Two more sets of signals possibly linked to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been detected, Australian authorities said on Wednesday.
The two 'pings' thought to be consistent with those emitted by flight recorders, were picked up on Tuesday and were transmitted for more than 12 minutes, retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told reporters at a briefing in Perth.
The development could allow search and rescue teams to significantly narrow the area they need to scour to determine the final resting place of Flight 370, which mysteriously disappeared in the wee hours of 8 March with 239 people on board, he said.
"What we're picking up is a great lead," he said.
The signals picked up on Tuesday afternoon and later Tuesday, local time - were held for five and seven minutes, respectively - much shorter than the two-hour transmission picked on Saturday. Initial analysis of the earlier detected pings had revealed that they were consistent with those emitted by Black Boxes.
Beacons on the two flight recorders aboard the plane have an estimated battery life of about 30 days before they fall silent. It has been longer than 30 days since the plane vanished on 8 March morning, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
"I have confidence that we're in the right area. I'm not prepared to confirm anything until such time as someone has laid eyes on the wreckage," Houston said.
The Joint Agency Coordination Centre, which is assisting in the search missing, said in a release that up to 11 military aircraft, four civil aircraft and 14 ships are assisting search for the missing flight MH370.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has planned a search area of about 75,423 square kilometers on Wednesday.
The area being searched is approximately 2261 kilometers North West of Perth.
Photo: AMSA Press Release
(Edited by Anu James)
