Robotic submarine deployed for first time in search for flight MH370

The hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet has gone underwater as a robotic submarine has been deployed.

By Dave Lancaster |

13:24 14 April 2014

The search for the vanished Flight MH370 is entering a critical phase as a robotic submarine has been deployed just as experts predict that the plane's black box locator (and its pinging beacon) is due to run out of batteries.

 

Search chief Angus Houston confirmed that a Bluefin-21 drone will search the sea floor for wreckage. 

 

The Bluefin-21 is nearly 5 metres long and creates a sonar map of the sea floor. Each missions lasts 24 hours: 16 hours on the ocean floor, four hours diving and coming back up and another four hours downloading its vast amounts of data. 

 

Air Chief Marshal Houston stated: "Analysis of the four signals has allowed the provisional definition of a reduced and manageable search area on the ocean floor.

 

"The experts have therefore determined that the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield will cease searching with the towed pinger locator later today and deploy the... Bluefin-21 as soon as possible."

 

In addition to the underwater hunt, investigations are also looking into an oil slick from roughly the same area. A sample has been sent for testing. 

 

No signals have been heard from a suspected black box flight recorder since April 8th. The recorder batteries typically last around one month. 

 

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished during its scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8th. 239 people were on board. 

 

Based on satellite data, officials investigating the incident have stated that its last known location was thousands of kilometres off course in the southern Indian Ocean. 

 

As so little is known about how the plane's location was hidden for so long and why it was diverted, finding the black box is essential in understanding what happened onboard.