150kms isn't too shabby, given the level of knowledge otherwise.

Plus, that gives the width of a very long arc. If things drift by maybe several 10s of miles per day, that makes even a point from ten days ago a swath that wide by now.

ELT
 

Are we to assume that the distress radiobeacon failed in this case, or that some of the data that the search and rescue teams have been using includes that received by this device?

I understand that these devices can react to either water immersion or impact forces?

Would be grateful for an answer from someone with knowledge.

Interesting paragraph above was found at: Possible wreckage spotted in search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, RAAF plane on its way to identify objects | News.com.au

The P8 did NOT find anything on Radar.

MH370 suspected wreckage images released | Plane Talking

say original 180mls wide ie 90mls either side of a centre line, the drifting is hopefully only in one direction so you lose the other 90mlies.

Right now the width of search area would be about the same as day 1 but increasing as every day goes by,

If it landed on the centre line you get 10x20 =200, compared to original 180, if it landed on eastern edge you get 90+200 = 290

however if it landed on west edge 180 of the 200 is the original area

Although ive been tracking this thread very regularly! I may of missed this question answered.
What about these image findings via sat, they are 4 days old, im sure daily images from this area have been rescanned? Which would indicate with current drift approximations more debris or potentially finding the same? But nothing more recent has been published anyway.

Either that or now due to currents/weather nothing is left afloat which means it was an awful amount of effort to find nothing.

For Future "Black Box" Designers......
 

Bearing in mind how long it took to find and later recover the Air France AF447 Flt Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder, I have often wondered why these, valuable to the search and subsequent enquiry, items are not given some form of barostatic release. If so designed they could then automatically deploy to release themselves to the surface if the lost aircraft were to descend below a certain depth of water. As merely a retired global and ETOPS flier, I am in no way qualified to know anything about such design matters, yet is it not time that the boffins put their thinking caps on to produce such an aid to their recovery?

The parameters for 'release to the surface' could be clearly defined so as not to activate such a device unless extreme water pressure were experienced by the sensing device. The trigger for release could then be by self-contained electrical, barostatic or even chemical means.
Realising that cost versus the number of times such inventions are needed form a large part of the design equation, it brings to mind the saying that, "Necessity is the mother of invention."
Nevertheless, regardless of the cost of design and fitting such a device to long-flight, over-water aircraft, at least the families and relatives of those lost would have greater hope of some form of final closure for their lost ones.

True enough. Perhaps didn't make myself clear. I was just surprised they had that many ships down south that quickly (although we don't now how far along the southern corridor they are). Presumably they have been busy doing their own analysis of the data. And maybe these 4 days old images have been shared

Still a bit surprised the Chinese appear to have got caught out regarding the "debris" they spotted early on.

Probably because if they were still in an intact piece of the aft fuselage they would be required to unscrew themselves from their mounts, open the cargo door and swim to the surface?

Indonesia
 

Mm, Funny how the Indonesians don't join in as it is almost certain that 370 flew straight over the top of Jakarta, without iff!!!

More face-saving perchance?

Re: For Future "Black Box" Designers......
 

50 Plus:

This technology already exists...search this thread or Google for Crash Position Indicator.

It's not required for airliners under current regulations, but is used in the military and offshore exploration industry.

Just needs money, will and regulations.:}

Indonesia ARE involved sending assets to help search.

AMSA search finished for today

http://www.amsa.gov.au/media/documen...MH370FINAL.pdf

Indonesia
 

No way in Hell. Jakarta would be nowhere near the flight path. Aceh is an incredibly sensitive area for Indonesia and there is no way that anything flew over or around Indonesian airspace in North Sumatera without being spotted. The Military is the ONLY Organisation in Indonesia which works efficiently. And this would be a Military operation. Trust me.

This aircraft was deliberately flown, by human intervention, around sensitive air space and controls using carefully selected waypoints by someone(s) who knew what they were doing. Why we don't know. And I suspect that is what was intended. IMHO.

Just saw this conformation from Malaysia that there are already images from other satellites.

Possible wreckage spotted in search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, RAAF plane on its way to identify objects | News.com.au

Presumably (hopefully) better resolution than the images taken on the 16th but released today. If they have another position from another satellite, it is more likely they the air search will be successful.

Quote: Still a bit surprised the Chinese appear to have got caught out regarding the "debris" they spotted early on.

Believe that was released by a civilian agency -Amateur Chinese sleuthing?

i suspect if it was confirmed as the wreckage, it would have been "released" by the Chinese state...


Amuses me how after it was a "red hering" the Chinese then say ahh yes it wasn't released by the state

Agreed. And every bit of complexity you design in to a system increases the testing and certification effort and also increases the ongoing maintenance effort. All of this then increases the failure rate. This is true of both complex electronic solutions as well as complex mechanical solutions. Don't forget that after the box mechanically unmounts itself from the structure, it has to disconnect the harnesses that provide it power and data.

Is it technically possible? I'm sure it is. Something along the lines of an ADELT used on SAR aircraft, perhaps. But you impose all those penalties (weight, cost, opportunity for error and failure rate) on every aircraft built.

It leaves a bad taste in one's mouth to think it comes down to a willingness to spend money. But, it still has to be feasible to design, manufacture, sell and service. And that includes economic feasibility. And it is more than just money. You also increase the risks.

Size comparison image
 

Here is the mystery 24m object and a 777-200, more or less to scale.

(First attempt got modded, maybe I was supposed to use the img link tags.)
http://oi62.tinypic.com/124vq5s.jpghttp://

Do we have any actual proof of this so far? We have some pings and a last known point no actual proven flight path has been published? :(

Chutes..?
 

That image could almost be a section of fuz and wing-roots...with chutes/rafts deployed. It begs the question; What are the sea temps, wind-chill there..? Any maritime survival experts here like to offer chances for survivors..?