It has been 19 days since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing in the early hours of March 8, prompting an international search for the Boeing 777-200ER and its 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
While manned searches by air and sea have turned up scant results, satellite signal analysis and satellite imagery have helped narrow the search area for the missing Flight MH370, which is now believed to have gone down somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean off the southwest coast of Australia.
Following the official Malaysian government announcement that satellite analysis by Inmarsat PLC (LON:ISAT) had placed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, more data provided by satellites have continued to emerge.
On Wednesday, a France-based Airbus Defense and Space satellite reportedly spotted hundreds of debris pieces floating 1,600 miles off the coast of southwestern Australia. Then Thailand reported Thursday that one of its satellites had spotted 300 debris pieces in the southern Indian Ocean.
However, this particular patch of debris spotted by the Thai satellite was discovered approximately 124 miles from the location of the debris spotted by the French satellite.
The images captured by the Thaichote satellite were taken on Monday, but took two days to process before being relayed to Malaysian officials on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. It is currently unknown if the debris pieces are related to Flight MH370.
Unfortunately, air- and sea-based search-and-rescue operations were temporarily halted on Thursday as poor weather conditions hampered ongoing efforts to find the remains of Flight MH370.
Despite this setback, the international community has continued to use every tool available to locate Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, whose disappearance has continued to baffle the world.
Satellite images taken on March 24 of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean were released by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency on March 27, 2014.Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency/Handout via ReutersThis satellite image taken on March 24 of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean was released by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency on March 27, 2014.Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency/Handout via ReutersA satellite image taken on March 24 of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean released by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) is seen in this handout provided by GISTDA on March 27, 2014.Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency/Handout via ReutersA satellite image taken on March 24 of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean released by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) is seen in this handout provided by GISTDA on March 27, 2014.Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency/Handout via ReutersA satellite image taken on March 24 of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean released by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) is seen in this handout provided by GISTDA on March 27, 2014.Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency/Handout via ReutersA satellite image taken on March 24 of floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean released by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency is seen in this handout provided by GISTDA on March 27, 2014.Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency/Handout via ReutersSatellite imagery provided to Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) of objects that may be possible debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a revised area 185 km (115 miles) to the south east of the original search area in this picture released by AMSA March 20, 2014. A Search aircraft are investigating two objects floating in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia that could be debris from a Malaysian jetliner missing for 12 days with 239 people on board, officials said on Thursday. Australian officials said the objects were spotted by satellite in one of the remotest parts of the globe, around 2,500 km (1,500 miles) southwest of Perth in the vast oceans between Australia, southern Africa and Antarctica.Australian Maritime Safety Authority/Handout via ReutersSatellite imagery provided to Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) of objects that may be possible debris of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a revised area 185 km (115 miles) to the south east of the original search area in this picture released by AMSA March 20, 2014. A Search aircraft are investigating two objects floating in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia that could be debris from a Malaysian jetliner missing for 12 days with 239 people on board, officials said on Thursday. Australian officials said the objects were spotted by satellite in one of the remotest parts of the globe, around 2,500 km (1,500 miles) southwest of Perth in the vast oceans between Australia, southern Africa and Antarctica.Australian Maritime Safety Authority/Handout via ReutersA satellite image taken on March 18, 2014 of an object spotted in the southern Indian Ocean by the Gaofen-1 high-resolution optical Earth observation satellite CNSA (China National Space Administration). Chinese satellites have spotted the new object in the southern Indian Ocean that could be wreckage from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 carrying 239 people, and ships are on their way to investigate, China and Malaysia said on March 22, 2014.Reuters/CNS PhotoMalaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein holds satellite images as he speaks about the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, during a news conference at Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur March 26, 2014. New satellite images have revealed more than 100 objects in the southern Indian Ocean that could be debris from the Malaysian jetliner missing for 18 days with 239 people on board, Hishammuddin said on Wednesday.Reuters/Athit PerawongmethaSergeant Matthew Falanga, an airborne electronics analyst, observes a radar image aboard a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean March 27, 2014. Severe weather on Thursday halted the air search for a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet presumed crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, frustrating hopes of finding what new satellite images showed could be a large debris field.Reuters/Michael MartinaStaff at satellite communications company Inmarsat work in front of a screen showing subscribers using their service throughout the world, at their headquarters in London March 25, 2014. Britain's Inmarsat used a wave phenomenon discovered in the nineteenth century to analyse the seven pings its satellite picked up from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to determine its final destination.The new findings led Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to conclude that the Boeing 777, which disappeared more than two weeks ago, crashed thousands of miles away in the southern Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people on board.Reuters/Andrew WinningMember of staff at satellite communications company Inmarsat point to a section of the screen showing the southern Indian Ocean to the west of Australia, at their headquarters in London March 25, 2014. Britain's Inmarsat used a wave phenomenon discovered in the nineteenth century to analyse the seven pings its satellite picked up from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to determine its final destination.The new findings led Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to conclude that the Boeing 777, which disappeared more than two weeks ago, crashed thousands of miles away in the southern Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people on board.Reuters/Andrew WinningMalaysian Lieutenant General Ackbal Samad shows a map showing possible track of Malaysia Airlines MH370 to relatives of passengers aboard the missing plane, during a briefing by the Malaysian government at the Lido Hotel in Beijing March 26, 2014. New satellite images have revealed more than 100 objects in the southern Indian Ocean that could be debris from a Malaysian jetliner missing for 18 days with 239 people on board, Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Wednesday.Reuters/Kim Kyung-HoonA navigation screen used by pilots aboard a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft shows their current location represented by a white circle during their mission to search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean March 27, 2014. Severe weather on Thursday halted the air search for a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet presumed crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, frustrating hopes of finding what new satellite images showed could be a large debris field.Reuters/Michael Martina
