The Australian Transport Safety Bureau recently released an update on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370, originally traveling between Malaysia and China. This plane disappeared nearly two years ago and has prompted comprehensive survey throughout tens of thousands of square miles. While the efforts have not yet uncovered the wreckage, they have led to the surprise findings of a shipwreck that reportedly dates back to the early 19th century.
The search vessel Havila Harmony launched an AUV.
Early sightings of the wreck on December 19, 2015, resulted in an "anomalous sonar contact." After detecting the wreck, the search vessel Havila Harmony launched an AUV, which took sonar image of the downed ship. Though no name or identifying information has been given yet, the vessel is believed to be made of iron or steel and is the subject of research from the Western Australian Museum's Shipwreck Galleries.
Havila Harmony was intended to search the ocean with its sonar AUV anyway, and scheduled to leave for Fremantle "around 14 January." The total search area encompasses 120,00 square kilometers, or roughly 46,332 square miles. Out of this, more than 80,000 square kilometers , the equivalent of around 30,888 square miles, have already been investigated.
"It is anticipated this will be completed around the middle of the year," the statement reads. "In the absence of credible new information that leads to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, Governments have agreed that there will be no further expansion of the search area."
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