MH 777 missing - MH370 media statement

[Aussie_flyer]

Ch 7 reporter went on one of our P3s today. Coverage was on the late news.

yes there was a special edition featuring the Ch 7 journo on the Aussie P3. Said that it got pretty rough out there at low altitude too

 

[Mumfreqflyer]

I heard on 10 news here in Perth they also had a reporter go out today too.

 

[markis10]

Ch 7 reporter went on one of our P3s today. Coverage was on the late news.

Thats good news, I did see the c130 report this morning so it looks like they have opened up the aircraft to the press. Not sure I would take a C130 for ten hours over a P3, not much fun, been there done that.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thats good news, I did see the c130 report this morning so it looks like they have opened up the aircraft to the press. Not sure I would take a C130 for ten hours over a P3, not much fun, been there done that.

my only concern around that is the weight of the extra passenger(s)... would that materially affect the flight time at the search zone? If they could even get 15 mins longer without extra pax, would that not be preferable? Or does an extra 100kgs not make much of a difference?

 

[markis10]

my only concern around that is the weight of the extra passenger(s)... would that materially affect the flight time at the search zone? If they could even get 15 mins longer without extra pax, would that not be preferable? Or does an extra 100kgs not make much of a difference?

It it would make negligible difference.

 

[maninblack]

After 15 hours out on patrol looking for something that may not even be there 'as the sun sets slowly in the west' the crew are probably ready to go home for a hot dinner!

 

[Mal]

Interesting that it is now reported the photos came from a US Govt satellite.

 

[markis10]

Interesting that it is now reported the photos came from a US Govt satellite.

Pity it's not true, it was a private sat owned by digitalGlobe in Colorado and listed on the Nasdaq. The satellite is the Worldview2 or Quickbird that is likely to have been used.

 

[markis10]

AMSA update, basically four aircraft being used today, second ship arriving tonight, Navy due on station with the oiler HMAS Success tomorrow.

http://www.amsa.gov.au/media/documents/21032014MediaReleaseUpdate8MH370.pdf

 

[RooFlyer]

Pity it's not true, it was a private sat owned by digitalGlobe in Colorado and listed on the Nasdaq. The satellite is the Worldview2 or Quickbird that is likely to have been used.

I wonder if the report Mal was referring to was this Fairfax 'exclusive' Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: US satellite the unspoken source that sparked search for MH370.

Starts by identifying the satellite as a 'US' one, then morphs seamlessly into 'US intelligence' .

I did think it a bit odd in yesterday's briefing that the Defence chap, when asked about the source, said words to the effect " I honestly don't know". I don't doubt his honesty, but it was a pretty obvious question to come up an I would have thought that they would have had an answer ready. It's not as if the actual source is very controversial.

 

[drron]

More confirmation for what markis10 said-
Tweets / All / No replies

• 
  Jon Williams ‏@WilliamsJon 1h
  Addressing time lag, DigitalGlobe says "given extraordinary size of search area, lengthy duration of analysis effort to be expected" #MH370
  from Manhattan, NY Collapse
• 
  Jon Williams ‏@WilliamsJon 1h
  DigitalGlobe confirms satellite photos of possible #MH370 objects issued by Australia taken March 16 by its WorldView-2 satellite >>
  from Manhattan, NY Collapse

 

[markis10]

I wonder if the report Mal was referring to was this Fairfax 'exclusive' Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: US satellite the unspoken source that sparked search for MH370.

Starts by identifying the satellite as a 'US' one, then morphs seamlessly into 'US intelligence' .

I did think it a bit odd in yesterday's briefing that the Defence chap, when asked about the source, said words to the effect " I honestly don't know". I don't doubt his honesty, but it was a pretty obvious question to come up an I would have thought that they would have had an answer ready. It's not as if the actual source is very controversial.

It probably is that article. I agree there were some unusual odd events as part of the press conference which for AMSA is a rarity. Apart from the lack of knowledge as to the origin when subsequent image release makes it clear, there was the lack of size info already commented on. I would have thought it was an obvious detail to share, especially as its over 60 feet so it cannot be the most likely type of flotsam - a container. Two other interesting tidbits do make me wonder about the difference of public domain info and private or military info, specifically the reference by MH to "next of kin" within hours of the disappearance, and once the arcs where known, a strong preference for the southern arc by the Americans.

 

[Mal]

There is a lot more to this story that is conveniently not disclosed.
And yes, that was the article I referred to.

 

[markis10]

Interesting development, a Gulfstream has been added into the mix:

Planned aircraft departure times for MH370 search
*All times are expressed in Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time. Please note all departure times
are approximate.

Five aircraft will be involved in today’s search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion departed for the search area at around 9.15am.

A civil Gulfstream jet and a second RAAF P3 Orion is due to depart for the search area at approximately
11am.

A third RAAF P3 Orion is due to depart for the search area at approximately 1pm.

The United States Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft is due to depart for the search area at approximately 4pm.

Due to the distance to and from the search area, the aircraft involved have an endurance of
approximately 2 hours of search time

http://www.amsa.gov.au/media/documents/210232014_MediaRelease_PlannedAircraftDepartureTimes.pdf

If you look at the timings you will see that they have scheduled the aircraft to arrive on station abut the same time as the previous searcher is due to go off station, that is after two hours of searching. The P8 has the luxury of an extra hour before departure owing to its cruise time being one hour shorter to the zone, and will be the last for the day, I believe it will get three hours on station. The Gulfstream is the only exception to the rule, I would love to know who is on it and why?

 

[QF WP]

I was reading up on QF32 when I came across this line

".... S/O Mark Johnson established voice communications with Qantas engineers in Sydney through a mobile phone after failure of the aircraft’s satellite voice link...."

So, in the context of mobile phone and ground communication, that is quite possible.

Back on MH370, it seems to indicate no pax was able to use the phone at any stage (? Altitude, ? Weak signal, ? Incapacitated, ? Under duress etc...).

But how high was QF32 at the time of the phone call ? I am not sure on that point.

Digital mobile phones almost certainly won't work at altitude, and if they do lock on to a tower, it won't be for long. I think you'll find the reference to QF32 is after they were on the ground, and trying to shut down the #1 engine.

I agree with jb747, this story appears to explain that it is highly improbable that either Mark Johnson or pax on MH370 were able to get connections: Were the Phones on Flight MH370 Ever Connected?

 

[QF WP]

Here is a really nice story on one of the relatives of a MH370 pax: One man's quiet reckoning on Flight 370 - CNN.com

Puts it all in perspective. The hardest death is one where you don't get a chance to say goodbye. In this case it is exacerbated by the fact that reasons behind the death aren't clear and no bodies, therefore very hard to begin closure when some are still hoping for that miracle.

 

[markis10]

Turns out its a Global Express and not a Gulfstream:

VH-TGG

 

[QF WP]

Being a non-IT person and a simple aviation enthusiast, perhaps somebody could explain what this Swift software package - I presume QF and other majors have it:

Missing Malaysia Airlines plane lacked $US10 upgrade that could have provided crucial satellite data for search

 

[amaroo]

More confirmation for what markis10 said-
Tweets

• 
  Jon Williams ‏@WilliamsJon 1h
  Addressing time lag, DigitalGlobe says "given extraordinary size of search area, lengthy duration of analysis effort to be expected" #MH370
  from Manhattan, NY Collapse

The copyright symbol on the released images were a bit of a giveaway....

 

[QF WP]

Also, from information gleaned over of the two FT threads, looks like there will be some UK assistance (thanks to exilencfc):

BBC reports HMS Echo joining search BBC News - As it happened: Debris spotted in airliner search (it's in the column to the left of the pictures - which aren't live at the moment)

Echo is a survey vessel, more info about her here http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Flee...Ships/HMS-Echo

Not clear where she actually is at the moment but at the top of the page it tells you where she was on the 18th - which isn't the southern part of the Indian Ocean

How long will is take the vessel to get there?