[Peetwo]

Captain's Log 23.01.17: 4D, Hoody & Liow in Perth.

Courtesy the AAP via the Oz:

MH370 searchers wanted to go on

3:30pm

Australian Transport Safety Bureau staff would have liked to keep searching, saying the plane was “highly likely” in defined area.

Searchers for MH370 maintain the missing Malaysia Airlines flight is probably to the north of where they’d been looking in the southern Indian Ocean. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said last month the Boeing 777 could be within a 25,000 square kilometre area to the north of the 120,000 sq km official search zone.

But the underwater search was still called off and the last vessel, the Fugro Equator, returned to port in Western Australia overnight.

“It’s highly likely the area now defined by the experts contains the aircraft but that’s not absolutely for certain,” Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Greg Hood told reporters in Perth on Monday.

Mr Hood said the ATSB would have liked to continue searching to solve the mystery and bring closure to the families of those on board, but the decision to suspend the underwater hunt was made by the Malaysian, Australian and Chinese governments.

“Everybody wants to do the right thing — everybody’s got hopes,” Mr Hood said.

“Having met a number of family members personally, they continue to have protracted and prolonged grief.

“I’m profoundly sorry for these people.” Australian transport minister Darren Chester said it was understandable relatives were disappointed to have no answers almost three years after their loved ones vanished.

“They’re appreciative of the work that’s been done but understandably, they’re disappointed and saddened by the fact we haven’t been able to find MH370,” Mr Chester said.

“The professional staff involved, the ATSB, the crew on board the Fugro Equator here today, they’re disappointed.

“It’s a disappointment I share with them.” Malaysian transport minister Dato Sri Liow Tiong said he would meet with a representative of the relatives in Perth later on Monday.

“I hope we can have a good discussion,” Mr Liow said.

He said it was expected more debris would wash ashore after about 25 pieces were collected from Africa’s east coast and it was hoped drift modelling would help narrow down the plane’s location.

The ATSB’s opinion regarding the new zone was not enough to go on, he said. “We need more,” Mr Liow said.

Three pieces have been confirmed as definitely being from MH370, another five are considered “most certainly” from the plane and the rest are still being evaluated.

“We’ll continue to work on the debris and work with all the countries concerned,” Mr Liow said.

“So we’re committed to continue with the search for the debris and from then on, we hope we can get more credible evidence for the undersea search.” Mr Hood said drift modelling became less accurate as time went on but authorities were also re-examining satellite imagery from around the time of the crash to look for clues.

AAP

 

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