Scientists believe they know where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 crashed into the ocean and that the cabin sank in one piece.
The research by the University of Western Australia, using meteorological and ocean current data alongside the analysis from data “pings” recorded by the British company Inmarsat, has determined the point of impact and the movements of debris in the weeks following the crash.
The search zone has shifted 1,100 kilometres (680 miles) to the northeast of where planes and ships had been looking for possible debris because of a “new credible lead,” Australia said Friday.
The redirected search produced quick results Friday as a New Zealand military plane found objects in the Indian Ocean in the new search area.
It was among five of 10 search planes that spotted multiple unidentified objects in the new search zone by the end of the day.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it would be Saturday before a ship could reach the site and investigate whether the five sightings were related to the missing jet.
The revised search area comes as the weather cleared enough Friday to allow planes to hunt for fresh clues to the fate of the plane carrying 239 people that went missing March 8.
The AMSA said the change came after updated 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 with the Boeing 777.
It said the analysis indicated the aircraft was travelling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel use and reducing the possible distance the aircraft could have flown into the Indian Ocean.
“This is a credible new lead and will be thoroughly investigated today,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Friday.
“This is an extraordinarily difficult search, and an agonizing wait for family and friends of the passengers and crew,” he said. “We owe it to them to follow every credible lead and to keep the public informed of significant new developments. That is what we are doing.”
A fresh satellite sighting of 300 floating objects ranging in size from seven to 49 feet about 1,680 miles from Perth in the southern Indian Ocean was reported by Thailand Thursday, tallying with previous sightings by French and Chinese satellites. Thai satellite images show objects about 120 miles from a debris field of 122 objects captured by a French satellite on Sunday.
Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi, the scientist who oversaw the research at the university’s oceans institute, said a failure to spot buoyant objects that originated inside the plane indicated that the cabin probably remained intact as it sank into the sea.
This would improve the chances that the black box survived without significant damage in the depths below the crash site.
“I think the way the plane crashed, a lot of the debris has been kept intact inside the plane,” he said. “If the plane broke up, we should see a lot more debris floating around. We should have seen smaller bits of life jacket and seats, things which are going to float.”
Prof Pattiaratchi said the debris had been caught in eddies and confined to an area that could be surveyed easily by aircraft.
“They should find it – it will probably be pieces of the wing,” he said.
“The sightings are totally consistent. The debris is trapped in that region about 400 kilometres [249 miles] from the potential crash site.
“Depending on the weather, we know where the debris is going till the end of the month.”
The multinational air and sea search has failed to spot or retrieve any confirmed wreckage from the Boeing 777, leaving some of the families of the 239 passengers and crew who were on board still clinging to hope that some may have survived.
A search by 11 aircraft was cut short yesterday because of thunderstorms and strong winds but seven ships continued to scour the area.
Poor weather is likely to further hamper searches in the coming days.
Reports emerged yesterday citing a source close to the investigation saying that the FBI had found little on the pilots’ hard drives and flight simulator, which were discovered in their homes after the plane disappeared on March 8.
The Daily Telegraph, with files from The Associated Press
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