All at sea: Australia's search for MH370 under scrutiny

All at sea: Australia's search for MH370 under scrutiny Wed, May 27 17:04 PM EDT image By Swati Pandey and Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) - Nearly a year after embarking on a multi-million dollar quest to solve one of aviation's greatest unsolved mysteries, authorities and search teams are being criticised over their approach to finding Flight MH370 in the remote southern Indian Ocean. The Australian-led search, already the most expensive in aviation history, has found no trace of the Malaysia Airlines jet or its 239 passengers and crew, prompting calls for a rethink into the way the mission is conducted. Experts involved in past deep water searches say the search to find MH370 could easily miss the plane as Dutch company Fugro NV, the firm at the forefront of the mission, is using inappropriate technology for some terrain and inexperienced personnel for the highly specialized task of hunting man-made objects. Heightening concerns, Australian authorities said on Wednesday that another search vessel, the Go Phoenix, which is using the world's best deep sea search equipment and crew provided by U.S. firm Phoenix International Holdings Inc, would pull out within weeks. No reason was given for withdrawing the vessel from the quest. "Fugro is a big company but they don't have any experience in this kind of search and it's really a very specialized job," said Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a former French naval officer who was hired by France's air accident investigation agency BEA to co-ordinate the search and recovery of Air France Flight AF447 in 2009. "This is a big job," Nargeolet told Reuters. "I'm not an Australian taxpayer, but if I was, I would be very mad to see money being spent like that." Fugro, which was contracted by the Australian government to operate three ships pulling sonar across the vast 60,000-km search zone, has rejected claims it is using the wrong equipment, saying its gear is rigorously tested. Still, Nargeolet's concerns are echoed by others in the tightly held deepsea search and rescue industry, who are worried that unless the search ships pass right over any wreckage the sonar scanning either side of the vessels won't pick it up. Experts also question the lack of data released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on the activities of the Fugro ships. Three of the bidders rejected for the MH370 contract, U.S. firm Williamson & Associates, France's ixBlue SAS and Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search Ltd, have taken the unusual step of detailing their concerns - months down the track - directly to Australian authorities in correspondence viewed by Reuters. Several other experts are also critical, including some who requested anonymity, citing the close knit nature of the industry which has just a few companies and militaries capable of conducting deepwater searches. "I have serious concerns that the MH370 search operation may not be able to convincingly demonstrate that 100 percent sea floor coverage is being achieved," Mike Williamson, founder and president of Williamson & Associates told Reuters. DIVING INTO THE UNKNOWN Australia took over the search for the missing plane from Malaysia in late March last year, three weeks after MH370 disappeared off the radar during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The search area was determined by satellite data that revealed the plane turned back sharply over the Malaysian Peninsula and flew undetected for another six hours before crashing into the inhospitable southern Indian Ocean. The unchartered waters, buffeted by the Roaring Forties winds, stretch as deep as 6 km, hiding old volcanoes and cliffs in their depths. Australia, Malaysia and China earlier this month agreed to double the search area to 120,000 sq km. Whether Phoenix International, which has U.S. navy contracts and found AF447, will be part of that extended search area is unclear after the ATSB said that Go Phoenix, owned by Australian firm Go Marine, will cease operating on June 19. Phoenix International, which was contracted separately by the Malaysian government, did not immediately return calls about its position. The Malaysian government also did not reply to requests for comment. Two of the Fugro ships traverse up and down 2.4 km-wide strips of the sea floor, pulling via a cable a "towfish" that contains sonar equipment, in a technique often called "mowing the lawn". The towfish coasts around 100 meters above the sea floor, sending out sound waves diagonally across a swath, or broad strip, to produce a flattened image of the seabed. The Fugro ships are using sonar provided by EdgeTech, the same U.S. company whose sonar was used successfully to find Air France AF447 after it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. However, experts say while the type of sonar equipment being used by Fugro gives good results in flat surfaces, it is less well-suited to rugged underwater terrain, a world of confusing shadows. The ATSB has routinely released detailed data from Go Phoenix, but has not done so for the Fugro ships. Experts have cobbled together an analysis from glimpses of the sonar use and data in videos and images posted to the ATSB website. From that, they've gauged the EdgeTech sonars are operating at swathes beyond their optimum capabilities, resulting in poor quality images and leaving side gaps in coverage. "It makes no sense to be using fine scale tools to cover a massive area; it is like mowing an entire wheat field with a household lawnmower," said Rob McCallum, a vice-president at Williamson & Associates. Fugro deputy managing director Paul Kennedy said the sonar is running within its capabilities, noting the system identified five "debris-like" objects in 700-metre deep water at a test range off the West Australian coast. "The test range gives us full confidence the sonars will see the debris field when we cross it," he said. WILD WEATHER Fugro is known for its expertise in high-quality low-resolution mapping of sea floors but has far less experience than some of the rejected bidders in deepwater aircraft searches. It has been involved in 17 search and recovery efforts for aircraft or ships over 15 years, compared with some of the bidders who search for 4-5 aircraft every year. Kennedy pointed to the find earlier this month of a previously uncharted shipwreck as evidence Fugro was capable of finding the plane. Concerning experts further is the fact that the third Fugro vessel, which was being used to scan the gaps between the other two ships with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), was this month taken out of action because of encroaching wild winter weather. That leaves the daily search without an AUV, a much more nimble piece of equipment that was vital in successful search for AF447. "We are continuously reviewing the search data as it comes in and we are satisfied that the coverage and detection standards we have specified are being met or exceeded," ATSB Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan said in an email. (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Q&A on the MH370 mystery

Q&A on the MH370 mystery By Dan Martin, with Glenda Kwek in Sydney Mar 8, 2015 4:30 AM  A man looks at Malaysia Airlines planes at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang on March 8, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mohd Rasfan) Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - A year on, there remains no evidence to indicate what caused Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to vanish or where it ended up, despite the most expensive search operation in history. Here are answers to some key questions still swirling around MH370: Q: What is the status of the search? A. Vessels scanning the sea floor for wreckage using sophisticated sonar have covered about 40 percent of a "priority search area" in the remote southern Indian Ocean spanning 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 square miles). Nothing has been found yet apart from several shipping containers in the Australian-led operation, which is due to be completed in May. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on the one-year anniversary of the disappearance that the search could be extended to another 60,000 square kilometre zone if nothing turns up by then, but offered no further details. The stormy southern hemisphere winter is expected to begin affecting any future operations within months. Q: What happens if wreckage is spotted? A: An immensely challenging recovery phase would begin in pitch-black depths of up to 4,000 metres (13,100 feet) below the surface, potentially hampered by volcano clusters, undersea mountains, ridges and valleys. Search coordinators, however, can draw on lessons learnt during the quest for the data recorders from the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean. Its black boxes were located after a difficult two-year search using submersible drones and other means. A remotely operated vehicle was eventually sent down to pluck them from the seabed nearly 4,000 metres below. Q: Are they looking in the right place? A: That remains unclear, although search coordinators insist they are. The crash zone was determined through analysis of signals from MH370 that were detected by a satellite, which indicated the plane's last known location as being along one of two arcs: one stretching north into Central Asia, one south into the Indian Ocean. The northern corridor has been discounted in the belief the plane would have been spotted and most experts concur that, while the satellite data analysis is imprecise, the Indian Ocean is the best bet. But the failure to find anything has sustained nagging doubts -- particularly among the families of passengers -- about whether the search is on the right track. Q: What are the main theories today on what happened? A: Speculation remains focused primarily on a possible mechanical or structural failure, a hijacking or terror plot, or rogue pilot action, but still nothing has emerged to substantiate any of these scenarios. The lack of solid information has sustained a cottage industry of conspiracy theories, with books, documentaries and a thriving online debate positing a range of possibilities. These include suggestions that the plane was commandeered to be used as a "flying bomb" headed for US military installations on the Diego Garcia atoll, and was shot down by the Americans. The United States has dismissed this. A few months after MH370 vanished, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was among those subscribing to online speculation that the CIA took remote control of the US-made plane after it was commandeered by terrorists. He added that it was possible "the plane is somewhere, maybe without (Malaysia Airlines) markings". Writing in New York magazine last month, US aviation expert Jeff Wise sparked an online debate by suggesting MH370 was commandeered to a Russian facility in Kazakhstan, possibly an effort by President Vladimir Putin to intimidate the West during the Ukraine crisis, or to gain access to a certain passenger or item in the hold. "There's no way to know. That's the thing about MH370 theory-making: It's hard to come up with a plausible motive for an act that has no apparent beneficiaries," he wrote. Q: Do we know everything the authorities know? A: Malaysia's government and the airline have continually insisted they are hiding nothing. But angry next of kin have railed at contradictory early statements by authorities and the carrier, and accused them of being slow to share facts or of divulging only partial information. Tim Clark, the chief executive of Gulf airline Emirates, said in media interviews last year he also doubted there had been full disclosure. "I do not believe that the information held by some is on the table," he was quoted as saying. An independent team of investigators tasked with probing the mystery released an interim report on its findings on Sunday on the one-year anniversary in Kuala Lumpur, with authorities stressing its "interim" status due to the lack of hard evidence of what happened to the plane. Q: How rare are cases like this? A: According to the Netherlands-based Aviation Safety Network, which tracks air incidents, there has been only one other recorded instance in which a plane carrying more than 100 people has disappeared without a trace. That was in 1962, when a turbo-prop operated by US-based Flying Tiger Line and chartered by the US military disappeared en route from Guam to the Philippines with 107 people aboard. Its fate remains unknown. Q: What will be MH370's aviation legacy? A: Unless MH370's black box or other telling wreckage is recovered, the aviation industry will be unable to determine what went wrong and consider implementing appropriate safeguards. But MH370 has also spurred efforts to reduce the chance of planes disappearing. A global aviation summit in Montreal last month backed plans to require real-time tracking of any airliner in distress starting in 2016. Last Sunday, Australia also said it was conducting trials, with Malaysia and Indonesia, of a system that increases the frequency with which planes are tracked over remote oceans. =====================

Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane crash in Ukraine LIVE UPDATES

Head of #Iran's airports org. Mohamad Ilkhani says #MH17 crash would have $50 million income due to ICAO & IATA requests 2 use Iran airspace ======== Relatives of passengers on downed Malaysian plane berate officials Airline releases partial list of passenger nationalities Huib Gorter, a senior vice president of Malaysia Airlines, released a partial list of the nationalities of the plane’s passengers. This list is incomplete, accounting for 233 of the 280 passengers that the airline said were on-board, because Malaysia Air says it does not know the nationalities of the remaining 47 passengers yet. •154 Dutch •27 Australian •23 Malaysian •11 Indonesian •6 UK •4 German •4 Belgian •3 Philippines •One Canadian Every member of the 15-person crew was Malaysian, the airline said. — Griff Witte By Anuradha Raghu KUALA LUMPUR Thu Jul 17, 2014 4:39pm EDT Our latest images from the site of the airline crash in Ukraine. Slideshow (Reuters) - Dazed and disbelieving, relatives of passengers aboard the Malaysian airliner downed in Ukraine gathered at the Kuala Lumpur airport early on Friday, demanding information about what happened and getting little response. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 295 people on board was to have landed in Kuala Lumpur at 6:10 a.m. (6.10 p.m. EDT Thursday) on a flight from Amsterdam. It went down near the Ukraine-Russia border and all aboard were killed. "I saw the news on TV," said Akma Mohammad Noor, a woman whose sister, Rahimah, was traveling on the flight. "She was supposed to travel with her son but he did not want to go." Like many Malaysian Muslims, Rahimah was coming to her home country for the Eid al-Fitr festival, Islam's biggest annual celebration, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, on July 28. "We were supposed to celebrate Raya (the festival) together," Noor said, weeping. Her sister, who has lived in Geneva for three decades, was coming home for the first time in five years, she said. Ukraine accused "terrorists" - militants fighting to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia - of shooting down the plane. The rebels denied responsibility. The loss of flight MH-17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH-370. It disappeared in March with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Other relatives in Kuala Lumpur on Friday were incensed with the airline for not giving information about who was on the flight. One man was berating officials. "Is MAS stupid?" he shouted, referring to the Malaysia Airlines System, the official name of the airline. "We just want to know the name list from MAS." He said his sister, brother-in-law and a two-year-old baby were believed to be on board. "Facebook is more efficient than MAS' media network," said another man waiting with a female relative for news. "It's so funny. It's really a laughing stock. We need to know the list. The list. That is all." Malaysia Airlines said earlier air traffic controllers lost contact with the flight at 1415 GMT as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet when it disappeared. (Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editring by Robert Birsel) ====================== Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane crash in Ukraine LIVE UPDATES Published time: July 17, 2014 15:49 Edited time: July 17, 2014 18:17 Get short URL The site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash is seen at the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014.(Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev ) Accident, Ukraine A Malaysia Airlines plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has crashed in eastern Ukraine. There were 285 people and 15 crew members on board the Boeing-777 aircraft. Thursday, July 17 20:14 GMT: The Lugansk People’s Republic press service has announced that OSCE representatives in the area have set off for the crash site, to monitor the investigation. 20:13 GMT: NATO’s chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged an immediate international investigation into the crash of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane in Eastern Ukraine, RIA-Novosti news agency reports. 19:53 GMT: The plane was being guided by Ukrainian air traffic controllers before it disappeared off the radars, a Russian aviation representative told Rossiya-24 news channel. 19:33 GMT: The EU has said it is “shocked” by the crash, and called for all sides to determine who is behind it. “We call for an immediate and thorough investigation into the causes of the crash. The facts and responsibilities need to be established as quickly as possible. The European Union will continue to follow this issue very closely,” said an official communiqué published by Brussels. 19:19 GMT: Donetsk People’s Republic Prime Minister Aleksandr Boroday has called for a humanitarian ceasefire for 2 to 3 days to investigate the causes of the MH17 crash, RIA news agency reports. Boroday earlier accused Kiev of shooting down the plane to frame local militias. 19:11 GMT: Civilian airspace over eastern Ukraine has been closed until further notice, continental air traffic regulator Eurocontrol has announced. The body confirmed Ukrainian information that the traffic corridor in which the plane was brought down had been closed off at low altitudes, but open at above 10,000, where the plane was flying. 18:38 GMT: There were at least 71 Dutch citizens aboard the crashed plane, Germany's RTL channel has reported. Previous unconfirmed reports suggested that there were also 23 passengers with US identification and 9 Brits on the flight. French authorities have confirmed that four of their citizens died in the crash. 18:33 GMT: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has cleared up the confusion about whether the space in which MH17 was open to civilian planes. “Based on the information currently available it is believed that the airspace that the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions,” said a statement on the IATA website. It is not unusual for civilian planes to fly over warzones, providing that they remain at an altitude at which they are unlikely to be hit by the weapons used in the conflict. 18:13 GMT: Russia’s Ministry of Emergencies has lodged an official request with the Ukrainian authorities to send its staff to work alongside local emergency workers around the crash site. 18:13 GMT: US President Barack Obama began a prescheduled address on infrastructure in Wilmington, Delaware Thursday afternoon by remarking briefly what he called a “terrible tragedy” in eastern Ukraine. “Right now we are working to determine whether there were American citizens on board. That is our first priority,” said the president. Additionally, Obama said he’s directed his national security team to reach out to the Ukrainian government, and said the US “will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why.” Unverified reports have suggested that 23 Americans may have been onboard the plane, but US State Dept. spokesperson Jen Psaki said earlier in the afternoon that American authorities are still investigating those claims. ======================= Malaysian airliner crashes in east Ukraine AFPBy Max Delany and Dmitry Zaks | AFP – 4 hours ago.. Photo shows Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 taking off from Schiphol Airport in Schiphol, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2014 View Photo . AFP/ANP/AFP/File - Photo shows Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 taking off from Schiphol Airport in Schiphol, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2014 A Malaysian passenger liner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has crashed in insurgency-wracked east Ukraine, regional officials said Thursday, as Ukraine's president said the jet may have been shot down. Malaysia Airlines said it had "lost contact" with the Boeing passenger liner, which Ukrainian officials said had come down in a rebel-held zone in the Donetsk region. "Malaysia Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam," the airline, still reeling from the disappearance of flight MH370, said on its Twitter account. "The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace," it said, promising more details soon. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the jet may have been shot down. "We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," Poroshenko said in a statement posted on the president's website. Regional officials in Donetsk confirmed the plane had come down near the town of Shaktarsk. "The number of dead is not yet known," the administration said in a statement. Emergency services were rushing to the scene, a security source told Interfax-Ukraine. US stocks fell sharply following reports the Malaysia Airlines plane had been shot down, while Britain's Foreign Office said it was "working urgently to find out what's happened." The incident comes just months after Malaysia's Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 on board. The plane diverted from its Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight path and its fate remains a mystery despite a massive aerial and underwater search. - Ukrainian jet 'downed' - The reported crash came after Kiev accused Russia of downing a Ukrainian military plane on a mission over the east of the country, stoking tensions in the growing conflict on the edges of Europe that has claimed over 600 lives. The allegation came a day after the US and EU bolstered sanctions against Russia over its perceived support of the separatist insurgency in the ex-Soviet state. Moscow condemned the punitive measures against it as "blackmail" and warned of retaliatory actions against Washington. In the first direct claim of a Russian attack on Ukrainian forces, Kiev said a Russian airforce jet shot down a Ukrainian warplane Wednesday evening -- before the fresh round of Western sanctions were announced -- as it was carrying out its duties. The pilot of the Su-25 plane managed to eject and was rescued by Kiev forces, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council said. Russia's defence ministry -- which NATO claims has massed some 12,000 troops along Ukraine's porous border -- dismissed the claim as "absurd", Russian news agencies reported. - Sanctions hit Russian stocks - The dramatic developments on the ground came alongside a major diplomatic fallout over fresh Western sanctions that Washington and Brussels hope will force Moscow to help halt the conflict. In a tough move that left the EU trailing in his wake, US President Barack Obama took a swipe at major players in Russia's finance, military and energy sectors in sanctions imposed Wednesday. The Russian foreign ministry reacted in a furious statement: "We do not intend to tolerate blackmail and reserve the right to take retaliatory measures" against the US. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier warned that sanctions would inflict "very serious damage" on the already tattered US-Russia relationship. - Talks promised - In eastern Ukraine fierce fighting between government forces and pro-Moscow rebels has intensified in recent days with some 55 civilians killed since the weekend. The fighting forced more than a dozen Ukrainian border guards to flee into Russia seeking medical help with one dying from his injuries, the Russian authorities said. Germany and France have been spearheading a push to revive talks between Kiev and the rebels over a potential ceasefire but attempts to hold a Skype videoconference fell through Tuesday. Ukrainian forces made a string of major gains after Poroshenko tore up an unsuccessful ceasefire earlier this month, but progress has slowed since rebels retreated into two major regional centres where they have pledged to fight to the end. ================ 'If it disappears': Passenger posts joke photo of flight MH17 shortly before crash Published time: July 18, 2014 12:23 Get short URL Cor Pan (Image from facebook.com) Cor Pan (Image from facebook.com) 231 240 2 Tags Accident, Asia, EU, Internet, Planes, Transport, War We get a closer glimpse into the tragedy of flight MH17 on seeing a young passenger’s photo of the aircraft, joking about a nightmare scenario minutes before boarding it with his girlfriend. “Should it disappear, this is what it looks like,” it read. With the quirky caption, Pan from Volendam in North Holland, is making a joking reference to the mystery that befell Malaysia Airlines in March when flight MH370 vanished on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The young Dutch musician Cor Pan was going on vacation with his girlfriend Neeltje Tol. The picture of the Malaysia Airlines plane, taken through a window shortly before boarding, as it refueled on the tarmac at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, could well have been his last. The plane crashed in East Ukraine, which is practically a war zone, after apparently being shot down. A total of 298 people – at least 151 of them Dutch – died in the crash. His friends and family left numerous comments on his page, wishing him and Neeltje a great trip. Screenshot from facebook.com/cor.pan.7 Screenshot from facebook.com/cor.pan.7 When visiting Pan’s (real surname Schilder) Facebook page the large number of shares and comments under the photo which appeared after the crash are heartrending. At the time of publication, there were almost 20,000 shares and 161 comments. At 11:19AM EST a friend of Pan’s broke the news of the catastrophe with a screenshot that aroused much suspicion from people, and the situation turned frantic, which the comments reflected. People discussed details about whether Pan and Tol were indeed on that plane. It shortly became clear that the young couple were amongst the ones who perished. The comments swiftly changed from doubt and disbelief to “Rest in peace”, “goose bumps” and “terribly unfair.” Now there is a community page set up in memoriam of Cor and his love of music. He was a member of the band called Vast Countenance. His girlfriend, Nelltje, was a florist. She owned a shop called Neeltje’s Flowers. It was apparent from the notice on her door that she’d open back up around August 3. Pan’s community page now has over 1,000 members. Image from facebook.com Image from facebook.com 231 240 2 Comments (19) Theon Lyreal II 18.07.2014 17:49 One should never tempt fate. Yuriy B. 18.07.2014 16:49 Bookworm Doe 18.07.2014 14:54 The hypocrisy of this all is that the USA shots a Iranian passenger plane in 1988 killing 290 on board. . The unfortunate fact is that some see lives of others less valuable than those of their own or of their people. It is sad, because life is equally important everywhere. Unfortunately it seems like when looking at where things truly began it points to an overthrow of the legitimate authority in the Ukraine. Bookworm Doe 18.07.2014 14:54 The hypocrisy of this all is that the USA shots a Iranian passenger plane in 1988 killing 290 on board. I am so sorry. Of course, I am an AMERICAN, and I have to learn about that tragedy in 1988 from YOU? Oh, how awful. ===================== Ukrainian Buk battery radar was operational when Malaysian plane downed - Moscow Published time: July 18, 2014 09:31 Edited time: July 18, 2014 11:16 Get short URL Debris is seen at the site of Thursday's Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash near the settlement of Grabovo, in the Donetsk region July 18, 2014 (Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev) Debris is seen at the site of Thursday's Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash near the settlement of Grabovo, in the Donetsk region July 18, 2014 (Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev) 4.8K 1K 1 Trends Ukraine turmoil Tags Conflict, Military, Planes, Ukraine On Thursday, when a Malaysian Airlines plane was apparently shot down over Ukraine, a Ukrainian Buk anti-aircraft missile battery was operational in the region, the Russian Defense Ministry said, contradicting Kiev’s statements. The battery was deployed at a site from which it could have fired a missile at the airliner, the ministry said in a statement. It said radiation from the battery’s radar was detected by the Russian military. “The Russian equipment detected throughout July 17 the activity of a Kupol radar, deployed as part of a Buk-M1 battery near Styla [a village some 30km south of Donetsk],” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the radar could be providing tracking information to another battery deployed in the region, which was at a firing distance from the plane’s flight path. Earlier Kiev said it could not have fired a missile at the passing civilian plane because it had no Buk missile launchers deployed in the region. At the same time the Ukrainians said the militias had no Buk systems in their hands, according to a statement from the country’s Prosecutor General. After the Russian ministry came out with the statement, Bogdan Senyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reiterated Kiev’s position, saying that "anti-aircraft missiles have not been deployed during the anti-terrorist operation ... they are all in place." (File photo) A "Buk" anti-aircraft battery launches a ground-to-air missile (Reuters) The Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 carrying almost 300 people on board crashed on Thursday as it was flying over Ukraine’s Donetsk Region. The plane was apparently shot down by a surface-to-air missile, although both Kiev and the local militias fighting against it deny responsibility. A flurry of condemnations and calls for a swift investigation followed the disaster. 4.8K 1K 1 Comments (1388) Gloves 18.07.2014 18:42 [quote name='' time='18.07.2014 18:36']So sadly pitiful that those that support Russia will NEVER accept that they are fed lies by their government & media. Very off topic, but so very typical. While the rest of the world watched only 4 rings open during the Sochi Olympics, the Russians saw FIVE open perfectly and believed EVERYTHING they saw. which word is better....MUPPETS or PUPPETS ?[/quote] L OL I remember that. The "live" opening ceremony had a little bit of the rehearsal snuck in to cover up the snafu. ALEKSANDAR 18.07.2014 18:42 deepest condolences to families ...so sad, horrible :(( nobody can tell for sure what happened before black box is investigated (hopefully an independent and honest) . many strange coincidences...2nd plane brought down over ukraine by mistake. is it mistake, a plot? uneducated s.a.m. crew? missile from the plane ? what is sure is that plane had a strange route when all considered...but nobody mentioned a possible bomb inside the plane. is there any video clip where we can see a direct missile hit? Kate Young 18.07.2014 18:41 griebels 18.07.2014 18:40 Yes , they did. But at least they later did have the decency to admit their terrible mistake... Oh, just say mistake... like in Italy, US army plane kill many tourists, and again just mistake.... ============== Sonique Wilson Mwesigwa THIS WAS A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT TO SHOOT DOWN THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PLANE CARRYING VLADIMIR PUTIN ON HIS WAY FROM THE LATIN AMERICAN VISIT. THIS COMES ON THE HEALS OF PUTIN’S SUCCESS IN PUSHING THROUGH THE CREATION OF THE BRICS BANK AS A HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO THE ROTTEN US-LED IMF/WORLD BANK SYSTEM. PUTIN ALSO SIGNED VARIOUS MEGA-DEALS WITH MULTIPLE LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES. DISCUSSED WERE SECURITY AND COMMUNICATIONS DEALS THREATENING US GLOBAL DOMINANCE, INCLUDING THE RUSSIAN GLOBAL NAVIGATION GLONASS SYSTEM, TO RIVAL THE AMERICAN GPS. See my article: New Predictions! Putin Goes to Latin America: US Creates Wars – Russia Extends a Hand of Cooperation. AT THE SAME TIME, RUSSIA SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED THE SOUTH STREAM CONSTRUCTION DEALS WITH VARIOUS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, OVER A MASSIVE US RESISTANCE AND ARM TWISTING. US IS TRYING TO TIE THE EU TO ITSELF BY PUSHING ON THE EU ITS MORE EXPENSIVE AND LOW QUALITY SHALE GAS, IN LIEU OF RUSSIAN GAS. IN ASIA/SIBERIA, RUSSIA IS STARTING VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT MEGA-PROJECTS IN COOPERATION WITH CHINA, AND POSSIBLY, JAPAN. See: Russia’s NEW Ambitious Anti-Dollar Move: $150 bln Investment in Baikal-Amur Railroad ALL OF THE ABOVE PROJECTS ARE BEING FINANCED OUTSIDE OF THE DOLLAR SYSTEM. RUSSIA HAS MADE SERIOUS STRIDES IN UNDERMINING THE DOLLAR HEGEMONY. AS SUCH, PUTIN IS THE ARCH-ENEMY OF THE US and NWO. MEANWHILE IN EASTERN UKRAINE, NOVOROSSIA HAS BEEN FORMED, AND THE JOINED FORCES OF DONETSK AND LUGANSK REPUBLICS SUCCESSFULLY SURROUNDED 4 THOUSAND KIEV NAZI TROOPS IN 3 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. KIEV IS LOSING THE WAR AGAINST DONBASS/ NOVOROSSIA ON ALL FRONTS. THIS INCLUDES THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FRONT, AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE IN UKRAINE QUESTION THE LEGITIMACY AND INHUMANE METHODS OF THE KIEV JUNTA. MAKE NO MISTAKE – UKRAINE IS SUPER-IMPORTANT FROM THE GLOBAL GEOPOLITICAL STANDPOINT! THAT’S WHY THE US IS ALL OVER IT; AS IT IS COMING OUT, SO IS ISRAEL. US IS INCREDIBLY SCARED THAT ITS HEGEMONY IS CRUMBLING. THE BRICS BANK, RUSSIAN DEALS IN LATIN AMERICA, SIBERIA, AND SOUTH STREAM IN EUROPE, MAKE THE US LOOK WORSE AND WORSE. PUTIN HAS BEEN VILIFIED AND THREATENED, RUSSIA WAS SABOTAGED EACH STEP OF THE WAY. UKRAINE MAYHEM WAS ORCHESTRATED BY THE US TO FURTHER WEAKEN AND MALIGN RUSSIA. BUT NONE OF THIS WORKS. PUTIN STILL OUTSMARTS AND OUTPLAYS THEM EVERY TIME. PUTIN CONTINUES TO BE THE MOST POPULAR WORLD LEADER. WHILE PUTIN WAS IN BRAZIL, SIGNING CONTRACTS AND CELEBRATING THE BRICS BANK CREATION, US IMPOSED ANOTHER ROUND OF SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA. HOWEVER, RUSSIA HAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT ISN’T PHASED BY THE SANCTIONS AND WILL CONSIDER ITS OWN SANCTIONS AGAINST THE US. THE NEXT AND ONLY THING THAT REMAINS FOR THE US TO DO IS TO KILL PUTIN PHYSICALLY. THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT TO DO JUST THAT, USING THE KIEV JUNTA ROCKETS. THE IDEA WAS TO BLAME IT ON THE DONETSK REPUBLIC/NOVOROSSIA SELF-DEFENCE. EXCEPT, NOVOROSSIA DOESN’T HAVE THE ROCKETS CAPABLE OF REACHING THE ALTITUDE OF A COMMERCIAL JET. IT IS CLEAR THAT PUTIN’S PLANE WAS TARGETED. AS YOU’LL SEE BELOW, IT MAY HAVE FLOWN IN THE SAME SPACE JUST A LITTLE LATER. THE RUSSIAN SOURCES LATER DENIED THAT PUTIN’S PLANE FLEW OVER UKRAINE AIR SPACE, AND IT’S MOST LIKELY TRUE. IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT PUTIN’S PLANE DELIBERATELY CHANGED ITS ROUTE, OR THERE WAS ANOTHER DIVERSION. I BELIEVE UKRAINE MILITARY MISTOOK THE MALAYSIAN FLIGHT MH17 FOR THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PLANE, AND EXECUTED THE ORDER THEY HAD RECEIVED. RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PLANE AND THE MALAYSIA AIRLINES PLANE ARE VERY SIMILAR-LOOKING FROM A DISTANCE. THE INTEL AND COORDINATES FOR THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL PLANE’S ROUTE COULD HAVE ONLY COME FROM THE US SATELLITES. UKRAINE HAS NO SUCH INTEL CAPABILITY. THEY DO HAVE ROCKETS TO EXECUTE THE PLAN, BUT AS IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE, THE UKRAINE MILITARY IS VERY POORLY TRAINED, HENCE THE MISTAKE. THE LAST THING TO ADD IS THIS: I SEE THAT US, EU AND ISRAEL MSM IS ALREADY YELLING THAT IT WAS RUSSIA THAT DOWNED THE PLANE SINCE IT WAS THE RUSSIAN-MADE BUK MISSILE. BUT HERE IS THE PROBLEM: THESE OLDER MISSILES ARE NOT REALLY USED BY THE RUSSIAN ARMY ANY MORE… HOWEVER, THEY ARE USED VERY EXTENSIVELY BY THE UKRAINE ARMY, WHICH IS EQUIPPED WITH OLDER, SOVIET-STYLE WEAPONS from 1980s, AND DOES NOT HAVE THE MODERN RUSSIAN WEAPONS! MOREOVER, UKRAINE AT ONE POINT WAS THE MANUFACTURER OF THE BUK MISSILE. More about the BUK missile on Wikipedia. PRESENTLY, UKRAINE ARMY HAS 27 BUK-M1 SYSTEMS STATIONED ALONG THE NORTH-WESTERN BORDER OF DONETSK AS PART OF THE UKRAINE ARMY’S 156TH MISSILE BRIGADE. Link to the Russian army announcement on the topic. P.S. It’s worth noting that both Kiev and US are constantly trying to put Russia on the defensive. This is a proven US technology: to keep your opponent busy so he doesn’t have the time to challenge you. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes not. Another thing to note is the divide-and-conquer strategy. There were lots of Europeans on the plane, so McCain’s and MSM immediate yelling that Russia shot down the Malaysian airliner is supposed to put a rift between EU and Russia and Malaysia and Russia. Like · 247 people · Reply · 8 hours ago ================ Why were commercial planes still flying over Ukraine? AFP July 18, 2014, 4:42 pm Share Facebook Twitter G+ Pinterest Mail Why were commercial planes still flying over Ukraine? AFP Why were commercial planes still flying over Ukraine? Seoul (AFP) - The downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet over rebel-held eastern Ukraine has raised questions over why the company persisted in flying in conflict-zone airspace that many other Asian carriers had abandoned months ago. The air corridor over Ukraine has always been a crowded one for flights between Europe and Asia -- particularly Southeast Asia -- and re-routing around the airspace would mean an increase in flight time and fuel costs. Nevertheless, a number of major Asian airlines, including South Korea's Korean Air and Asiana, Australia's Qantas and Taiwan's China Airlines, said Friday that they had started avoiding the area as much as four months ago, when Russian troops moved into Crimea. "We stopped flying over Ukraine because of safety concerns," Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyo-Min said. Korean Air moved its flight paths 250 kilometres (160 miles) south of Ukraine from March 3 "due to the political unrest in the region", an official for the carrier told AFP. A Qantas spokeswoman said its London to Dubai service used to fly over Ukraine, but the route was changed "several months ago", while Taiwan's China Airlines diverted its flights from April 3. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Pakistan International Airlines said their flight paths had changed "some time" ago. Singapore Airlines said it had been using Ukrainian airspace but had "re-routed all our flights" to alternative corridors away from the region. It was not immediately clear when the route change was put into affect. - 'Safe' flight path? - Asked why Malaysia Airlines had not taken similar precautions, Prime Minister Najib Razak said international air authorities had deemed the flight path secure. "The International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions," he said. According to the European flight safety body Eurocontrol, the doomed plane was flying at a level known as "330", or approximately 10,000 metres or 33,000 feet. The route had been closed to level "320" but was cleared for those flying at the Malaysian plane's altitude. European and US airlines re-routed their flights as Kiev said flight MH17 was shot down in a "terrorist" attack, and a US official said intelligence analysts "strongly believe" it was downed by a surface-to-air missile. Analysts were divided on whether carriers like Malaysian Airlines had been negligent in opting to continue flying over Ukraine. "I just find it astonishing. I am absolutely flabbergasted," said Geoff Dell, an air safety expert from the University of Central Queensland in Australia, told Sky News. "If there's trouble spots on the globe, then you take a decision to avoid that area," Dell told Sky News. "You don't put your primary assets -- your passengers, your crew, your airplane -- at risk unnecessarily," he added. - Assessing risk - But Gerry Soejatman, a consultant with the Jakarta-based Whitesky Aviation chartered flight provider, said every airline had its own level of risk assessment. Flying above 30,000 feet is generally considered secure given the level of training and sophisticated weaponry required to shoot down a plane at that height, Soejatman said. "Ten years ago you'd be an idiot to fly over Iraq below 15,000 feet, but over 30,000 feet was very safe, so it's about the level of risk. "I think this will send a message to airlines to have a closer look at conflict zones when they choose to fly over them and gain a better understanding of what equipment is on the ground," he said. Malaysian Airlines was not the only carrier that had persisted with the corridor over Ukraine. Air India and Thai Airways said they had only decided to re-route their flights after the Malaysian crash. Air China and China Eastern Airways had a total of 28 flights a week passing over eastern Ukraine, but China's Civil Aviation Administration said Friday it had ordered all carriers to circumvent the region. Vietnam Airlines said it had suspended four long-haul flights to Europe in the immediate aftermath of the Malaysia Airlines incident. The flights resumed Friday, but on re-drawn routes that "completely avoid" eastern Ukraine, the airline said. ========= TEN QUESTIONS FOR THE UKRAINIAN AUTHORITIES According to the European flight safety body Eurocontrol, the doomed plane was flying at a level known as "330", or approximately 10,000 metres or 33,000 feet. The route had been closed to level "320" but was cleared for those flying at the Malaysian plane's altitude. - Assessing risk - But Gerry Soejatman, a consultant with the Jakarta-based Whitesky Aviation chartered flight provider, said every airline had its own level of risk assessment. Flying above 30,000 feet is generally considered secure given the level of training and sophisticated weaponry required to shoot down a plane at that height, Soejatman said. "Ten years ago you'd be an idiot to fly over Iraq below 15,000 feet, but over 30,000 feet was very safe, so it's about the level of risk. "I think this will send a message to airlines to have a closer look at conflict zones when they choose to fly over them and gain a better understanding of what equipment is on the ground," he said. 1. Immediately after the tragedy, the Ukrainian authorities, naturally, blamed it on the self-defense forces. What are these accusations based on? 2. Can Kiev explain in detail how it uses Buk missile launchers in the conflict zone? And why were these systems deployed there in the first place, seeing as the self-defense forces don’t have any planes? 3. Why are the Ukrainian authorities not doing anything to set up an international commission? When will such a commission begin its work? 4. Would the Ukrainian Armed Forces be willing to let international investigators see the inventory of their air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, including those used in SAM launchers? 5. Will the international commission have access to tracking data from reliable sources regarding the movements of Ukrainian warplanes on the day of the tragedy? 6. Why did Ukrainian air traffic controllers allow the plane to deviate from the regular route to the north, towards “the anti-terrorist operation zone”? 7. Why was airspace over the warzone not closed for civilian flights, especially since the area was not entirely covered by radar navigation systems? 8. How can official Kiev comment on reports in the social media, allegedly by a Spanish air traffic controller who works in Ukraine, that there were two Ukrainian military planes flying alongside the Boeing 777 over Ukrainian territory? 9. Why did Ukraine’s Security Service start working with the recordings of communications between Ukrainian air traffic controllers and the Boeing crew and with the data storage systems from Ukrainian radars without waiting for international investigators? 10. What lessons has Ukraine learned from a similar incident in 2001, when a Russian Tu-154 crashed into the Black Sea? Back then, the Ukrainian authorities denied any involvement on the part of Ukraine’s Armed Forces until irrefutable evidence proved official Kiev to be guilty. ========= Malaysia Airlines settles families' MH17 damages claims on two-year anniversary Deals emerge after memorials were held in Ukraine and Netherlands to remember victims of plane shot down in 2014 Local villagers lay flowers near pictures of the passengers on flight MH17 flight at a makeshift memorial in Petropavlivka village in eastern Ukraine on Sunday. Local villagers lay flowers near pictures of the passengers on flight MH17 flight at a makeshift memorial in Petropavlivka village in eastern Ukraine on Sunday. Photograph: Aleksey Filippov/AFP/Getty Images Staff and agencies Monday 18 July 2016 10.27 AEST Share on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Shares 4 Save for later Malaysia Airlines has settled damages claims for most victims of flight MH17, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported, after families gathered on Sunday to mark two years since the flight was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Flight MH17, two years on: ‘As far as I’m concerned, Putin killed my son’ Read more NOS cited Veeru Mewa, a lawyer representing some of the 165 Dutch victims. The parties involved in the settlement have agreed to secrecy, it was reported. “Talks are still ongoing for the rest of the victims’ relatives,” Mewa, who is based in Amsterdam, said. Under the Montreal Convention, airlines must pay damages of up to €130,000 ($145,000) to victims’ families, regardless of the circumstances of a crash. Sunday marked the deadline for legal action under the convention. The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte lays a flower on his departure from the Expo Haarlemmermeer in Vijfhuizen, Netherlands, on Sunday. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte lays a flower on his departure from the Expo Haarlemmermeer in Vijfhuizen, Netherlands, on Sunday. Photograph: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/EPA MH17 crashed in territory held by pro-Russia separatists, killing all 298 passengers and crew. Most of the passengers were Dutch. The aircraft, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile, the Dutch Safety Board concluded in its final report in late 2015. On Sunday, villagers in eastern Ukraine held a vigil at the site of the plane crash, as bereaved relatives marked the anniversary with emotional memorial services. About 60 people gathered at the site in the village of Petropavlivka, carrying flowers and lighting candles at the square where some of the victims’ remains and belongings fell to the ground. Some youngsters from the village – still controlled by pro-Russian separatists fighting pro-western government forces – also carried paper planes in memory of the children who died. Village council head Natalia Voloshina said: “Some of the relatives of people who were killed phoned us and asked us to find things that were valuable for them, for example, the toys that belonged to children aboard.” Some small pieces of wreckage, not yet handed over to Dutch investigators, were stacked outside Voloshina’s office to mark the anniversary. In the small Dutch town of Vijfhuizen, close to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport where the plane had departed and where a memorial is set to be unveiled next year, hundreds of relatives gathered. There were calls for healing at the gathering, where mourners sang songs and read out poems and the names of all 298 victims. “It’s time to let the sun back in,” said Evert van Zijtvelt, who lost his 18-year-old son Robert-Jan and daughter Frederique, 19, in the tragedy. Outside, there were 298 sunflowers for the victims – a reminder of the Ukrainian sunflower field where the bodies were scattered. Ertugrul Apakan, chief monitor in Ukraine for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said on Sunday the disaster was testament to the heavy toll paid by civilians in armed conflict. “The memory of those who perished is a reminder to us all that peace is precious and life sacrosanct,” Apakan said in a statement. MH17 report identifies Russian soldiers suspected of downing plane in Ukraine Read more Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, vowed that “the perpetrators of this tragedy must be punished”. Separatist authorities deny responsibility for the disaster, saying Ukrainian forces were to blame for the attack. The European Union in early July formally extended by six months economic sanctions against Russia due to lack of progress in resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine. James Healy-Pratt, whose London-based law firm represents around 30 families, said 85% of the claims against Malaysia Airlines had been settled “on confidential terms”. Six claims remain before the Malaysian high court in Kuala Lumpur, he said. Lawsuits have also been filed against separatists and their backers. In May, reports emerged that an Australian law firm had filed a compensation claim against Russia and president Vladimir Putin in the European court of human rights on behalf of the families of victims. It reportedly seeks $10m in compensation per passenger. Twenty-eight Australians died in the disaster. Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Australian PM says searchers confident of position of MH370's black boxes

Australian PM says searchers confident of position of MH370's black boxes Fri, Apr 11 00:29 AM EDT image By Swati Pandey and John Ruwitch PERTH/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Search and rescue officials in Australia are confident they know the approximate position of the black box recorders from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday. At the same time, however, the head of the agency coordinating the search said that the latest "ping" signal, which was captured by a listening device buoy on Thursday, was not related to the plane. "We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometers (miles)," Abbott said in a speech in the Chinese commercial capital Shanghai. "Still, confidence in the approximate position of the black box is not the same as recovering wreckage from almost four and a half kilometers beneath the sea or finally determining all that happened on the flight." The mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared more than a month ago, has sparked the most expensive search and rescue operation in aviation history. The search was focusing on a small patch of the Indian Ocean on Friday, after the latest "ping" seemed to lend credence to four previous "pings" detected by a U.S. Navy "Towed Pinger Locator" (TPL) towed by Australia's Ocean Shield vessel. All five acoustic signals were detected in this small area. But Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency supervising the search effort, said on Friday that analysis of acoustic data confirmed that the latest signal was unlikely to be related to the missing plane's black boxes. "On the information I have available to me, there has been no major breakthrough in the search for MH370. I will provide a further update if, and when, further information becomes available," he said in a statement. The black boxes record cockpit data and may provide answers about what happened to the plane, which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished on March 8 and flew thousands of kilometers off its Kuala Lumpur-to-Beijing route. BATTERIES FADING AS SEARCH CLOSES IN Search efforts are now focused on three areas. Aircraft and ships are combing two large search zones, some 2,390 km (1,485 miles) northwest of Perth, for possible floating debris related to the crash. But it is the much smaller search zone, just 600 sq km (232 sq miles, located about 1,670 km (1038 miles) northwest of Perth that has generated fresh optimism. The smaller zone is near where the Ocean Shield picked up the acoustic signals and where dozens of sonobuoys capable of transmitting data to search aircraft via radio signals were dropped on Wednesday. The batteries in the black boxes have already reached the end of their 30-day expected life, making efforts to swiftly locate them on the murky ocean floor all the more critical, Abbott said. "We are now getting to the stage where the signal from what we are very confident is the black box is starting to fade and we are hoping to get as much information as we can before the signal finally expires," he said. But experts say the process of teasing out the signals from the cacophony of background noise in the sea is a slow and exhausting process. An autonomous underwater vehicle named Bluefin-21 is onboard the Ocean Shield and could be deployed to look for wreckage on the sea floor once a final search area has been identified. (Additional reporting by Matt Siegel and Lincoln Feast in SYDNEY; Editing by Michael Perry) ============= Malaysian plane search in 44th day, sea bed scans could end in days By Byron Kaye and Matt Siegel SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:27pm EDT The Phoenix International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Artemis is craned over the side of Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean in his picture released by the Australian Defence Force on April 20, 2014. Credit: Reuters/LSIS Bradley Darvill/Handout via Reuters Related TopicsWorld » Australia » Aerospace & Defense » SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 entered its 44th day on Sunday as Australian search officials said a crucial series of sonar scans of the Indian Ocean floor could be completed within a week. The air, surface and underwater search is now focused on footage taken by a U.S. Navy deep sea drone, which has narrowed its target range to a tight 10-km (6.2-mile) circle of sea floor. The Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) has spent the past week scouring the remote and largely unmapped stretch of ocean floor some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) northwest of the Australian city of Perth for signs of the plane, which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board. The remote controlled submarine is now in its eighth deep sea mission with no sign of wreckage so far. The drone has searched about half its targeted area, the authorities said on Sunday. The Malaysian government has said the search is at a "very critical juncture" and asked for prayers for its success. Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has also said the government may consider using more AUVs in the search. After almost two months without a sign of wreckage, the current underwater search is centered on an area where one of four acoustic signals believed to be from the plane's black box recorders was detected on April 8. Weeks of daily sorties have failed to turn up any trace of the plane, even after narrowing the search to an arc in the southern Indian Ocean, making this the most expensive such operation in aviation history. Hopes for further black box signals are fast diminishing, since the black box batteries are now two weeks past their 30-day expected life span, search officials have said. But while the Bluefin-21's target range has narrowed, the air and surface search continues unabated, with daily sorties a week after Australian search coordinator retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the air and surface component of the search would end within three days. On Sunday, up to 11 military aircraft and 12 ships will help with the search, covering a total of roughly 48,507 square km (18,729 sq miles) across two areas, the Perth-based Joint Agency Coordination Centre said in a statement. (Editing by Clarence Fernandez) =====================