Quote:
Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan:
The ATSB, as Australia’s transport investigation agency, is working with a range of other international expert organisations to analyse available data and determine the best area to search.
The key pieces of information being analysed relate to early positional information from the aircraft and later polling of a satellite by an aircraft system.
The new information is based on continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost.
It indicated the plane was travelling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance it travelled south into the Indian Ocean.
The international investigative team supporting the search continues their analysis, which could still result in further refinement of the potential flight path.
This has been combined with information about the likely performance of the aircraft—such as speed and fuel consumption for example—to arrive at the best assessment of the area in which the aircraft is likely to have entered the water.
The information provided by the international investigative team is the most credible lead we currently have in the search of aircraft wreckage.
However, this information needs to be continually adjusted for the length of time elapsed since the aircraft went missing and the likely drift of any wreckage floating on the ocean surface.
If you burn up the fuel faster, how do you remain in the air for the same length of time?
(Unless you disregard the Inmarsat data timed at 0011 UTC and 0019 UTC.)