The confidence of the international searches is being tested but the resolve to find MH370, which disappeared over six weeks ago, is not according to officials close to the unprecedented operation.
Reinforcing that view the acting Malaysia transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Saturday that the search may be restructured but it will not be abandoned.
Speaking with AirlineRatings.com one official said that “while confidence was balanced by the number of Bluefin 21 missions the focus remained strong.”
And he noted that it took 18 Bluefin 21 missions to finally find Air France Flight 447 and it was located 10km further away from the best estimates..
Yesterday the Bluefin 21 was embarked on its 8th mission that is concentrated on a 10km radius around the second Towed Pinger Locator detection which occurred on the 8th of April.
It has now covered about 50 per cent of the underwater search zone.
No contacts of interest have been found to date, The Joint Agency Coordination Centre said in a statement.
JACC said that if the weather holds the current search will be completed in five to seven days.
Malaysia’s transport minister said the effort to find the plane was at a “very critical juncture”.
“We have pursued every possible lead presented to us at this stage, and with every passing day the search has become more difficult,” Mr Hishammuddin said.
He told media that some adjustments to the search may be made, including “widening the scope of the search and using other assets that could be relevant in the search operation”
As the painstaking search for MH 370 enters is seventh week there is no loss of interest in the disappearance that has gripped the world.
In the US the story still commands the highest ratings as viewers can place themselves in the greatest mystery in commercial aviation.
Unlike flying in a third world country in a small 30 year old plane flying Malaysia Airlines on a Boeing 777 from KL to Beijing is something everyone does without a thought for their safety.
JACC says that it is happy with how the underwater search is progressing, although plans have changed due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances.
On Sunday 11 military planes and 12 ships took part in the search over two areas totalling 48,507 square kilometres.
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