AUSTRALIA/IN AIR: Australian air force P3 Orion returns to base without seeing any sign of objects in the sea suspected of being debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
Record ID:
230592
AUSTRALIA/IN AIR: Australian air force P3 Orion returns to base without seeing any sign of objects in the sea suspected of being debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
- Title: AUSTRALIA/IN AIR: Australian air force P3 Orion returns to base without seeing any sign of objects in the sea suspected of being debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
- Date: 21st March 2014
- Summary: PERTH, AUSTRALIA (MARCH 21, 2014) (REUTERS) P3 ORION PLANE PLANE LANDING PLANE ON TARMAC AIR FORCE PERSONNEL WALKING TOWARDS TARMAC PLANE AIR FORCE PERSONNEL IN COCKPIT OF P3 ORION PLANE PARKED ON TARMAC AIR FORCE PERSONNEL LOOKING AT PLANE AIR FORCE PERSONNEL PUTTING THINGS IN BACK OF CAR FLIGHT COMMANDERS WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIRFORCE FLIGHT LIEUTENANT, RUSSEL ADAMS SAYING: "We got out of station today, had a pretty good weather actually compared to what we saw yesterday, the visibility was great, we had, you know, better than 10 kilometres of visibility. There was no rain in the area, we had really good opportunity, I think to see anything visual out there. For the task that we have today, the conditions were outstanding. Unfortunately, the conditions back here procluded us from staying on station for as long as we would liked, however there are a few aircraft out there, the fellow P3s, as well as the United States Navy P8 Poseidon. They are out there still searching, and with any luck they will find something shortly. We've got a lot of hope, and if the conditions remain as they are, hopefully we will find something soon."
- Embargoed: 5th April 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Australia
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Crime,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Politics,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA6NLTTPZS4WNURXZGTMHMAZK29
- Story Text: The international team hunting for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean has not turned up anything so far on Friday (March 21), and Australia's deputy prime minister said the suspected debris may have sunk.
Aircraft and ships have renewed a search in the Andaman Sea between India and Thailand, going over areas that have already been exhaustively swept to find some clue to unlock one of the most inexplicable mysteries in modern aviation.
Australian authorities said the first aircraft to sweep treacherous seas on Friday in an area about 2,500 km (1,500 miles) southwest of Perth was returning to base without spotting the objects picked out by satellite images five days ago.
Royal Australian Air force Flight Lieutenant Russel Adams was on first flight and said conditions were good.
"We got out of station today, had a pretty good weather actually compared to what we saw yesterday, the visibility was great, we had, you know, better than 10 kilometres of visibility. There was no rain in the area, we had really good opportunity, I think to see anything visual out there. For the task that we have today, the conditions were outstanding. Unfortunately, the conditions back here procluded us from staying on station for as long as we would liked, however there are a few aircraft out there, the fellow P3s, as well as the United States Navy P8 Poseidon. They are out there still searching, and with any luck they will find something shortly. We've got a lot of hope, and if the conditions remain as they are, hopefully we will find something soon." he said.
The Boeing 777 went missing almost two weeks ago off the Malaysian coast with 239 people aboard. There has been no confirmed sign of wreckage but two objects seen floating deep south in the Indian Ocean were considered a credible lead and set off a huge hunt on Thursday (March 20).
Investigators suspect Flight MH370, which took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing shortly after midnight on March 8, was deliberately diverted thousands of miles from its scheduled path. They say they are focusing on hijacking or sabotage but have not ruled out technical problems.
The search for the plane also continues in other regions, including a wide arc sweeping northward from Laos to Kazakhstan.
In the Indian Ocean, three Australian P-3 Orions joined a high-tech U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon and a civilian Bombardier Global Express jet to search the 23,000 square km (8,900 sq mile) zone, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None