Maklumat Rasmi KEHILANGAN MH370 [Hari ke X]

biggirlduncry

Pssst! Everything's a conspiracy

CONSPIRACY theories surround us. Witness the reactions on the Internet to the tragic and mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Perhaps North Korea hijacked the plane. Perhaps the Chinese are responsible. Maybe aliens did it.

Or, as an influential legislator in Iran contended to the New York Times, perhaps the United States "kidnapped" the plane in an effort to "sabotage the relationship between Iran and China and South-east Asia".

Pick your topic: Ukraine, the National Security Agency, assassinations of national leaders, recent economic crises, the authorship of Shakespeare's plays - it's child's play to assemble a host of apparent clues, and to connect a bunch of dots, to support a particular conspiracy theory.

In recent years, for example, many Americans have become convinced that the US (or Israel) was responsible for the attacks of Sept 11, that the US government concocted HIV/Aids, and that federal agencies have conspired to hide the association between vaccines and autism.

Why do people accept such theories?

The first explanation points to people's predispositions. Some of us count as "conspiracists" in the sense that we have a strong inclination to accept such theories. Not surprisingly, conspiracists tend to have a sense of personal powerlessness; they are also more likely to conspire themselves.

Here's an excellent predictor of whether people will accept a particular conspiracy theory: Do they accept other conspiracy theories?

If you tend to think that the Apollo moon landings were faked, you are more likely to believe that the US was behind the 9/11 attacks. (With a little introspection, many of us know, almost immediately, whether we are inclined to accept conspiracy theories.)

Remarkably, people who accept one conspiracy theory tend to accept another conspiracy theory that is logically inconsistent with it.

People who believe that Princess Diana faked her own death are more likely to think that she was murdered. People who believe that Osama bin Laden was already dead when US forces invaded his compound are more likely to believe that he is still alive.

The second set of explanations points to the close relationship between conspiracy theories and social networks, especially close-knit or isolated ones.

Few of us have personal or direct knowledge about the causes of some terrible event - a missing plane, a terrorist attack, an assassination, an outbreak of disease. If one person within a network insists that a conspiracy was at work, others within that network might well believe it.

Once the belief begins to spread, a lot of people within the network might accept it as well, on the theory that a spreading belief cannot possibly be wrong.

And once that happens, "confirmation bias" tends to kick in, so that people give special weight to information that supports their view.

They also treat contradictory information as irrelevant or perhaps even as proof of conspiracy. (Why would people - "they" - deny it if it weren't true?)

A third explanation emphasises how human beings are inclined to react to terrible events. Such events produce outrage, suspicion and fear.

Sometimes the perpetrator is self-evident, as in the case of many terrorist attacks, but if there is no clear perpetrator - as with a missing plane, a child's disability or the outbreak of a disease - people might go hunting for the malicious agent behind it all.

To be sure, some conspiracy theories turn out to be true.

Republican officials, operating at the behest of the White House, did, in fact, bug the Democratic National Committee's headquarters at the Watergate complex.

In the 1950s, the Central Intelligence Agency did, in fact, administer LSD and related drugs to unknowing subjects in an effort to investigate the possibility of "mind control".

In 1947, space aliens did, in fact, land in Roswell, New Mexico, and the government covered it all up. (Well, maybe not.)

Even when false, most conspiracy theories are harmless. Consider the theory, popular among younger members of our society, that a secret group of elves, working in a remote location under the leadership of a mysterious "Santa Claus", make and distribute presents on Christmas Eve.

And in a free society, conspiracy theories must be allowed, even if they are both false and harmful. But sometimes conspiracy theories create real dangers.

If people think that scientists have conspired to cover up the harms of vaccines, they will be less likely to vaccinate their children. That's a problem.

Unfortunately, beliefs in false conspiracy theories are also peculiarly resistant to correction. Recent research suggests that in the context of the alleged autism-vaccination link, current public health communications are unhelpful, even when they enlist facts to set the record straight.

Efforts to establish the truth might even be self-defeating, because they can increase suspicion and thus strengthen the very beliefs that they were meant to correct.

Such efforts are far more likely to succeed if they begin by affirming, rather than attacking, the basic values and commitments of those who are inclined to accept a theory.

Conspiracists like to say that the truth is out there. They're right. The challenge is to persuade them to find their way towards it.

myp@sph.com.sg

cektim

Malaysia Masih Belum Menerima Latar Belakang Penumpang Russia, Ukraine

SEPANG – Pihak berkuasa Malaysia menerima latar belakang yang diperiksa terhadap kesemua penumpang pesawat MH370 dari semua negara berkaitan, kecuali Rusia dan Ukraine, kata pemangku Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

“Kami menerima latar belakang individu penumpang yang diperiksa, dari semua negara kecuali Ukraine dan Rusia yang mana mempunyai rakyatnya di dalam pesawat tersebut. Setakat ini tiada maklumat yang penting dalam mana-mana penumpang ditemui,” kata Hishammuddin pada sidang media di sini, Rabu.

Seramai 239 penumpang dan anak kapal dengan kewarganegaraan berbeza menaiki pesawat MH370 dari Kuala Lumpur ke Beijing yang berlepas di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) pada 8 Mac lalu.

Pesawat itu, yang hilang dari radar Malaysia pada pukul 2.15 pagi hari yang sama membawa warga China, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Perancis, Amerika Syarikat, Ukraine, Kanada, Rusia, Taiwan dan Belanda.

Perlu diingat, Russia dan Ukraine kini sedang bersengketa.

Tentera Rusia telah menawan Crimea yang merupakan wilayah Ukraine yang diberikan taraf pemerintahan autonomi.

Wilayah itu mengandungi sebuah pangkalan tentera laut milik Rusia.

Askar-askar Rusia turut mengepung beberapa buah pusat ketenteraan Ukraine dan menuntut tentera negara itu meletakkan senjata.

http://mynewshub.my/2014/03/19/m ... raine/#.UypTYs7LE0k

plja2117

Missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370: PM Tony Abbott says satellite images could be wreckage of crashed plane

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-po ... .html#ixzz2wTEVoTsT


The Australian-led search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight has had an apparent breakthrough, with satellite images showing two objects in waters off Perth.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament on Thursday afternoon that an Australian P-3 Orion aircraft had been diverted to check out the objects and would be followed by other planes.

The first Orion was due to arrive on the scene about 2pm, he said.

Mr Abbott stressed it was not yet clear whether they were parts of the plane.

Advertisement But Mr Abbott described the breakthrough as "new and credible information."

"The Australian maritime safety authority has received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search," Mr Abbott said.

"Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified."

"I should tell the House - and we must keep this in mind - the task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out that they are not related to the search for flight MH370," Mr Abbott said.

"Nevertheless, I did want to update the House on this potentially important development.’’

Mr Abbott said he had informed his Malaysian counterpart, Prime Minister Najib Razak, and promised to keep him updated.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is co-ordinating the search, has called a news conference for 3.30pm.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-po ... .html#ixzz2wTEMUhll

biggirlduncry

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Australia says possible objects in Indian Ocean
By Jethro Mullen, Chelsea J. Carter and Mitra Mobasherat, CNN
updated 11:47 PM EDT, Wed March 19, 2014

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CNN) -- Authorities have spotted two objects in the Indian Ocean that are possibly related to the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday.
"New and credible information has come to light in relation to the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean," Abbott said in the the Australian House of Representatives in Canberra. "The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search.
"Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified," he said. "I can inform the House that a Royal Australian Air Force Orion has been diverted to attempt to locate the objects."
Three other planes will carry out a "more intensive follow-up search," he said.
Australian search teams have been at the forefront of the hunt for the missing plane in the remote southern Indian Ocean.
The announcement from Abbott raises hopes of finding parts of the plane after a search that is now in its 13th day. Previous reports of debris found in the sea have not turned out to be related
But those reports came before the search area was massively expanded into two large arcs, one that heads north into Asia, the other south into the Indian Ocean.
Other pieces of information related to the investigation into the plane's disappearance had emerged Wednesday.

cektim

Gempar!! PM Australia Maklumkan Pesawatnya Kesan Objek Mungkin Ada Kaitan #MH370

SEBUAH pesawat mencari dan menyelamat Australia telah mengesan dua objek di selatan Lautan Hindi yang berkemungkinan ada kaitan dengan kehilangan pesawat Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370.

Ia dimaklumkan sendiri oleh Perdana Menteri Australia Tony Abott di Parlimen negara itu hari ini, menurut laporan terkini NBC News.

Menurut Abott, beliau telah menghubungi Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkenaan objek itu yang ditemui di kawasan perairan berhampiran Perth, Australia.

Beliau berkata, analisis lanjut ke atas objek berkenaan perlu untuk mengenalpasti sama ada ia benar-benar dari pesawat MH370 tetapi beliau menganggap penemuan itu sebagai sesuatu yang baru dan boleh dipercayai.

“Pihak Berkuasa Keselamatan Maritim Australia telah menerima maklumat berdasarkan imej satelit berkenaan objek berkenaan yang dilihat ada kaitan dengan pencarian dengan pesawat MH370,” kata Abott.

Sebuah pesawat P-3 Orion kini sudah digerakkan ke lokasi untuk melihat dengan lebih dekat objek berkenaan.

Kepastian mengenai objek berkenaan akan diketahui pada petang nanti – MYNEWSHUB.MY

cektim

MH370: Objek sepanjang 24 meter mungkin sayap pesawat Boeing

KUALA LUMPUR: Objek sepanjang 24 meter yang dikesan satelit di kawasan selatan Lautan Hindi berkemungkinan sayap pesawat Boeing 777-200ER, kata penganalisis.

Penganalisis Kejuruteraan Penerbangan, Dr Shamsuri Ahmad Mokhtar berkata jika spesifikasi 24 meter yang dikesan satelit ia berkemungkinan dari badan atau sayap pesawat.

Namun, katanya yang paling munasabah dengan saiz atau panjang itu ialah sayap Boeing 777.

"Difahamkan saiz debris yang dikesan ialah sepanjang 24 meter, kalau spesifikasi itu ia mungkin datang dari badan atau sayap Boeing 777.

"Dengan saiz 24 meter itu yang paling munasabah ialah sayap Boeing," katanya ketika dihubungi Astro AWANI.

Panjang sebelah sayap pesawat Boeing 777-200ER ialah 29.3 meter.

Dr Shamsuri juga berkata, jika debris bersaiz atau panjang 24 meter ditemui ia menandakan pesawat itu melakukan soft landing.

"Mana-mana pesawat, tidak kira Boeing atau tidak, jika seripihannya 24 meter, ia memberi petanda berlaku soft landing sebab ia tidak berkecai. Kalau ia terhempas dari satu ketinggian ia akan berkecai," katanya.

Hari ini, Perdana Menteri Australia Tony Abbot memaklumkan kepada parlimen negara tersebut mengenai penemuan dua imej satelit bersaiz 24 meter yang dipercayai tenggelam timbul di permukaan air berkemungkinan serpihan daripada pesawat MH370 yang hilang sejak 8 Mac lalu.

Pesawat MH370 milik Malaysia Airlines (MAS) itu dalam penerbangan ke Beijing dilaporkan hilang sejak awal pagi Sabtu dan masih belum ditemui sehingga hari ini.


Read more at: http://www.astroawani.com/news/s ... wat-boeing-32174?cp


Read more at: http://www.astroawani.com/news/s ... wat-boeing-32174?cp

madamjaja

MH370: Full statement by Australian Maritime Safety Authority on objects found
Astro Awani | Updated: March 20, 2014
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MH370: Full statement by Australian Maritime Safety Authority on objects found

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Statement from AMSA Emergency Response Division General Manager John Young:

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is coordinating the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, with assistance from the Australian Defence Force, the New Zealand Air Force and the United States Navy.

AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre Australia has received satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search for the missing aircraft, flight MH370.

RCC Australia received an expert assessment of commercial satellite imagery on Thursday.

The images were captured by satellite. They may not be related to the aircraft.

The assessment of these images was provided by the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation as a possible indication of debris south of the search area that has been the focus of the search operation.

The imagery is in the vicinity of the search area defined and searched in the past two days.
Four aircraft have been reoriented to the area 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth as a result of this information.

A Royal Australian Air Force Orion aircraft arrived in the area about 1.50pm (10.50am Malaysian time)

A further three aircraft have been tasked by RCC Australia to the area later today, including a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion and United States Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft.

The Poseidon aircraft is expected to arrive at 3pm (12pm Malaysian time). The second RAAF Orion is expected to depart RAAF Base Pearce at 6pm (3pm Malaysian time).

The New Zealand Orion is due to depart at 8pm (5pm Malaysian time).

A RAAF C-130 Hercules aircraft has been tasked by RCC Australia to drop datum marker buoys.

These marker buoys assist RCC Australia by providing information about water movement to assist in drift modelling. They will provide an ongoing reference point if the task of relocating the objects becomes protracted.

A merchant ship that responded to a shipping broadcast issued by RCC Australia on Monday is expected to arrive in the area about 6pm(3pm Malaysian time).

Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Success is en route to the area but is some days away from this area. She is well equipped to recover any objects located and proven to be from MH370.

The focus for AMSA is to continue the search operation, with all available assets.

The assets are searching for anything signs of the missing aircraft.

Weather conditions are moderate in the Southern Indian Ocean where the search is taking place. Poor visibility has been reported.

AMSA continues to hold grave concerns for the passengers and crew on board.


Story first published on: March 20, 2014 15:12 (MYT)


Read more at: http://english.astroawani.com/ne ... ects-found-32176?cp

cektim

MH370: Inikah dia?



KUALA LUMPUR: Apakah misteri kehilangan pesawat Malaysia Airlines penerbangan MH370 yang ghaib daripada radar sejak 8 Mac lalu akan mula terjawab hari ini — pada hari ke-13 usaha mengesannya?

Apakah objek yang dikesan oleh satelit di selatan Lautan Hindi adalah bahagian daripada pesawat Boeing 777-200 itu? Apakah petunjuk kali ini betul dan tidak seperti beberapa petunjuk sebelum ini yang kemudiannya disahkan tidak betul?

Lembaga Keselamatan Maritim Australia (AMSA) mengetuai misi mencari pesawat yang hilang itu di jalur selatan dengan kerjasama Angkatan Tentera Australia, Tentera Udara New Zealand dan Tentera Laut Amerika Syarikat.

Awal hari ini, ia menerima imej satelit yang menunjukkan dua objek yang boleh jadi ada kaitan dengan pesawat yang dicari itu.

"Ini satu petunjuk. Ini mungkin petunjuk yang terbaik yang ada setakat ini," kata Ketua Pengarah Bahagian Kecemasan AMSA, John Young dalam satu sidang media yang jadi perhatian dunia tengahari tadi.



Satu daripada objek itu dikatakan berukuran 24 meter panjang. Objek yang kedua itu lebih kecil. Apakah ini bahagian daripada pesawat MH370? Boleh jadi ya, boleh jadi tidak.

Semua pihak yang terlibat dalam operasi mencari di jalur selatan itu kemudiannya mengerahkan pesawat dan kapal laut masing-masing ke kawasan carian yang terletak lebih kurang 2,500 kilometer ke barat daya Perth. Sesetengahnya sudah tiba dan beberapa lagi akan sampai dalam waktu yang terdekat.

Sebuah pesawat tiba di kawasan itu pada pukul 10.50 pagi tadi waktu Malaysia. Lima buah pesawat dijadual tiba pada pukul 12 tengahari manakala dua buah pesawat lagi berlepas ke kawasan itu pada pukul 3 petang dan 5 petang.

Sebuah kapal dagang yang kebetulan ada dekat kawasan itu juga menyahut seruan untuk menyertai operasi. Ia dijangka tiba pada pukul 3 petang.

Malaysia sebelum ini mengirimkan dua kapal Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) -- KD Kelantan dan KD Selangor untuk menyertai operasi di jalur selatan.

Perdana Menteri Australia, Tony Abbott menghubungi Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak untuk menyampaikan perkembangan terbaru ini pada pukul 10 pagi tadi. Pemangku Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein juga diberikan taklimat sama oleh Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Australia ke Malaysia.

"Setakat ini, pihak berkuasa Australia masih belum memastikan apakah objek berkenaan ada kaitan dengan misi mencari MH370," kata Hishammuddin dalam satu kenyataan.



Usaha mengesan objek yang dirakamkan oleh satelit itu bukan mudah. Jarak penglihatan di kawasan berkenaan dilaporkan tidak begitu baik biarpun cuaca dilaporkan sederhana. Tetapi setakat ini dunia diberitahu bahawa "inilah petunjuk terbaik".

Beberapa petunjuk sebelum ini terbukti tidak betul dan pada suatu ketika disifatkan sebagai membantutkan tumpuan usaha mencari dan menyelamat. Ada tompokan minyak yang dijumpai di Laut China Selatan yang kemudiannya disahkan bukan daripada pesawat. Ada objek yang dikesan oleh pihak berkuasa Vietnam yang kemudiannya didapati tidak ada kena-mengena dengan pesawat MH370. Ada juga imej satelit yang dikeluarkan oleh China yang kemudiannya diumumkan sebagai "telah tersilap edar". Terakhir, penduduk di Maldives mendakwa melihat pesawat terbang rendah pada pagi kejadian. Itupun tidak benar serta dinafikan oleh tentera dan pihak berkuasa penerbangan Maldives.

Tetapi apakah imej satelit yang diterima oleh pihak berkuasa di Australia ini akan memberikan kita gambaran awal apa yang sebenarnya terjadi kepada pesawat MH370?

"Kita perlu sampai ke sana terlebih dulu, cari (objek itu), lihat dan nilai untuk mengetahui apakah ia bermakna atau tidak," kata Young.



Beliau juga memberi dua peringatan: usaha mencari objek yang dirakamkan oleh satelit itu tidak mudah dan kalau ditemui nanti, ia mungkin tidak ada hubung kait dengan pesawat MH370.

Tetapi setakat hari ini — pada hari ke-13 — operasi mengesan pesawat MH370 yang hilang dengan penuh misteri mendapat petunjuk baru. Adakah ini harinya — selepas kita menunggu selama hampir dua minggu khabar berita pesawat yang hilang itu? Apakah ini yang dicari-cari sejak 8 Mac lalu?

Read more at: http://www.astroawani.com/news/show/mh370-inikah-dia-32177?cp

BelovedTaeyeon

"Inilah dia" - Kapten Nik Ahmad Huzlan dedah sebab keyakinan penemuan MH370

Bekas Ketua Juruterbang Serantau Malaysia Airlines, Datuk Kapten Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain ketika diwawancara pemberita TV3 sebentar tadi menyatakan keyakinan tentang objek yang ditemui satelit Australia adalah sebahagian rangka pesawat MH370.


"Inilah dia" - Kata Kapten Nik Ahmad Huzlan.


Walaubagaimanapun, Kapten Nik menyatakan itu adalah pendapat peribadinya semata-mata. Beliau melihat beberapa perkara seperti berikut:

• Perdana Menteri Australia, Tony Abbot mengumumkan dengan yakin di hadapan Ahli Parlimen.
• Pengumuman oleh Pihak Berkuasa Keselamatan Maritim Australia (AMSA) menunjukkan bukti spesifik seperti Peta, Koordinat dan dimensi panjang objek.
• Pengumuman itu amat jelas dan spesifik tanpa sebarang konflik info. Sehinggakan wartawan tidak perlu bertanya lebih lanjut.
• Australia terkenal dengan profesionalism. Mereka memiliki pakar dalam setiap bidang (Subject Matter Expert). Mereka tidak akan memberitahu PM sekiranya bukti tidak kukuh.
• Akauntabiliti dan kredibiliti pasukan SAR Australia amat tinggi walaupun meletakkan info "kemungkinan".
• Australia sanggup menggunakan Pesawat Pengesanan, P-3 Orion yang mana menunjukkan penemuan itu amat kukuh.
  

Ketika di tanya apakah objek pada bahagian pesawat itu:

• Dimensi objek 24 Meter.
• Sama ada sayap kiri, kanan atau ekor pesawat(Pengimbang pesawat)
• Ini berikutan imej berbentuk persegi
• Sekiranya berlaku soft landing, berkemungkinan besar objek itu ialah ekor pesawat yang patah ketika mencecah lautan.
  

Beberapa andaian yang turut dibuat Kapten Nik:

• Pakar Oceanografi akan melihat pergerakan arus untuk mengagak pergerakan bangkai rangka pesawat.
• Pesawat dan bangkai yang ditemui berkemungkinan berjauhan kerana dibawa arus selama 13 hari. Tambahan lagi, minyak akan habis apabila melihat kepada jarak penemuan.
  

Walaubagaimanapun, Kapten Nik mengatakan ini hanyalah permulaan yang dilabelnya sebagai BAB 1- Penemuan. Menurutnya lagi, akan ada banyak lagi Bab-Bab lain menyusul seperti pencarian bangkai pesawat, kos dan siasatan.

achik2009

achik2009

BelovedTaeyeon

KELUARGA PENUMPANG DIBERI TAKLIMAT MALAM INI ~

PUTRAJAYA - Lima keluarga penumpang pesawat MH370 yang menginap di Hotel Everly telah dipanggil untuk hadiri sebuah taklimat bersama Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

Salah seorang ahli keluarga tersebut, iaitu Selamat Omar berkata, semua keluarga penumpang pesawat MH370 telah dipanggil untuk hadiri taklimat malam ini di Cyberview Lodge Resort and Spa, di mana keluarga penumpang antarabangsa tinggal.

"Saya dimaklumkan taklimat bermula jam 9 mlm ini mungkin mengenai penemuan objek oleh tentera laut Australia pagi tadi.

"Jika benar MH370, saya akan terima hasil penemuan biar sukar bagaimanapun. Namun selagi tiada berita yang disahkan, saya masih berharap anak saya hidup,” katanya kepada media.

Beliau yang merupakan ayah kepada jurutera penerbangan, Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat berkata, taklimat tersebut diumumkan setelah sidang media siaran langsung oleh Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)

mommymonster82

WORLD AVIATION
Australia Spots ‘Credible’ Evidence of Missing Jet
Charlie Campbell @charliecamp6ell
1:35 AM ET       
A satellite image of objects that may be possible debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean, released on March 20, 2014.
A satellite image of objects that may be possible debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean, released on March 20, 2014.
Xinhua/Corbis
Officials are searching for possible debris spotted in the Indian Ocean by satellite imagery but urge caution before linking it to Flight MH370

Updated 9:34 a.m. EST

Australian authorities said Thursday they had found “credible” evidence in satellite imagery of what may be debris from the Malaysia Airlines plane that has been missing for almost two weeks.

The debris was spotted in the Indian Ocean near Australia, and while authorities cautioned it could turn out to be another dead end, it was called the “best lead” yet in what has mushroomed into a massive international search for a 777 that vanished with 239 people aboard. Australian aircraft arrived in the area about 1,500 miles southwest of the country but were unable to immediately find the objects spotted by satellite because “cloud & rain limited visibility,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said. Other aircraft from the United States and New Zealand were en route to aid the search operation. Relatives of the passengers on the missing jet, who have grown increasingly anguished over the lack of answers provided by the search, gathered at a hotel in Beijing to await news. As night fell in the Indian Ocean, Australian officials said they were calling off their search for the day and would resume on Friday morning.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament on earlier Thursday that the evidence was “credible,” while also cautioning that “it may turn out that they are not related to the search.”

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Since then an international search has grown to encompass vast swaths of ocean and land, and with few clues, focus has recently turned to whether anyone on board—pilots, crew or passengers—may have been involved. The FBI has joined in the investigation, and it is now the longest disappearance in modern commercial aviation history.

Australia spotted two objects, one of which is 24 m (or about 78 ft) long. The objects appeared to be “awash with water and bobbing up and down,” John Young, the general manager of the AMSA, said during a news conference. He called the objects “relatively indistinct on the imagery,” but said they are “credible sightings” and “probably the best lead with have right now.”

Despite the lack of hard evidence so far, analysts said the Australian premier likely wouldn’t choose to inform Parliament in person, rather than simply issuing a statement, unless there is a strong possibility that debris from the missing plane had finally been found.

“The task of analyzing imagery is quite difficult, it requires drawing down frames and going through frame by frame,” said Australian Air Commodore John McGarry. “The moment this imagery was discovered to reveal a possible object that might indicate a debris field, we have passed the information from defense across to AMSA for their action.”


The task of locating the objects will be extremely difficult. Aside from poor visibility, the area is so remote that each aircraft will only have about two hours after arrival to scour the area. If found, marker buoys will be dropped to allow drift modeling and an ongoing reference point to follow.

Investigators will not be able to positively identify the debris until support arrives to the region by sea, which could take days. A merchant ship that responded to a shipping broadcast issued by RCC Australia is expected to arrive in the area by about 6 p.m. But the satellite sighting was reported some 1,429 miles southwest of Perth, and the objects may have drifted further. The area is known for debris from shipping and officials have cautioned against jumping to conclusions. Items spotted floating in the Gulf of Thailand last week proved to be erroneous.

Michael Daniel, a retired United States Federal Aviation Administration official, told The Straits Times that it may take up to 48 hours to confirm that the debris belongs to the missing plane.

“If they have a strong feeling or indication that the debris belongs to the aircraft, one of the first things authorities will do is drop sonar buoys in the water,” he said. “If the black box is there, the buoys should be able to pick up the signals.”

Thursday marks 12 days since the twin-engine, 200-ton aircraft disappeared, but the black box flight recorder will only emit a signal for 30 days before its battery dies.

The southern Indian Ocean is one of the deepest in the world. Some believe the water could even present more challenges than the 12,000-ft stretch of the Atlantic where Air France Flight 447 crashed in June 2009. It took two years to find the flight recorder for that plane.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein also urged caution.”We have been very consistent. We want to verify, we want to corroborate,” he told reporters. China’s Foreign Ministry urged Australia in statement Thursday to report back findings as soon as possible. Of the 239 people on board, 153 were Chinese nationals.

Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing at 7:41 am on March 8 with 227 passengers and 12 crew. After passing over the east coast of Malaysia and into the Gulf of Thailand, contact was lost and the plane apparently performed a U-turn and headed back over the northern part of Malaysia.

Subsequent data communications indicate the plane may have traveled on for up to seven hours after this point, with search efforts centered on a northern corridor stretching from northern Thailand over western China towards Kazhakstan, and a southern corridor stretching from Indonesia and into the southern Indian Ocean by the western coast of Australia.

Military planes from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand are currently combing 305,000 square kilometers (117,000 square miles) of the Indian Ocean, narrowing the field from 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) on Wednesday. The U.S. 7th Fleet is also in the vicinity, and commercial satellites have been redirected to where the latest debris has been spotted.

Meanwhile, a tense atmosphere has gripped the Lido Hotel in Beijing and Everly Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where relatives of those who were on board are gathered. After craving any news for so long, many now dread that it may soon arrive.

“We are still waiting for verification from the authorities,” Selamat Omar, the father of flight engineer Khairul Selamat, told gathered reporters in the Malaysian capital. “If it’s really MH370, we will accept that fate.”

plja2117

Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: US satellite the unspoken source that sparked search for MH370

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/m ... .html#ixzz2wXvywJeG


When the Australian official took the podium to explain to reporters the discovery of satellite images that might show pieces of MH370, he carefully omitted to tell them the source.

The images were from a US satellite. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's John Young didn't mention this to the media. Nor was he asked. But he wouldn't have disclosed it in any case.

As ever, Australian officialdom is hyper protective of US intelligence and its sources - even more protective than the Americans themselves.

Advertisement The US decision to share its satellite imagery was just one part of the international co-operation involved in the 26-country search and rescue effort.

The satellite imagery of many nations has been carefully "scrubbed" by analysts in the search for the Malaysia Airlines jet, a painstaking task. "This is human eyeballs working through a vast number of images," said an official involved in the effort.

And just as quickly as Tony Abbott was briefed on the potential find on Thursday, he decided he should phone his Malaysian counterpart to brief him.

Pressure on Najib Razak has built every day of the agonising 12 days of the search. He was on the phone to Mr Abbott around 1pm, within half an hour of Australian officials requesting the call.

After Mr Abbott set out the scant facts of the sighting of potential debris in the Indian Ocean 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth, Mr Najib thanked the Australian Prime Minister for the search effort and the call. He asked to be kept informed of any major developments.

The Australian government has also given priority to keeping China informed.

In the Australian hierarchy, "Malaysia has the primary claim on this because it's their plane," said an official, "then China because of the number of Chinese passengers, then the US because it's a Boeing."

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs phoned the Chinese ambassador to Canberra, Ma Zhaoxu, to tell him the news before Mr Abbott rose to inform the Australian Parliament a few minutes after 2pm.

The two countries have been considering taking the co-operation to a higher level. Chinese and Australian officials have held preliminary discussions on bringing the Chinese military into the search.

By Thursday night, the three countries participating in the Australian-co-ordinated search were all members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance. Australia had dispatched four Orion P3 maritime surveillance planes, New Zealand had sent another and the US had contributed a Poseidon submarine-hunting plane.

According to an official, Australia had not yet asked for any particular Chinese assets, nor had Beijing offered, but "preliminary planning discussions" had been held.

Officials were keenly aware of two considerations. One, if the apparent debris is part of MH370, a long search and recovery effort could lie ahead.

Two, it was vital to avoid leaping to conclusions, especially after 12 days of false leads and faded hopes.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/m ... .html#ixzz2wXw8Oxg1

cektim

Kapal Besar Milik Norway Bantu Kesan #MH370



Kapal pengangkut kereta milik Norway Hoegh St Petersburg telah tiba di lokasi dua objek dipercayai ada kaitan dengan misi pencarian pesawat Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370.

Menurut pemilik kapal yang besar itu kapal berkenaan diminta oleh pihak berkuasa Australia untuk membantu melaksanakan misi mencari di lokasi itu iaitu di selatan Lautan Hindi kira-kira di kawasan perairan Perth.

“Kami menerima permohonan dari pihak berkuasa Australia untuk mencari di kawasan berkenaan, kami akan membantu mengesan MH370 selagi diperlukan,” kata wakil syarikat pengangkut kereta Hoegh Autoliners menurut laporan laman web Mirror UK.

Menurut Persatuan Perkapalan Norway, kapal berkenaan merupakan yang pertama tiba di lokasi.

Selain itu, twitter Nine News Australia turut menyiarkan gambar anggota dalam pesawat P-3 Orion Australia yang tiba di lokasi pencarian namun gagal mengesan serpihan kerana keadaan awan yang tebal.



Pihak Berkuasa Keselamatan Maritim Australia (AMSA) hari ini mendedahkan mereka mengesan dua objek dari satelit mereka di kawasan perairan yang dikatakan ada kaitan dengan pesawat MH370.

Objek berkenaan bersaiz anggaran 24 meter dan objek yang satu lagi bersaiz lebih kecil. – MYNEWSHUB.MY

BelovedTaeyeon

Salaam.

kak_sue

SYDNEY (AFP) -
Everything "humanly possible" was being done to find the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has vowed.

Mr Abbott, who first announced the potential breakthrough to parliament on Thursday, again cautioned that they were looking in "a remarkably isolated location in very deep and inaccessible ocean".

"Nevertheless, we are throwing all the resources we can at it," he said late Thursday after arriving in Papua New Guinea for a visit.

"We will do everything we humanly can to try to get to the bottom of this.

"We don't know what that satellite saw until we can get a much better, much closer, look at it. But this is the first tangible breakthrough in what up until now has been an utterly baffling mystery."

Grainy satellite imagery taken on Sunday detected a pair of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysia and Australia called the images a "credible" lead in the drawn-out hunt for the jet that vanished on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

But four planes from Australia, New Zealand and the United States that flew over a 23,000-square kilometre area of ocean some 2,500 kilometres southwest of Perth on Thursday saw nothing of significance, with the search hampered by low cloud.

But conditions are improving, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology told AFP.

"Showers associated with the passage of a cold front on Thursday, which saw low cloud and drizzle affect visibility, are easing," the bureau said.

New Zealand Air Commodore Mike Yardley, commenting to TV3 on the sortie flown by the New Zealand P3 Orion on Thursday, warned that "there's a lot of debris out there in the ocean".

"Our crews picked up debris out there that was not part of the aircraft," he said.

"Our radar will pick up containers that have fallen off container vessels as well, and last night our radar system was picking up marine life - whales and dolphins."

kak_sue

WorldView-2: The satellite that could have found Malaysia Airlines flight MH370



The WorldView-2, a satellite owned by US satellite company DigitalGlobe, has been confirmed as the satellite that provided Australian authorities with the images that appear to show two objects in the Indian Ocean 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth that may be related to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

DigitalGlobe confirmed this in a statement saying, "The satellite images were captured on March 16 by our WorldView-2 satellite at a resolution of approximately 50 cm. Working with our customers, DigitalGlobe continues to task our satellites to collect imagery of a wide area that includes the waters around where the possible debris was identified yesterday."

WorldView-2 was launched on October 8, 2009 and is among four others that company owns. It takes a new image of any place on earth every 1.1 days (1 day , 2 hours and 24 minutes).

DigitalGlobe also explained that the lengthy duration of the analysis effort was due to the "the extraordinary size of the current search area".

"Our constellation of five high-resolution imaging satellites captures more than 3 million square kilometres of earth imagery each day, and this volume of imagery is far too vast to search through in real time without an idea of where to look."

The company is is also using Tomnod, a crowdsourcing platform with over 250,000 volunteers. Volunteers are assigned a batch of satellite images to examine and asked to pin or tag possible signs of plane wreckage, life rafts, oil spills or any interesting or suspicious objects.

"We have been applying our satellite resources over a broader area than the official search area, while only focusing the efforts of our Tomnod crowdsourcing volunteers on the search areas identified by authorities. The efforts of millions of online volunteers around the world allowed us to rule out broad swaths of ocean with some certainty."

Other governments including the US have also been imagery from DigitalGlobe for their own search efforts.

No conclusions have been reached about the origins of the debris or objects shown in the imagery

BelovedTaeyeon

• 
  

NEW DELHI: Tentera Laut India telah mengerahkan empat kapal perang - IN Ships Satpura, Sahyadri, Saryu dan Batti Malv di Teluk Benggala, Laut Andaman dan bahagian barat Kepulauan Andaman untuk mencari pesawat Malaysia Airlines MH370 yang hilang.  
Serentak itu, pencarian ekstensif dari udara juga dijalankan melibatkan sebuah P 8I dengan pod Electro Optics/Infra Red (EO/IR), sebuah pesawat Hercules C 130J (dari tentera udara India) dan sebuah pesawat Dornier, menurut kenyataan Kementerian Pertahanan hari ini.   
Selain itu, sebuah P 8 I bersama sebuah pesawat Hercules C 130J ditugaskan ke Malaysia untuk pencarian itu.  - Bernama

kak_sue

'Large area slowed analysis of satellite images of possible MH370 debris'



WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A satellite image company said on Thursday that the sheer number of images covering a large swath of ocean contributed to a delay in revealing what could be debris from the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that has been missing for nearly a week.

DigitalGlobe, a Colorado-based company that collects imagery for the United States government and other countries, as well as private companies, confirmed on Thursday that it had collected satellite images on March 16 that appeared to show debris that may be related to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

It said it provided the images to Australian authorities, who released them earlier on Thursday. DigitalGlobe said the Australian government had begun combing through the imagery of the current search area only in the last few days, after the massive international effort was expanded to the southern Indian Ocean region and waters near Australia.

Malaysian officials described the images as a credible sign of a possible wreckage from the flight, which left Kuala Lumpur on March 8 en route to Beijing with 239 people aboard and vanished after about an hour of flight.

Australian authorities cautioned that the debris in the pictures might not be related to the missing plane.

"Given the extraordinary size of the current search area, the lengthy duration of the analysis effort was to be expected," DigitalGlobe spokesman Turner Brinton said in a statement.

Brinton said the company's five high-resolution satellites capture more than 3 million sq km of earth imagery each day. "This volume of imagery is far too vast to search through in real time without an idea of where to look," he said.

The large objects that Australian officials said were spotted by satellite four days ago are the most promising find in days as searchers scour a vast area for the plane.

The larger of the objects four days ago measured up to 24m long and appeared to be floating in water several thousand meters deep, Australian officials said. The second object was about 5m long.

Brinton declined comment on whether the debris was spotted by DigitalGlobe's own analysts, government analysts or Internet users participating in a "crowdsourcing" effort launched by the company to help locate the plane.

Brinton said the images were captured on March 16 by the company's Worldview-2 satellite at a resolution of about 50cm, and the company was continuing to collect imagery over the area where the possible debris had been spotted.

DigitalGlobe said it had been collecting images over a broader area than the official search area, while focusing the efforts of its crowdsourcing volunteers on the search areas identified by authorities. "The efforts of millions of online volunteers around the world allowed us to rule out broad swaths of ocean with some certainty," Brinton said.