MH370 hopes revived
STARTLING new evidence has virtually pinpointed the location of MH370 – 1258 days since it disappeared.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau yesterday released a new report that effectively narrows the search zone for the missing plane down to just 5000sq km.
GeoScience Australia has been examining four satellite images of objects floating on the southern Indian Ocean – taken two weeks after the plane went missing in the area – to the west of Western Australia, identified late last year as MH370’s likely resting spot.
The unprecedented accuracy ramps up pressure on the Malaysian government to immediately resume the search.
The scientists used satellite imagery taken on March 23, 2014, and drift modelling to identify a location at latitude 35.6°S and longitude 92.8°E. The images, taken by a French military satellite and showing potential debris were discarded by authorities in 2014. This was before the Australian Transport Safety Bureau became involved in the search.
The Boeing 777 went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 aboard. A two-year sweep of the original 120,000sq km search area failed to find anything and was ended by Malaysian, Australian and Chinese governments in January.
Australia’s Transport Minister Darren Chester has not ruled out a future search for MH370, but yesterday indicated the latest report would not spark a new operation.
“I welcome the CSIRO and Geoscience reports, but it is important to note that it does not provide new evidence leading to a specific location of MH370,” Mr Chester said.