Expert behind new MH370 search hopeful of find within a month

Ruling out areas north and south along or near the seventh arc that were already searched, they analysed the middle band of latitudes and found only 35 degrees south had a current flow that was to the west towards Africa.

The refined search zone also fitted in with four French satellite images taken two weeks after the crash that showed at least 70 identifiable objects floating close by.

Although analyses of the satellite imagery did not conclusively identify the objects as coming from MH370, Griffin said it showed an unusually high number of large pieces of floating debris.

“We saw all these large white objects, some of them 60 square metres… right at the location where you would expect them to be if the aircraft had crashed at 35.6S 92.8E,” he said.

– High-tech hunt –
The satellite analysis fuelled calls from grieving relatives for a new search, with the Malaysian government eventually commissioning Ocean Infinity.

Hopes that the new mission might finally find the wreckage have also been raised by the high-tech tools being used.

Seabed Constructor carries eight autonomous drones equipped with sonar and cameras that can operate in depths of up to 6,000 metres (20,000 feet).

They are “free flying” vehicles, allowing them to move deeper and collect higher quality data than the tethered drones used in the earlier search. This means the priority search areas are likely to be scoured and the data collected much faster.

But Griffin warned that even if the new search area contains the final resting place of MH370, the most visible parts of the wreckage such as the engines could be in areas that are difficult to see or embedded deep in the ocean floor.

Australia’s former transport minister Darren Chester, who was in charge during the previous hunt, likewise cautioned that the difficult underwater conditions in treacherous waters could throw up challenges.

“I’m hopeful for a successful search in the weeks and months ahead but lets not pretend it’s going to be easy,” he told Sky News Australia.