Introductory statement search for MH370
Introductory statement
Malaysia continues to work on the diplomatic, technical and logistical challenges involved in the search for MH370.
We are still awaiting information from the Australian search and rescue operation as to whether the objects shown in the satellite images released by Australia yesterday are indeed related to MH370.
In the meantime, we are continuing search and rescue operations in the rest of the southern and northern corridors. I will now give you a brief operational update.
1. Operational update
Search efforts southwest of Perth continue, and the Australian authorities are intensifying their efforts in the area. HMAS Success is due to reach the vicinity of the objects tomorrow.
China has deployed 5 ships and 3 ship-borne helicopters, which are currently heading toward the southern corridor. 3 Chinese aircraft (2 Ilyushin IL-76s and 1 Shaanxi Y-8) arrived in Malaysia at 11:00 this morning. They will also be searching in the southern corridor.
Japan is deploying its assets to Perth, including 2 P-3 Orions, to assist with the Australian search efforts.
This morning I have spoken with the acting High Commissioner from the United Kingdom, who confirmed that the Prime Minister has spoken to the Prime Minister of the UK, and that HMS Echo is already heading towards the southern Indian Ocean to support the search effort. He also confirmed that the UK will be providing us with a list of possible assets that can be deployed if needed.
He also has reaffirmed that, in addition to the technical support provided so far, it stands ready to provide further specialist search and investigative assistance once more information about the fate of MH370 becomes known.
I have also been in touch with the French delegation, which is led by the French Ambassador to Malaysia, and includes the man who led the investigation into the Air France 447 crash. They have agreed to assist us with their considerable experience and expertise.
I will also be speaking to the US Secretary of Defence at 21:15 tonight, to request further specialist assets to help with the search and rescue efforts, including remotely-operated vehicles for deep ocean salvage.
The Kazakhstan authorities have assured us that they have found no trace of MH370, and we are awaiting permission for Kazakhstan to be used as a staging point for search operations.
On the police investigation, the Ukraine police have confirmed that the background checks on the Ukrainian passenger have come back clear.
2. Satellite data processing
I would like to briefly discuss the processing of the Inmarsat data.
The investigations team received the complete raw Inmarsat satellite data which included the six handshakes at approximately 15:00 on Wednesday 12th March.
This type of data is not normally used in investigations of this sort. It is only because we have so little other information to go on in this difficult and unprecedented situation that the data is being used.
Upon receiving the raw data, the Malaysian authorities immediately discussed with the US team how this information might be used. The US team and the investigations team then sent the data to the US, where further processing was needed before it could be used.
Initial results were received on Thursday 13th March at approximately 13:30, but it was agreed by the US team and the investigations team that further refinement was needed, so the data was again sent back to the US.
The results were received at approximately 14:30 on Friday 14th March, and presented to the investigations team at a high-level meeting at 21:00 on Friday. The UK AAIB, who had also been processing this data independently, presented their results – which concurred with ours and those of the US team – at that meeting.
The Prime Minister was briefed on this satellite information at 08:00 Saturday 15th March, and publicly announced it at the press conference at Saturday lunchtime. Search and rescue operations were immediately shifted to the northern and southern corridor.
3. Family care
Last night in Kuala Lumpur we held a briefing for the relatives of those on board MH370. As I mentioned in yesterday’s statement, the briefing was to update family members on the latest developments, and to answer questions and clear up any confusion.
The meeting was well attended by family members from different nations, including Malaysia, and by representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
A high-level Malaysian delegation, including representatives from Malaysia Airlines, the Department of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council also attended the meeting.
We had a very constructive and frank discussion. Although we answered most of the questions they raised, we could not answer them all. These briefings will continue – at the families’ convenience – for as long as the families want them.
The briefing brought the families and the Malaysian authorities closer together, not just in terms of sharing information, but also in terms of listening to the voice of the family members. The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China will be co-ordinating the briefings in Kuala Lumpur from now on.
The high-level team I announced yesterday arrived in Beijing last night. Today they met with family members for three and half hours.
4. Concluding remarks
There continues to be a multinational effort co-ordinated by Malaysia and involving dozens of countries from around the world. We continue to receive offers of assistance, including specialist assets that can help with the search and rescue. We welcome all assistance as we continue to follow every credible lead
BANGKOK — In the age of smartphones
and social media, one question surrounding the disappearance of the Malaysian
airliner is why none of the passengers tried to contact relatives, as they did
during the 9/11 attacks.
Even the absence of phone calls or
emails from those on board the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 could provide clues
for investigators struggling to solve one of the greatest mysteries of modern
aviation.
It may indicate that the plane was
flying too high or was over water, or that the passengers were unconscious,
possibly due to a change in cabin pressure.
Experts say the chances of the 239
people on board Flight 370 being able to use their mobile devices would have
been better the closer they were to a mobile network on the ground.
Many are skeptical that the
passengers or crew would have been able to establish and maintain a call using
cellphones while travelling at speed, particularly at cruising altitude.
For mobile phones to be used, there
must be a contact between the handset and the network — known as a “handshake”.
This requires a strong enough signal from both a transmission tower and the
phone.
“Theoretically, 23,000 feet (7,000
meters) and 45,000 feet are a cell range that terrestrial mobile network could
work with,” said Singapore-based telecommunications consultant Koh Chee Koon,
referring to unconfirmed reports of changes in the plane’s altitude after it
lost radar contact.
But given the limited transmission
power of a commercial mobile phone, as well as the barrier presented by the plane
body, “for the mobile phone to connect to the mobile network with acceptable
strength and quality would require some luck”, added Koh.
Experts note that in the case of the
September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the planes were flying at relatively
low altitude over areas with cellphone coverage.
In any case most of the calls are
believed to have been made from seatback phones and not mobile devices.
Recently some airlines have
introduced technology to enable passengers to use their phones in the air using
a small cellular base station on board, but Malaysia Airlines said this service
was not available on Flight 370.
Without this, a cellphone cannot be
used at an altitude of more than roughly 0.5 kilometers in the case of a
commercial airliner, and must not be too far from a cell tower, according to
A.K. Dewdney, professor emeritus of computer science at the University of
Western Ontario in Canada.
“No cellphone could possibly succeed
from an airliner in mid-ocean, even if flying low over the water,” he said.
“At normal cruising altitude no
cellphone could possibly succeed in making ground contact as it is completely
out of reach of the network of towers, in any case,” added Dewdney, who
conducted experiments after the 9/11 attacks to test the capability of mobile
telephones to make calls from the air.
Phone records under investigation
Malaysia Airline chief executive
Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said on Monday there was no evidence of any attempt by the
people on board to make calls, but he added that “millions of records” needed
to be processed.
“It’s being done as part of the
investigation,” he said, without elaborating on the type of records being
checked.
Deepening the mystery, Chinese media
have reported that relatives heard ringing tones when trying to call
passengers’ mobile phones.
But experts believe this does not
necessarily mean the phones were still functioning.
Even if nobody on board the plane
tried to make a call, logs of the “handshakes” might provide some clues about
the route taken by the jet after it disappeared.
While many phones would have been
switched off in line with airline rules, some people may have forgotten to
deactivate their devices.
But to trace any “handshakes”
investigators face the challenge of collecting the unique identity numbers for
the passengers’ mobile devices, as well as signal data from network operators
in countries along the possible flight paths, such as Myanmar which still has
limited network coverage.
As the flight turned back and
crossed over Malaysia after disappearing from radar en route to Beijing, it
probably passed over a network area.
After that, the chances of any
“handshakes” depend on how low and close to mobile towers the plane flew.
“Police track cellphones all the
time by the last phone call they made,” said Ken Dulaney, a US-based analyst
with technology research firm Gartner.
But he added that this was only
possible if the devices were in reach of a network.
“If they are not in coverage then no
one can do anything,” he said.
