- Two new signals have been detected in the Indian Ocean
- Authorities believe they are linked to the missing flight MH370
- The first was picked up yesterday afternoon and the second late last night
- A total of four ping signals have been detected now
- 'I'm not prepared to confirm anything until such time as somebody lays eyes on the wreckage,' Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said
Two new signals have been picked up from deep in the Indian Ocean, possibly from the black box carried on the missing Malaysian Airlines jet, it was revealed today.
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is co-ordinating the search in Perth, said the discovery by the Australian ship Ocean Shield was 'further encouraging' news in the search for MH370.
Mr Houston said the first signal was picked up yesterday afternoon and the second late last night.
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'Encouraging': A total of four signals, matching those of a black box flight recorder, have now been detected by the Australian ship Ocean Shield in the search for flight MH370
Retired Air Chief Marshal and head of the Australia agency coordinating the search for MH370 Angus Houston addresses the media after two more ping signals were detected today
He said the detection yesterday afternoon was held for about five minutes and 32 seconds, while the second was held for about seven minutes.
This brings the number of transmissions detected by the high-tech Australian vessel that might be from the crashed jet to four.
'Yesterday's signals will assist in better defining a reduced and much more manageable search area on the ocean floor' he said.
Despite what Mr Houston described as 'further encouraging findings' he said that the underwater vehicle 'Blue Fin 21', which can 'sniff out' objects deep in the ocean, would not be launched until the search area could be narrowed.
'I believe we are searching in the right area, but we need to visually identify aircraft wreckage before we can confirm with certainty that this is the final resting place of MH370,' he said.
'I'm not prepared to confirm anything until such time as somebody lays eyes on the wreckage.'
More signals: A handout image released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) shows the search area in the Indian Ocean, West of Australia, where 15 planes and 14 ships are scouring a 75,423 square km area of ocean for the wreckage of flight MH370 more than a month after it disappeared
An AP-3C Orion returns to RAAF Base Pearce after a day of searching an area in the Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
A map from AMSA shows where pinger contacts have been recorded in the search for flight MH370. The first two were detected two days ago, while the second two have been detected today
However, U.S. Navy Captain Mark Matthews said the detections indicate the device emitting the pings is somewhere within about a 12-mile radius.
That would still equate to a 500 square mile chunk of the ocean floor - an area that would take the Bluefin sub between six weeks to two months to canvas.
Data analysis of the first two detections at the weekend has shown they were consistent with the specification and description of a flight data recorder, said the air chief marshal.
The Australian Joint Acoustic Analysis
Centre based at HMAS Albatross in Nowra, on the NSW coast south of
Sydney, concluded that the two detections were from a source that was
not of 'natural origin' and was 'likely sourced' from specific
electronic equipment.
Mr
Houston, pointing out that his optimism had risen since Sunday, warned
that a lot of silt could complicate the search, which is being boosted
by a sonar buoy and a modified RAAF P3 aircraft to co-ordinate with
Ocean Shield.
'It's important for Ocean Shield to collect as much data as possible ahead of deploying Blue Fin 21,' he said. 'The reason we want to do that is there's no second chances.'
Australian Defense vessel Ocean Shield tows a pinger locator in the first search for the missing flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder in the southern Indian Ocean
The towed pinger locator (TPL-25) on the deck of the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shieldhas detected two more signals matching those from a black box transponder
The Bluefin 21 submarine drone, which will be used to scour the seabed for MH370 once the search area in narrowed down further, is hosited on board the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield after buoyanct testing
He warned that the recently-detected
signals have been much weaker than the original signals detected - 'so
that means probably we're either a long way from it, or in my view, more
likely, the batteries are starting to fade and as a consequence the
signal is becoming weaker.'
He added: 'So we need to, as we say in Australia, make hay while the sun shines.'
Ocean
Shield, he said, would be looking to pick up more transmissions that
would help to better pinpoint where the signal was coming from.
Once the search area has been narrowed, ships and aircraft could then find something in 'a matter of days,' he suggested.
He continued to express optimism that searchers were closing in on the plane's final resting place, despite what he believed were signals from dying batteries.
Bluefin 21, takes six times longer to cover the same area as the pinger locator, which is pulled behind the boat at a depth of 3,000 metres.
A RAAF P3 Orion is seen parked on the tarmac after returning from a search mission for debris from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 yesterday
Commodore Peter Leavy (R) of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) tells media in Perth one ping was detected on Tuesday afternoon and lasted five minutes, 25 seconds, while a second was picked up on Monday night and lasted seven minutes
The sub's sonar can scan only
about 100 metres and it can 'see' with lights and cameras only a few
metres. The maximum depth it can dive is 4,500 metres, and some areas of
the search zone are deeper.
Search
crews are also contending with a thick layer of silt on the sea floor
that can both hide any possible wreckage and distort the sounds
emanating from the black boxes that may be resting there, said Mr Leavy,
who is helping to lead the search.
Captain Matthews said: 'It's
certainly a man-made device emitting that signal and I have
no explanation for what other component could be there.
'I'm an engineer so I don't talk emotions too much. But certainly when I received word that they had another detection, you feel elated.
'You're hopeful that you can locate the final resting place of the aircraft and bring closure to all the families involved.'
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