Timeline/Search
Search for MH370
Saturday, 8 March 2014 - Confirmed Events
Duty ATSC Watch Supervisor activated the Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC).
Singapore RCC informed KL ARCC that a Hercules aircraft (C-130) would be launched to the search area with clearance from Ho Chi Minh. The Hercules aircraft (C-130) was assigned the radiotelephony callsign as Rescue 71 by Lumpur ARCC.
At 1130 MYT on Saturday, 8 March 2014 a Bombardier CL415 from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) took off and headed to the search area.
The KL ARCC was informed by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) of a possible Air Turn Back by MH370 on 8 March 2014, at 10:30pm (1430 UTC). The RMAF also mentioned that the area towards the West of Peninsular Malaysia was the last known position observed on the military radar. At this stage, the KL ARCC was unable to determine whether MH370 did indeed make an air turn back, and it required further analysis and verification. Despite the uncertainties surrounding the ‘latest’ information received, it was decided that both areas to the East and West of Peninsular Malaysia would be searched, and a large number of assets, aircraft and vessels were deployed to search these areas.
8 March to 15 March 2014 - Search Summary
During this phase of the search, the initial focus was east of Malaysia, but soon included areas west of Malaysia, as described below:-
The initial search and rescue operations concentrated on the Eastern side of Peninsular Malaysia, surrounding the last known position of MH370. Consideration was also given, should the aircraft be able to proceed to its destination or to any other airport based on various possible scenarios. All possible search patterns were calculated and carried out including Track Crawl, along the route of MH370 to its last known position.
Information was also passed to Oil Rig Operators based in the Kota Bharu, Terengganu and Kerteh, on the East coast of Peninsular Malaysia for any possible sighting or reports. This information was also given to helicopters that operate in and out to the oil rig area.
Information was also passed to the Malaysian Control Centre (MCC) for possible reports to police stations (SAR point of contact) throughout the country. The first air SRU to be deployed was RESCUE 101, a Bombardier CL415 from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). A vessel, KM AMANAH also from the MMEA, was redirected to the Last Known Position (LKP) of MH370 to conduct a search.
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt[1]
Eastern Peninsular Malaysia[1]
- i. SAR Plan by KL ARCC
- ii. Search area covered Eastern South China Sea
- iii. Cumulative search area of 573,000 sq km
- iv. 28 search aircraft used, from China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.
- v. 34 search vessels used from China, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and Vietnam.
Western Peninsular Malaysia[1]
- i. SAR Plan by RMAF
- ii. Search area covered the Straits of Malacca, Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, West of Sumatra
- iii. Cumulative search area of 4.56 million sq km
- iv. 36 search aircraft used from Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, UAE and USA.
- v. 35 search vessels used from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and USA.
Search Areas East of Malaysia
Figure I: Eastern Search Area
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt
Search Areas West of Malaysia - 8 to 15 March 2014
Figure II: Western Search Area
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt
18 March to 23 March 2014 - Search Summary
The search areas during this phase were influenced by the data interpreted from satellite communications by Inmarsat; the terminology of 'northern and southern arcs' defined by 'pings' and 'handshakes'; and the new terminology of Northern and Southern Corridors.
On 15th March 2014, based on data compiled by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) based in Malaysia comprising experts and specialist from Malaysia, China, USA, UK and France, and other senior government and academic sources, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced that the SAR operations on the Eastern and Western parts of Peninsular Malaysia would be suspended. The experts had drawn up a new search area, comprising the Northern and Southern Corridors.
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt[1]
Search areas defined for both Northern and Southern corridors are shown below. The areas actually searched are noted in the text that follows.
Northern Corridor
Figure III: Northern Corridor
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt
Southern Corridor
Figure IV: Southern Corridor
Source: MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia (MOFA) sent Diplomatic Notes to all the relevant countries within the corridors on a government to government basis.
Feedback received from the Diplomatic Note sent to Northern Corridor countries included the following[1]:-
- countries in the Northern corridor provided information to KL ARCC on their action taken.
- most of the countries in the Northern corridor responded that there was no sighting of MH370 within their countries area of responsibility.
From 18 to 23 March 2014, the air search within the Southern Corridor (S1, S2 & S3) was coordinated by KL ARCC together with BASARNAS, Indonesia[1].
- i. Joint SAR Plan by Indonesia and Malaysia
- ii. Cumulative search area of 1.63 million sq km
- iii. 8 search aircraft used, from India, Japan, Malaysia, UAE, USA and Republic of Korea
On the evening of Monday, 24 March 2014 Prime Minister Najib Razak was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, had performed further calculations on the data. Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth. See Media Statement.
Two documents were linked from the Media Statement:-
- INFORMATION PROVIDED TO MH370 INVESTIGATION BY UK AIR ACCIDENTS INVESTIGATION BRANCH (AAIB) 25/03/14
- Annex 1: Doppler correction contributions
Both documents are included on the Event Details page.
18 March to 28 April 2014 - Search Summary
The surface search in the Indian Ocean was extended further south along the Southern Corridor, centred on the 'seventh arc'. These search areas were within Australia's SAR area of responsibility.
A surface search of probable impact areas along this arc was coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA’s) JRCC Australia in Canberra from 18th March 2014 to 28th April 2014. The search effort involved a multi-national, civil/military SAR response involving aircraft and ships from several countries including Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and the United States of America, plus Australian and international technical experts and liaison officers. AMSA is very grateful to all the States and their many personnel involved for their assistance and expertise.[2]
For the 42 days of searching coordinated by JRCC Australia in the Australian SRR search areas there were[2]:
- a) 345 flight sorties
- b) 3177 total flight hours
- c) Cumulative search area of 4.7 million km2
- d) 28 search aircraft used, both civil and military, from Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and USA
- e) Search vessels used, both civil merchant ships and military ships from Australia, China, Malaysia, UK and USA
No debris associated with MH370 was identified by the surface search.
The graphic below[3] shows the cumulative area searched during this period:-
Figure 19: Surface search coverage 18 March to 28 April 2014
Source: The Operational Search for MH370 ATSB, using AMSA data
On 28 April 2014, the aerial search concluded and the search moved to an underwater phase.
Notes and References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 MH370 Search and Rescue Operations and Lesson Learnt - This paper was presented by Malaysia to the Third Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Regional Search and Rescue Task Force (APSAR/TF/3), Maldives, 25 – 29 January 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 MH370 Search and Rescue Response - JRCC Australia
This paper was presented by Australia to the Third Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Regional Search and Rescue Task Force (APSAR/TF/3), Maldives, 25 – 29 January 2015. - ↑ The Operational Search for MH370 Australian Transport Safety Bureau, 2017