Possible Malaysia plane crash site found by Chinese satellite

A Chinese satellite probing the mysterious disappearance of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 “observed a suspected crash area at
sea,” a Chinese government agency said — a potentially pivotal lead
into what thus far has been a frustrating, fruitless search.
China’s State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry
for National Defense announced the discovery, including images of
what it said were “three suspected floating objects.”
The objects aren’t small: 13 by 18 meters (43 by 59 feet), 14 by 19 meters
(46 by 62 feet) and 24 by 22 meters (79 feet by 72 feet). For reference,
the wingspan of an intact Boeing 777-200ER like the one that
disappeared is about 61 meters (200 feet) and its overall length is about
64 meters (210 feet).
The images were captured around 11 a.m. on March 9 — which was
the day after the plane went missing — but weren’t released until
Wednesday.
The Chinese agency gave coordinates of 105.63 east longitude, 6.7
north latitude, which would put it in waters northeast of where it took
off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and south of Vietnam, near where
the South China Sea meets the Gulf of Thailand.
“It’s where it’s supposed to be,” Peter Goelz, a former
National Transportation Safety Board managing
director, told CNN’s Jake Tapper, noting the “great
skepticism” about reports the plane had turned around to
go back over Malaysia. “I think they’ve got to get
vessels and aircraft there as quickly as humanly
possible.”
This isn’t the first time authorities have announced the
discovery of objects or oil slicks that might be tied to
aircraft. Still, it is the latest and comes on the same day
that officials, rather than narrowing the search area,
more than doubled it from the day earlier to nearly
27,000 square nautical miles (35,000 square miles).
The vastness of the area and the limited details that
authorities have given makes it hard to tell whether the
spot that the satellite imagery captured has been
searched. A Malaysian air force official, who is not
authorized to speak to the media, did say Thursday
morning that its aircraft were heading to that area.
Bill Palmer — author of a book on Air France’s
Flight 447, which also mysteriously went missing
before its remnants were found — said having a search
area of that size is immensely challenging. He compared
it to trying to find something the size of a car or truck in
Pennsylvania, then widening it to look for the same
thing in all of North America.
“It’s a very, very difficult situation to try to find
anything,” Palmer told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin.
“Looking for pieces on the shimmering water doesn’t
make it any easier.”
The Chinese satellite find could help, significantly, in
that regard.
“I think the size of the pieces … everything we’ve
heard… gives good cause to believe that we’ve now (refocused) the
area,” former Federal Aviation Administration official Michael
Goldfarb told CNN. “And that’s a huge relief to everybody … I think
it’s a high chance that they’re going to confirm that these (are) pieces of
the wreckage.”
But not every expert was convinced this is it. Clive Irving, a senior
editor with Conde Nast Traveler, said that the size of the pieces —
since they are fairly square and large — “don’t conform to anything
that’s on the plane.”
Tom Haueter, a former NTSB aviation safety director, said he’d be
“surprised” if the objects came from the plane, rationalizing that
anything that big wouldn’t float.
Regardless, time is of the essence — both for investigators and the
loved ones of the plane’s 239 passengers and crew, who have waited
since Saturday for any breakthrough that would provide closure.
The flight data recorders should “ping,” or send out a signal pointing to
its location, for about 30 days from the time the aircraft set off, noted
Goldfarb. After that, Flight 370 could prove exponentially harder to
find.
“It’s the only clue that we’ve had so far,” CNN aviation expert
Richard Quest said of the satellite imagery clues. “If this doesn’t
prove to be the wreckage of 370, then we’re back to square one.”
Timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Vietnamese minister: Info being provided ‘insufficient’
The Malaysia Airlines flight set off seemingly without incident early
Saturday, not long after midnight, en route to Beijing.
Then, around 1:30 a.m., all communication cut off over a location
south and east of where the Chinese satellite images were shot.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia’s civil aviation
department, said around 6 a.m. Thursday in Kuala Lumpur — hours
after China’s announcement — that his agency had not seen the
images.
This assertion comes amid frustration about the investigation, search
and communication surrounding both.
Relatives of those aboard the plane have expressed outrage, with
video showing some of them angrily throwing water bottles at airline
officials. And on Tuesday, a middle-aged man — who said his son
was on that plane — shouted, “Time is passing by,” before bursting
into tears.
Some involved in the multinational search operation have also vented
about the ordeal.
Most of those on the flight were Chinese, and the Chinese government
has urged Malaysia to speed up the pace of its investigation.
And Phan Quy Tieu, Vietnam’s vice minister of transportation, has
characterized the information that Malaysian officials have provided
as “insufficient.”
“Up until now we only had one meeting with a Malaysian military
attache,” he said.
For now, Vietnamese teams will stop searching the sea south of Ca
Mau province, the southern tip of Vietnam, and shift the focus to
areas east of Ca Mau, said Doan Luu, the director of international
affairs at the Vietnamese Civil Aviation Authority.
Malaysia’s transportation and defense minister Hishamuddin Bin
Hussein defended his government’s approach. “We have been very
consistent in the search,” he said.
How you can help find the plane
Confusion about plane’s route
Over the weekend, authorities suddenly expanded their search to the
other side of the Malay Peninsula, in the Strait of Malacca, where
search efforts now seem to be concentrated.
That location is hundreds of miles off the plane’s expected flight path.
An explanation appeared to come Tuesday when a senior Malaysian
Air Force official told CNN that the Air Force had tracked the
plane to a spot near the small island of Palau Perak off Malaysia’s
west coast in the Strait of Malacca.
The plane’s identifying transponder had stopped sending signals, too,
said the official, who declined to be identified because he was not
authorized to speak to the media.
Malaysia’s civilian administration appeared to dispute the report,
however.
The New York Times quoted a spokesman for the Malaysian prime
minister’s office as saying Tuesday that military officials had told him
there was no evidence the plane had flown back over the Malay
Peninsula.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: What we know and don’t know
The Prime Minister’s office didn’t immediately return calls from
CNN seeking comment.
In another shift, Malaysian authorities said at a news conference
Wednesday that radar records reviewed in the wake of the plane’s
disappearance reveal an unidentified aircraft traveling across the
Malay Peninsula and some 200 miles into the Strait of Malacca.
However, it wasn’t clear whether that radar signal represented
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Gen. Rodzali Daud, head of the
Malaysian Air Force, said at the news conference.
Rodzali said then that officials are still “examining and analyzing all
possibilities” when it comes to the plane’s flight path.
As Rob Mark, a commercial pilot and publisher of JetWhine.com,
told CNN’s Erin Burnett: “There’s so much confusing information
flying around about this right now.”
Nothing has been ruled out as to what caused the plane’s
communication systems — including its crucial transponder — to
suddenly stop working.
Terrorism, hijacking, pilot error and a mechanical malfunction all
remain just as valid as possibilities now as when the plane went
missing.
Amid all the confusion and complaints, Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak on Wednesday appealed for patience.
“The families involved have to understand that this is something
unexpected,” Najib said. “The families must understand more efforts
have been made with all our capabilities.”
Danica Weeks is trying to keep it together for her two young sons,
though the possibility of life without husband Paul is sometimes
overwhelming. She’s clinging to hope even though, as Weeks told
CNN’s Piers Morgan, it’s “not looking good.”
“Every day it just seems like it’s an eternity, it’s an absolute eternity,”
Weeks said from Australia. “We can only go minute-by-minute …
and hope something comes soon.”
Source: CNN

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