MH370 search delayed by 6 to 8 weeks due to poor weather: ATSB

July 07, 2016 | 10:15

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CANBERRA: Poor weather conditions have "severely impacted search operations" for the missing MH370 plane and resulted in delays of "around six to eight weeks", the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said on Wednesday (Jul 6).

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. (Photo: AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)

"Since the onset of poor conditions associated with winter weather, progress has slowed with only a minimal area searched during this time," ATSB said in an operational search update.

ATSB added that in the event of poor weather, or delays as a result of unforseeable issues - such as equipment failure or crew incapacity - searching the entire 120,000 square kilometre search area may continue beyond the winter months.

More than 110,000 square kilometres of the seafloor have been searched so far, ATSB added.

"Consistent with the undertaking given by the Governments of Australia, Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China in April last year, 120,000 square kilometres will be thoroughly searched. In the absence of credible new information that leads to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, governments have agreed that there will be no further expansion of the search area," the authority said.

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing on Mar 8, 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, while carrying 239 passengers and crew. The Australian government is leading the search for the plane, which is believed to be somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.

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