would consider any requests at the appropriate time. A lot of our work in the last 12 or 18 months has been focused on the technical expertise we can offer through the ATSB, through the CSIRO, through Geoscience Australia, and we continue to do that.
We have played a very important role in analysing the debris that washed up in different parts of the world so we have been able to identify about seven different pieces of debris as either certainly coming from MH370 or almost certainly coming from MH370. So we have played a very important role as a nation here in Australia and I am very grateful for the technical expertise we have added to the search effort. As it stands today, the underwater search does remain suspended but will certainly be part of any conversation with the Malaysian Government, at some stage if that is required...
As usual when it comes to MH370, something smells here..."
No, it's not just you. From the start, the actions (or lack of) from everyone involved suggests no one has ever wanted the aircraft found.
Perhaps what would be found would be embarrassing to some countries?
The latest 'discovery' may be an attempt to retain control of the search and thus control of the information flow.
Or to control which area is searched next - maybe to divert attention to another area so that even private search companies lose interest when nothing is found?
Not that they're likely to be involved, but the French went very quiet after analysing the flaperon. The question of the barnacles growth range vs the drift studies, and the barnacles attachment positions vs the floating attitude of the flaperon were left unanswered.
Malaysia is oil-rich and could easily finance another series of searches. Even if not, another $200M would make but a small dent in Najib's personal Swiss and offshore piggy banks.
It is a little over a year since the July 2016 joint statement by Malaysia, China and Australia (the tripartitie group) hinting at suspension of search for MH370, and close to seven months since the search for MH370 was actally suspended after the extended search area (in all, about 120,000 sq kms) was searched without any success. A comprehensive review (called the First Principles Review) late last year by experts recommended a new search area of about 25,000 sq kms based on updated Inmarsat analysis, debris finds and ocean drift studies in the Southern Indian Ocean (SIO).
The good souls of the Tripartite Group since last July 2016 never tire of repeating that they will consider resuming the search for MH370 once suspended when credible new informationis available that helps pinpoint the precise location of the aircraft, a stance written into a July 2016 joint communique. In a touching tribute to their confabulations, they invoke it whenever the three come under public pressure following compelling new data, analysis, or debris that shrinks the area recommended for a renewed search in the Southern Indian ocean. As recently as this week, we have heard the same reflexive response from the Tripartite in concert when the latest anaylsis by Australian scientists recommeded a further narrowing down of the search area to about 5000 sq kms. These scientists went as far as to offer precise coordinates ‘to search’, matching the oxymorons coming from the Tripartite.
The position of the Tripartite Group is intriguing and merits a closer examination. We will for the moment hold in good faith the Ministerial assertions that money is not a constraint in the decision on search resumption.
Consider this:
The Tripartite Group began the SIO search and persisted with it in the vast swathe of SIO waters for over 30 months, focusing on different segments along the 7th Arc based on analysis and refinement of available Inmarsat data. This data as we know it is limited, incomplete and not beyond doubt. However this data has been dealt with as infallible. The conclusions of where the plane might have crashed involves a combination of Inmarsat data analysis, and a set of assumptions on fuel consumption, speed, whether piloted or a ghost plane, flight parameters otherwise being normal, and I guess many more assumptions that have a bearing on distance flown, where it came down and the manner in which it the flight ended (ditched, crashed, whatever…).
The Tripartite Group was willing to spend millions to search for MH370 based on information that was fairly imprecise and its conclusions that were probablistic. Apparently it had little else to go by but was undeterred.
The first debris find, by accident, was in coastal Africa along the Western Indian Ocean, thousands of miles away west of where MH370 had supposedly gone down brought the oceanographers into play prominently. Every new debris find led to a louder chorus that the landing sites of debris were in agreement with the extant hypothesis on where the plane went down (in the SIO), and was indeed a vote of confidence that the search was in the right area. New input brought in fresh hopes, refinement in analysis and modified recommendations on search area. As always they raised new questions.
There are no arrival dates written on debris that landed and have been found. Where they came from, how long was it tossed about in the seas and when did it hit shores for the first time are educated guesses or conclusions based on a forensic study of the debris and the current understanding of ocean currents.
Such deductions are imprecise, a fact known and perhaps accepted. Imprecision doesn’t of course mean false, but just that we deal in a set of possibilities and ranges whose scope narrows with new input rather than a number, a point, a location, the precise hour, the exact date… you get the drift.
The mathematics, meteorology, oceanography, avionics, telematics, data processing, computing, modelling, scanning, mapping… and much more had all come to this: a revised new search area of 25 000 sq kilometres in the vicinity of the area searched thus far. Not that much considering 120,000 sq kms of the SIO that has already been searched so far.
The limitations of the Inmarsat data and oceanographic studies must have been well known to the Tripartite group when they met in July 2016.They had access to the best that science and technology, industry and experts had to offer. It must have been obvious that the search will have to continue, moving with a process of selecting a probable search area and eliminating those parts of the ocean floor where no debris was found. Commitment to the search was even more important where there was no certainty of success on offer.
Instead what was offered was a concession as it appeared then, namely, a suspension of the search rather than an end to it, if nothing was found in the ongoing phase of search. Conditionalities were imposed for a resumption of search once the search was suspended: the requirement of credible newinformation that can help pinpoint the precise location of the aircraft. This in hindsight was clever. It was also an act of bad faith, and a betrayal of the solemn promises to persevere with the search.
Thus in this Tripartitie communique was sown the first steps of a very public burial of the search.It provided a single point rationale to shoot down any and every new analysis, and recommendation thereof. The burden of what qualifies as credible new information, where might one chance upon it, what might its size, contours or smell be was not engaged with.
It was therefore not surprising that theTripartite Group yawned its way through inquiries asking if a resumption of search was imminent after ATSB released two new reports last week based on updated ocean drift studies and analysis of French military satellite images of March 23rd, 2014. While it is highly unlikely that the reports were not circulated amongst the Group’s members in advance and comments, suggestions or objections taken on board before the Reports’ release, Malaysia’s Transport Minister said that a collective view will be taken after assertaining everyone’s views.
Australia’s Transport Minister was categorical that the new recommendations did not meet the qualifying requirements set out by the Tripartite. Apparently, it was not sufficient that the search area recommendation had been brought down to about 5000 sq kms after factoring the French satellite images and working backwards to figure out where might the objects seen in the images have been on the morning of 8th March, when MH370 disappeared.
It appears that the Australian institutions ATSB, CSIRO, and Geoscience have persisted with ‘residual analysis activity’ (a strange choice of phraseology by ATSB) after the suspension of search, and would like to see the search resumed.
Australia’s Transport Minister’s ready and rapid dismissal of even a hint of resumption suggests the ‘reject search’ code is personal, internalised and non-negotiable. A more positive outlook for the search lies maybe in a portfolio reshuffle. In other words, one can expect nothing under his watch.
Questions will be raised about the satellite images: why now? Why these and not other satellite images that did the rounds back then in 2014? Why are the French being a tease or playing hardball by holding back high-resolution images? Is there confirmation bias – are images selectively being picked to bolster findings from the ocean studies? And many more questions. They will be part of other discussions, elsewhere.
It is apparent that all sources of information relied on to determine the location of MH370 – Inmarsat, oceanographic studies, debris forensics and satellite images – can at best provide a field to search and not a pinpointed location.
Knowing the sources and the quality of information that was available, and at hand, did the Tripartite group:
a. Believe there were other sources of information?
b. Did they believe there was additional information being withheld by persons known or unknown?
c. What kind of information does the Tripartite group believe can excite them to reconsider: Radar? Debris? Any withheld Inmarsat logs? Human input? Eye witness reports (And must these have to reconcile with the Inmarsat data / track?)
d. Who do they believe has the burden of responsbility to unearth ‘credible new information’ other than themselves?
I have come to believe that the Tripartite’s decision was not clever but cowardly. They wanted to appear sympathetic, but instead showed their insincere face. In seeking to avoid a backlash and an avalanche of criticism, they allowed a simmering discontent.
In pretending to keep options open, they have demonstrated time after time, how tight the doors are shut. In seeking credible new information (from whom is not clear) they have framed a demand that their own teams have not been able to meet for more than two years (in July 2016) and now more than 3 years. Contrary to their protestations, they tossed their moral obligation overboard and (susp)ended the search once a contractual obligation to search 120,000 sq kms. was over.
So make no mistake. This Malaysia-led, Australia-managed tripartite group controlled search is over. China’s beligerence of the early days has long been overtaken by its stony silence and inpenetrable opacity. The Tripartite group appears to have no appetite left. They have freed themselves of any lingering sense of duty and shifted the burden of producing ‘actionable’ information to parties, whose identity is still not clear.
They will continue to retain the prerogatives and privileges to study, evaluate, judge, award or deny direcly or indirectly their blessings for a third party’s bid to persist with the search.
While Malaysia must be held to account for disengaging from the search and abdicating its responsibility, it is time for the families and concerned citizens to press on with alternative search options. It seems daunting, but inescapable.
It is time for the MH370 families to see the truth for what it is and give up this fantasy of a change in Malaysia’s stance. I would love to be proved wrong.
(The image at the top is a personal favourite. I find it telling. I don’t know the artist. I share it here, admiring an ability to sum up the search for MH370 with such a simple illustration.)
"..Australia’s Transport Minister’s ready and rapid dismissal of even a hint of resumption suggests the ‘reject search’ code is personal, internalised and non-negotiable. A more positive outlook for the search lies maybe in a portfolio reshuffle. In other words, one can expect nothing under his watch..." - Unfortunately KS we worked that out a long time ago here in Oz (reference the Ventus post above)...
MH370: Another Great White Elephant for Turnbull Government -
The strange disconnection between the MH370 Tripartite Governments and the Australian government agencies the ATSB/CSIRO etc. seems set to continue until at least for the financial year 2017-18.
Reference the latest ATSB Corporate plan:
Quote:MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH370 –
INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTION
In January 2017 a Joint Communiqué issued by the Tripartite Governments (Malaysia, Australia, and People’s Republic of China) formally announced the suspension of underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) following completion of the 120,000km2 search area.Should credible new information emerge that can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given to determining next steps.
Whilst search operations have been suspended, continuing search area analysis and activities are ongoing and will continue into 2017–18 which will lead to advice to the Tripartite Governments.
Continuing search area analysis and activities include:
>> Further CSIRO debris drift model validation;
>> Further review and analysis of Satellite Imagery;
>> Public release of a Final Search Report;
>> Search Data Release.
The search for MH370 was a large-scale complex international program, the largest and most complex search for a missing aircraft in history. The effort of the dedicated ATSB and associated personnel involved in the search is a testament to their ingenuity, adaptability and resilience. The capability developed within the ATSB during the search has, and will continue, to assist the development and evolution of the ATSB going forward.
Consistent with Government policy and direction, the ATSB will continue to provide a supporting role to Malaysia as the country responsible for the investigation into the disappearance of MH370.
Imagery from the search for MH370 showing underwater volcanoes.
It will be interesting to see in this year's ATSB Annual Report how much money has been allocated for the MH370 continued search area analysis and activities -
Somewhat ironically, I also note from the corporate plan that Hoody and his executive bean counters use the MH370 top cover exercise as an example of the ATSB's maturity in risk management (aversion):
Quote:The ATSB has relied on its mature approach to risk management to guide its activities in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370. Searching for missing aircraft and planning for the recovery are not part of the ATSB’s core business. However, the ATSB has been able to undertake the lead role in the search by ensuring that it is proactive in identifying the obstacles to a successful operation and adapting and mobilising resources expediently to overcome these obstacles.
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2017, 10:31 AM by ventus45.)
Promised 3rd Quarter 2017 ATSB Report was due by the end of the quarter, which was Saturday.
But, Grand Final Weekend (AFL & NRL), and the change to daylight saving time in the eastern states has interveined.
However, ALSM (Mike Exner) has posted on Victor's blog (overnight - whilst we slumbered), that it IS due soon.
Wait and see - as usual.
We stand by our earlier conclusion that the surface search had a fairly high chance of detecting a debris field if the impact had been near the segments of the 7th arc postulated at the time of those searches, at least for the section near Broken Ridge that was searched from 28 March to 1 April. It is conceivable that some hypothetical debris fields could have escaped detection by not dispersing very much, and remaining by chance outside the detection range of every overflight but the chance of this would appear to be very small.
If further confidence in the effectiveness of the surface search is sought, we suggest that the following parcels of work may be worth doing:
• field measurements of the radar detection ranges of example pieces of debris – the flaperon that we have used for drift measurements, for example.
• Repeat the work reported here, for all other locations of particular interest, and using other models of the surface drift as well
• Higher-resolution numerical modelling, informed by field data, of the dispersive processes that govern the size of the debris field after 20 days drift. This is a challenging task that we doubt would be more convincing than the approach we have taken, because the rate of mixing and dispersal in the ocean varies so widely that it is impossible to determine if a complicated model is correct for any particular place and time without any corroborating evidence.
High Viz Hoody's summary of the ATSB MH370 FR -
Quote:Chapter closes on the ATSB-led search for MH370
The ATSB has released its report on the Australian-led search in the southern Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The report, The Operational Search for MH370 records the search for MH370 and Australia’s work on the underwater search, including the ways in which the search area was identified, and how the search was conducted.
The Chief Commissioner of the ATSB, Greg Hood, said that the report demonstrated the extraordinary endeavours of people from around the world.
“This was an unprecedented endeavour and there has been an extraordinary response from the global community,” said Mr Hood. “There were contributions of expertise and resources from private business and organisations, agencies from different Governments, and from private individuals.”
While the resting place of the aircraft has not yet been located, the search was conducted consistent with the highest of standards of safety and professionalism, to the credit of everyone involved.
“The search inspired dedication from so many,” said Mr Hood. “I am proud to have worked with people of such commitment.”
The ATSB’s report was accompanied by the release of the CSIRO’s final MH370 research report. The search for MH370 and ocean surface drift – Part IV confirms the effectiveness of the March-April 2014 surface search in key areas.
“Our deepest sympathies remain with those who lost loved ones on MH370,” said Mr Hood. “It remains a great tragedy, and we wish that we could have brought complete closure to the bereaved. I hope, however, that they can take some solace in the fact that we did all we could do to find answers. Governments from around the world contributed to the search, with extraordinary expertise committed to the task.''
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12:00amEAN HIGGINS
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An Ocean Infinity website graphic
![[Image: Oliver-Plunkett.jpg]](http://mh370.radiantphysics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Oliver-Plunkett.jpg)
Oliver Plunkett, CEO of Ocean Infinity![[Image: 8681392-3x2-340x227.jpg]](http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/8681392-3x2-340x227.jpg)
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The MH370 search area has been narrowed down.![[Image: emily_ritchie.png]](http://media.theaustralian.com.au/authors/images/bio/emily_ritchie.png)
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