General Discussion

Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)

13. ...

Sun Mar 23, 2014, 05:03 PM

Mar 2014

The task of finding a plane in the Indian Ocean is daunting to say the least. In total, this ocean covers 73,556,000 square kilometres.

Aside from the general hugeness of the search area, let alone the ocean itself, there are three main reasons why this search could take a while.

1. IT’S REALLY DEEP

The Indian Ocean has an average depth of more than 3.5 kilometres, making it deeper than the Atlantic. As you might recall, search teams took more than two years to find the wreckage of Air France flight 447 in the Atlantic, even though they discovered debris from the crash early on. Investigators have yet to find any debris from flight MH370.

(snip)

Officially, Australia’s civil aviation radar extends about 410 kilometres offshore, and it’s only used to track aircraft that are approaching WA. But a source from the Civil Aviation Authority has told Reuters the radar’s range is even lower than that.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/why-it-will-be-almost-impossible-to-find-missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-if-its-in-the-indian-ocean/story-fnizu68q-1226857085734

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Remember the October 1972 air plane crash in the Andes? [View all] Cleita Mar 2014 OP

and we've made no advances in technology since '72 NightWatcher Mar 2014 #1

I do have a suspicion that the authorities know something we don't. Cleita Mar 2014 #2

Considering the US has committed 1 plane and one ship Jesus Malverde Mar 2014 #3

So you think the US knows the plane crashed, and generally where, but morningfog Mar 2014 #6

Considering all the initial signs were terrorism, the operators of the global war on terror Jesus Malverde Mar 2014 #15

My tinfoil is not that tight nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #10

The Gyre is in the pacific way far away from the indian ocean and the malay coast. Jesus Malverde Mar 2014 #16

There are more than these two nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #17

My brother thinks we will find it. MissB Mar 2014 #5

I get the feeling it's in a hanger someplace and the passengers still alive in Cleita Mar 2014 #8

That's close to his guess too. MissB Mar 2014 #12

... Spider Jerusalem Mar 2014 #13

Perhaps they need to put Spirochete Mar 2014 #19

The survivors were not actually found, two walked out and found help. Bluenorthwest Mar 2014 #4

That was a good book. n/t Cleita Mar 2014 #9

Read it. They were forced to eat the dead to survive. n/t RebelOne Mar 2014 #20

Yes. They did. It was also all over the news when they were rescued. n/t Cleita Mar 2014 #21

So nobody will walk down from Churubusco nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #7

Movies being what they are. They won't be that factual. Cleita Mar 2014 #11

They made it on the cheap nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #14

Or Peruvian LANSA Flight 508, December 1971 frazzled Mar 2014 #18