MH370: Breakthrough?

MH370 went missing on March 8 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. The disappearance nearly eight years ago kicked off one of the most extensive aviation searches in history. It has generated a range of theories as to where it ended up, and what happened on board.

Using software based on ‘weak signal propagation report’ (“WSPR”), Richard Godfrey’s new report says the craft should be resting about 4km under the sea in a mountainous region of the southern Indian Ocean that had been missed by previous search attempts.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org)

Taken together with satellite, weather, ocean current, and aeroplane performance data, Godfrey says the new technology should trigger a fresh search. The proposed search area is defined by a circle with a radius of 40 nautical miles centred on the prime crash location.

Godfrey says the plane is located about 1,200 miles west of Perth, Australia lying at the base of what is known as the Broken Ridge - an underwater plateau with a volcano and ravines in the south-eastern Indian Ocean.

Since 2014, 33 pieces of debris have been found in six countries - including South Africa and Madagascar - which experts believe proves the plane plunged into the Indian Ocean.

The last full-scale search for MH370 in 2018 was by US robotics company Ocean Infinity - using unmanned underwater vehicles - covered nearly 50,000 square miles and yet nothing was found.

WSPR is now being used to accurately calculate the final location of the MH370 before it disappeared. Extensive trials of new technology tracking historical data of radio signals bumping off planes have led experts to believe it could hone in on a more specific search area.

In a recent statement, the Malaysian Transport Ministry remains sympathetic to the family members of the victims and is also of the view that careful consideration and study should be given to any new credible evidence which may be put forth to identify the location of the aircraft.  Meanwhile, ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said the agency has requested Geoscience Australia to review past data and re-validate if any items of interest were detected in the search zone recommended by Godfrey.

Eight years on, some investigators believe the plane's captain made a series of zig-zagging movements to throw off air traffic teams and evade radar systems. Only with the recovery of the flight data recorder will we have a better picture of what happened to flight MH370. Otherwise, there will always be new hypothesis and speculative theories on hijack, terrorist activity or an alien abduction?

References:

MH370 breakthrough as expert ‘pinpoints’ precise location, Alex Druce, (https://www.news.com.au)

MH370 breakthrough as hunt for jet is restarted after bombshell tech pinpoints “exact” location eight years on, Imogen Braddick  (https://www.thesun.co.uk)

New data might lead to a breakthrough on the MH370 tragedy, Hesper Anak Buckland, 

21 Feb 2021 (https://tvstv.my)