Search crews hunting for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet have failed to relocate faint sounds heard deep below the Indian Ocean that officials said were consistent with a plane's black boxes, the head of the search operation said Tuesday.
Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal who is heading the search far off Australia's west coast, said sound locating equipment on board the Ocean Shield has picked up no trace of the signals since they were first heard late Saturday and early Sunday.
Time may have already run out to find the devices, whose locator beacons have a battery life of about a month. Tuesday marks one month since the plane vanished. Once the beacons blink off, locating the black boxes in such deep water would be an immensely difficult, if not impossible, task.
In the first major break in the month-long hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, search vessels on Monday detected two distinct underwater sounds experts say are very much like the pings associated with aircraft black boxes. Here, Australian Air Force Captain Benn Carroll keeps his eyes on a smoke buoy marking suspected crash debris on Sunday, April 6, 2014.
"There have been no further contacts with any transmission and we need to continue (searching) for several days right up to the point at which there's absolutely no doubt that the batteries will have expired," Houston said.
If, by that point, the U.S. navy listening equipment being towed behind the Ocean Shield has failed to pick up any signals, a sub on board the ship will be deployed to try and chart out any debris on the sea floor.
08/04/14 Associated Press/CBC News
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Angus Houston, the retired Australian air chief marshal who is heading the search far off Australia's west coast, said sound locating equipment on board the Ocean Shield has picked up no trace of the signals since they were first heard late Saturday and early Sunday.
Time may have already run out to find the devices, whose locator beacons have a battery life of about a month. Tuesday marks one month since the plane vanished. Once the beacons blink off, locating the black boxes in such deep water would be an immensely difficult, if not impossible, task.
In the first major break in the month-long hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, search vessels on Monday detected two distinct underwater sounds experts say are very much like the pings associated with aircraft black boxes. Here, Australian Air Force Captain Benn Carroll keeps his eyes on a smoke buoy marking suspected crash debris on Sunday, April 6, 2014.
"There have been no further contacts with any transmission and we need to continue (searching) for several days right up to the point at which there's absolutely no doubt that the batteries will have expired," Houston said.
If, by that point, the U.S. navy listening equipment being towed behind the Ocean Shield has failed to pick up any signals, a sub on board the ship will be deployed to try and chart out any debris on the sea floor.
08/04/14 Associated Press/CBC News
