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Chinese satellite finds evidence of suspected MH370 crash site
Mar 13, 201407:36 AM
A Chinese satellite has found evidence of a “suspected crash site” for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in what is considered to be the first solid lead in the search for the jet.
China’s State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) last night published three satellite images which appear to show three floating objects in the sea on Sunday -- just one day after the plane disappeared.
The satellite spotted three blips of varying sizes, the largest of which is 24m by 22m. The missing Boeing 777-200ER jet had a wingspan of 60.9 metres and a length of 63.7 metres.
Chinese agency SASTIND 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, south of Vietnam and close to where the plane lost contact with air traffic control.
A former US aviation safety official said the images represent the first solid lead consistent with the Malaysia Airlines plane’s flight path.
Peter Goelz, former managing director of the US federal National Transportation Safety Board, told CNN: “These (images) are the first solid piece of evidence we have that are on the correct flight path.”
It has not been confirmed whether the blips are the wreckage of the missing flight.
US Navy spokesman Commander William Marks, of the Seventh Fleet, said the SASTIND satellite data had not yet been corroborated by US satellites.
China’s civil aviation chief was also quoted by Reuters saying he could not confirm that the objects were the wreckage of the missing aircraft.
“Chinese satellites have found smoke and floating objects ... At present we cannot confirm this is related to the missing aircraft,” Li Xiaxiang said.
Commander Marks said if the floating objects are as big as Chinese satellite data suggests, “it’s something that (American military) radars would pretty easily pick up”.
China has provided no explanation as to why the images were only released on Wednesday. There were 153 Chinese nationals on board the flight.
Malaysia’s civil aviation chief, Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, said Malaysia had not been officially informed by China about the images.
He said if Beijing informs them of the co-ordinates, Malaysia will dispatch vessels and planes immediately.
“If we get confirmation, we will send something,” he told the Associated Press early Thursday. (News.com.au)
