The search for MH370 goes on and on. Two vessels Fugro Discovery and Fugro Equator troll an area approximately 2000km from Fremantle.
Consider that each ship spends 42 days on task searching in demanding conditions before six days transit back to Fremantle, resupply, then six days transit back to the search area in the Southern Indian Ocean.
It's already the most expensive search in Australian history with over $100 million taxpayers? money gone into what could be a bottomless pit.
However if MH370 is not found due to the nature of the seabed, with underwater mountainous terrain and many deep abyss, then eventually a decision will have to be made to suspend or abandon the search.
A lot of time has passed since the hijacking of this B777 on March 8 2014 with 227 mainly Chinese passengers (six Australian) and 12 crew.
What is the point of the search?
We know MH370 lies in the Southern Indian Ocean and if it is found, what then?
If, as overseas experts believe, it remains relatively intact then the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder will be still inside the tail section of the fuselage.
Do we have the technical ability to salvage these ?black boxes? from inside an intact fuselage at a depth of up to 6500m?
What information could be obtained from their analysis which is not already obvious to the real experts.
The CVR is a closed loop of two hours duration and may not reveal anything other than the sound of the final impact at low speed with the sea since MH370 flew for seven hours after all communication devices were manually disabled over the South China Sea.
The FDR, if integrity not compromised, will only reveal that the aircraft flew for seven hours, descended under control and landed under power on the sea.
Analysis by Boeing has confirmed that the damage to the flaperon of MH370 found on a beach on Reunion Island was due to low speed impact with the sea while in a lowered position.
Even Malaysian experts accept the probability that the aircraft, after landing on the sea, floated for some time before sinking.
My lack of respect however for the supposed ?expertise? of the ATSB is based on experience.
Interesting that from our Australian Transport Safety Board latest release quote ?Early analysis suggests that the lack of compression damage and the serrated edge indicate that it separated from the aircraft before plane hit the water. The theory would support the belief MH370 flew until it ran out of fuel, then dived into the ocean at high speed.?
Really! Who lowered the flap?
Time for words beginning with the letter W!
When: MH370 at 1am March 8 2014 disappeared from from ATC Radar. Last voice heard by Kuala Lumpur ATC was that of the Captain.
Where: Hijacked over the South China Sea and tracked seven hours later to the Southern Indian Ocean.
What: Probably hijacked by someone conversant with reprogramming the B777 Flight Management Systems computers.
Who: Hijacked by someone very experienced with B777s
Why: Ah there's the question that leads to words beginning with the letter M.
Eventually this must all end up for consideration in the Coroners Court where the possibility of motive must be assessed.
The finding will probably be an open verdict as this is the politically correct outcome.
My lack of respect however for the supposed ?expertise? of the ATSB is based on experience.
In October 1985 a Westwind jet crashed after a night takeoff into the sea off Sydney.
Overseas experts at great expense were hired to salvage the FDR and CVR. The RAAF B707 simulator was used for 25 simulations of the event. 17 crashed to the right and eight to the left thus leading to a conclusion that the pilot probably lost control to the right as the analysis of the analogue FDR traces when parameters assessed individually supported this.
However I was brought out to appear, as an independent expert, for the Federal Police from my position as pilot for a British airline. My integrated assessment of the four traces, as a former fighter pilot conversant in flight path analysis, revealed a 1G barrel roll to the left.
The Government QCs in the Coroners Court, whilst I was in the witness box, prevented me from being allowed to show this. This was important as the direction of roll had an important bearing on the cause of the crash.
I returned to the UK and forwarded the FDR traces to RAE Boscombe Down Empire Test Pilots School and the Fighter Combat School at RAAF Williamtown whose Commanding Officer was a former colleague of mine.
Both these world leading authorities produced flight path analysis that confirmed my finding. Again on my return I was prevented by Government QCs from presenting this evidence from the witness box. The Coroner, being confused by the obfuscation of the Government QCs, returned an open verdict.
Government authorities who waste massive amounts of taxpayers money are then prepared to spend a whole lot more to cover up their embarrassment at being such amateurs.
I suspect that this is where we are heading in the case of MH370 as the Australian authorities appear to want it to remain a mysterious event.
In the meantime the saga of the supposedly mysterious disappearance of MH370 continues and remains fodder for the conspiracy theorists.
			
		
 
	
Bookmarks