Australian scientists say they have new evidence that confirms their consensus about the likely crash site of a Malaysian jetliner that vanished without a trace three years ago.
A report issued Wednesday by the government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization says it has concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 crashed within a 25,000-square-kilometer area in the Indian Ocean off the coast of western Australia, northeast of a 120,000-square-kilometer area that was initially believed to the plane’s final resting place.
CISRO bases its latest conclusion on images taken by a French military satellite of dozens of “probably man-made” floating objects. But the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which led the initial search for Flight MH 370, issued a statement saying CISRO’s findings are not proof those objects were pieces of the Boeing 777 jetliner.
A joint search-and-recovery operation mounted by Australia, China and Malaysia was called off in January after a fruitless two-year effort. The three nations say they will resume the search, as long as there is credible evidence of the plane’s whereabouts. A private search firm has offered to resume the search for free, and would only seek payment if it found the aircraft.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 disappeared March 8, 2014, during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 passengers and crew. Three large pieces of debris that washed ashore from the Indian Ocean have been confirmed as coming from the missing plane.
