Flight MH370/Chronology/Phase 6
After MH370 turned south toward the southern Indian Ocean the aircraft continued flying until running out of fuel.
What we know is limited to data from some satellite communications as shown in this Section
North Indian Ocean to Southern Indian Ocean
From 2:40 MYT to End of Flight Template:Day 001
(18:40 UTC Friday, 7 March 2014 to End of Flight)
3. Other Satellite Communications
After the successful log-on which commenced at 0225:27 MYT there were a series of automated communications, and two unsuccessful telephone calls from Malaysia Airlines.
Because the SATCOM was logged-on, the ground station periodically communicated with it to check that it was still logged on. These automated transmissions should occur approximately every hour.
However, the two telephone calls using the satellite system had the effect of resetting the timer at the ground station, so the 'handshakes' initiated by the ground station were not one hour apart.
The Table below shows the sequence of handshakes and phone calls. The metadata associated with the transmissions for each 'handshake' enabled Investigators to calculate the distance of the aircraft from the satellite at the time of each event. This is shown as a series of concentric rings in the diagram below right. The Time on each ring is UTC.
Table 1.9B - SATCOM ‘Handshakes’
| SATCOM TRANSMISSIONS | TIME | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| UTC | MYT* | ||
| 1. | Aircraft departed KLIA | 1642:04 | 0042:04 |
| 2. | Last ACARS transmission | 1707:48 | 0107:48 |
| 3. | 1st handshake - log-on initiated by the aircraft | 1825:27 | 0225:27 |
| 4. | Unanswered ground-to-air telephone call | 1839:52 | 0239:52 |
| 5. | 2nd handshake initiated by ground station | 1941:00 | 0341:00 |
| 6. | 3rd handshake initiated by ground station | 2041:02 | 0441:02 |
| 7. | 4th handshake initiated by ground station | 2141:24 | 0541:24 |
| 8. | 5th handshake initiated by ground station | 2241:19 | 0641:19 |
| 9. | Unanswered ground-to-air telephone call | 2313:58 | 0713:58 |
| 10. | 6th handshake initiated by ground station | 0010:58* | 0810:58 |
| 11. | 7th handshake - log-on initiated by the aircraft | 0019:29* | 0819:29 |
| 12. | Aircraft did not respond to ‘handshake’ from Satellite Earth Ground Station | 0115:56* | 0915:56 |
| *08 March 2014 | |||
Adapted from Safety Investigation Report SIR-2018 Table 1.9B - SATCOM ‘Handshakes’
Source: Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370, 02 July 2018, Safety Investigation Report MH370/01/2018
Note: Table 1.9B, when published, showed times rounded to the nearest minute. The above version has been updated to include seconds, so that each time can be linked to the correct event in the Timeline. No other data has been changed. The two versions can be seen together here.
Content:Images/ATSB/UnderwaterSearch/Figure 18
Note: Each yellow arrow points to a 'ring', using the time as a label. The arrow does not indicate the position of MH370 at that time.
5. A Possible Flight Path
There are many variables to consider when defining the time when MH370 turned south. Investigators have worked hard to refine their mathematical models so that they can predict more accurately where the flight ended.
Obviously, we do not know the exact time that a turn commenced. There have been many attempts to reconstruct a flight path using an early turn; a late turn; or some time in-between. Each solution must still place the aircraft on one of the seven arcs at the time of the relevant satellite communication.
An aircraft can also make different types of turn - gentle and level is normal for passenger flights; or steeply banked; maybe with some acceleration through the turn; or a change of altitude. There are many possibilities, including whether the turn was manually controlled or executed by the autopilot.
One of the valid flight paths is shown in the diagram opposite. This one was created by engineers from Inmarsat who did the original calculations with the values of Burst Timing Offset and Burst Frequency Offset. Without this innovative analysis of the metadata we would have absolutely no idea where MH370 went after flying beyond Malaysia's military radar coverage.
The flight path shown here is 'indicative' - it represents a likely end-of-flight path in a southerly direction with its' heading changing from 186° to 180° by the end of the flight. See The Search for MH370 (Inmarsat).
Note: Although MH370 was close to the northern tip of Sumatra, it likely crossed, or was close to, Indonesian airspace. But there is no radar data from Indonesia.