‘Hard spots’ found in MH370 search, most geological: Australian authority
6 Sep 2014 12:54 AM GMT
Experts are conducting a sonar survey of a remote patch of the southern Indian Ocean, an area never previously explored in such detail, in preparation for an underwater search for the plane which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people onboard.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the sonar search had provided information on the depth of the water and the composition of the sea floor in the search zone. ‘The multibeam sonar can identify degrees of hardness, although it cannot distinguish between (for example) the hard metal of an aircraft and the hard rock of the seafloor,’ an ATSB spokesman said.
‘The vast majority of hard spots found are most likely to be geological features as opposed to man-made objects.’ Flight MH370 went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and the seabed mapping has already uncovered previously unknown volcanoes on the ocean floor.
The ATSB said by identifying the hard objects, experts were ‘informing where closer investigation may be required during the deep water search’.
The plane is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean far off the west coast of Australia after mysteriously diverting off-course, but a massive air, sea and underwater search has failed to find any wreckage.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the sonar search had provided information on the depth of the water and the composition of the sea floor in the search zone. ‘The multibeam sonar can identify degrees of hardness, although it cannot distinguish between (for example) the hard metal of an aircraft and the hard rock of the seafloor,’ an ATSB spokesman said.
‘The vast majority of hard spots found are most likely to be geological features as opposed to man-made objects.’ Flight MH370 went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and the seabed mapping has already uncovered previously unknown volcanoes on the ocean floor.
The ATSB said by identifying the hard objects, experts were ‘informing where closer investigation may be required during the deep water search’.
The plane is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean far off the west coast of Australia after mysteriously diverting off-course, but a massive air, sea and underwater search has failed to find any wreckage.
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