Search for missing plane reaches record depths

A hand-out photo taken on April 16, 2014, and released on April 17, 2014, shows Scott Woodard (left) and Craig Turner (right) of Phoenix International monitoring the Artemis's depth and speed as the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle scans the ocean floor for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. The mini-submarine hunting for flight MH370 will finish scouring its current strip of the Indian Ocean within a week, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said, adding that if unsuccessful the operation will be forced to move into a new phase. AFP PHOTO/AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE/MC1 PETER D. BLAIR

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • Australia's prime minister sets a one-week deadline to locate the plane, believed to have crashed in a remote area of the Indian Ocean west of Perth.

PERTH, Friday

The mini-sub searching for missing flight MH370 has reached record depths well beyond its normal operating limits, officials said Friday as it dived on its fifth seabed mission.

With no results to show since the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people disappeared on March 8, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott has set a one-week deadline to locate the plane which is believed to have crashed in a remote area of the Indian Ocean west of Perth.

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Searchers have extended the hunt beyond the normal 4,500 metre (15,000 feet) depth range of the US Navy’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) called Bluefin-21.

“The AUV reached a record depth of 4,695 metres during mission four,” the US Navy said. “This is the first time the Bluefin-21 has descended to this depth.

RISK TO EQUIPMENT

“Diving to such depths does carry with it some residual risk to the equipment and this is being carefully monitored,” a statement said. Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) announced that the mini-sub had been deployed on a new mission.

Meanwhile, Malaysia and Australia will sign a deal specifying who handles any wreckage from missing flight MH370 that may be recovered, including the crucial “black box” flight data recorders, local media reported Friday. Malaysia is drafting the agreement “to safeguard both nations from any legal pitfalls.

The government hopes the deal can be finalised soon and endorsed in a Cabinet meeting next week. Canberra is studying the memorandum of understanding, it said.

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