The search for MH370 continues after the Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared over the Indian Ocean seven months ago. The aircraft could have crashed anywhere in the waterway, but the latest search efforts have shifted about 500 miles south from locations examined early in the investigation.
The Malaysian Airlines aircraft went missing on March 8, leaving little in the way of detailed data which could reveal the whereabouts of the vehicle. The move toward the south is based on a theory that pilots aboard the missing aircraft may have turned south
"On Monday, 6 October 2014, GO Phoenix arrived in the vicinity of the search area... The vessel is expected to continue operations for around 12 days," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) reported.
A bathymetric survey, which creates a 3D map of the ocean surface, is being created of the Indian Ocean. This study will help assist investigators in keeping equipment safe as they search for the missing passenger plane. Over 45,000 square miles have been mapped and analyzed using this technique, utilizing equipment aboard the Fugro Equator, a survey ship. Once the survey is complete, the vessel will be employed in the direct search for the craft.
One of the great challenges facing investigators is the lack of detailed knowledge about physical features on the seabed. A recent study revealed long mountain ranges under the water, never before seen by humans. Most of the ocean floor remains a mystery to scientists.
"While it is impossible to determine with certainty where the aircraft may have entered the water, all the available data and analysis indicates a highly probable search area close to a long but narrow arc of the southern Indian Ocean," the ATSB reported on their Web site.
A total of 239 passengers and crew were aboard the aircraft when controllers lost contact with the crew over the Gulf of Thailand. Satellite equipment indicated the vehicle was intact, and flying, for several hours after communications were lost.
"After contact with MH370 was lost at 17:22 UTC, its satellite terminal continued to exchange signaling messages with the [Ground Earth Station] and it is these messages that were analyzed to determine the likely location of the aircraft," Chris Ashton and other researchers reported in The Journal of Navigation.
The search for the missing aircraft MH370 is already the longest in history, and no trace of the craft has yet been found.
Inmarsat, a global satellite network, and the Royal Institute of Navigation published a paper which analyized satellite data in an effort to pinpoint the final resting spot for the aircraft.
"MH370 changed course shortly after it passed the northern tip of Sumatra and traveled in a southerly direction until it ran out of fuel in the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia," researchers concluded.
