Originally Posted by auraflyer
The red arrow at the top points north. I'm no expert on sidescan sonar, but doesn't it look like the wreckage & the debris field runs approximately along the east/west axis?
Agreed, that is the correct interpretation. At this resolution, I can't tell which end of the field has the heavy parts, but it looks like the eastern side.
Would correlate with being left of planned course - but I suppose there may well be little correlation between final resting orientation and orientation at impact for such a deep descent?
Some of the distribution of debris will be caused by scattering of the parts at the surface from the initial impact, and some (I think more) by the differential drift of heavy and light parts as they descend in the water column. [By heavy/light, I am simplifying by combining the effects of submerged weight and drag.] IF the A/C had low forward speed at impact (I'm not proposing a theory, just using as an example what I take to be the prevailing one), then I would be ( am prepared to be?) surprised if parts were scattered more than 100-200m before sinking. I think the E-W spread says more about the current than about the direction of travel at impact.