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 The Australian-led search, already the most expensive in aviation
history, has found no trace of the Malaysia Airlines jet or its 239
passengers and crew, prompting calls for a rethink into the way the
mission is conducted.
Experts involved in past deep water searches say the search to find
MH370 could easily miss the plane as Dutch company Fugro NV, the
firm at the forefront of the mission, is using inappropriate
technology for some terrain and inexperienced personnel for the
highly specialized task of hunting man-made objects.
Heightening concerns, Australian authorities said on Wednesday that
another search vessel, the Go Phoenix, which is using the world's
best deep sea search equipment and crew provided by U.S. firm
Phoenix International Holdings Inc, would pull out within weeks. No
reason was given for withdrawing the vessel from the quest.
"Fugro is a big company but they don't have any experience in this
kind of search and it's really a very specialized job," said
Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a former French naval officer who was hired by
France's air accident investigation agency BEA to co-ordinate the
search and recovery of Air France Flight AF447 in 2009.
"This is a big job," Nargeolet told Reuters. "I'm not an Australian
taxpayer, but if I was, I would be very mad to see money being spent
like that."
Fugro, which was contracted by the Australian government to operate
three ships pulling sonar across the vast 60,000-km search zone, has
rejected claims it is using the wrong equipment, saying its gear is
rigorously tested.
Still, Nargeolet's concerns are echoed by others in the tightly held
deepsea search and rescue industry, who are worried that unless the
search ships pass right over any wreckage the sonar scanning either
side of the vessels won't pick it up.
Experts also question the lack of data released by the Australian
Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on the activities of the Fugro ships.
Three of the bidders rejected for the MH370 contract, U.S. firm
Williamson & Associates, France's ixBlue SAS and Mauritius-based
Deep Ocean Search Ltd, have taken the unusual step of detailing
their concerns - months down the track - directly to Australian
authorities in correspondence viewed by Reuters.
Several other experts are also critical, including some who
requested anonymity, citing the close knit nature of the industry
which has just a few companies and militaries capable of conducting
deepwater searches.
"I have serious concerns that the MH370 search operation may not be
able to convincingly demonstrate that 100 percent sea floor coverage
is being achieved," Mike Williamson, founder and president of
Williamson & Associates told Reuters.
DIVING INTO THE UNKNOWN
Australia took over the search for the missing plane from Malaysia
in late March last year, three weeks after MH370 disappeared off the
radar during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
 The search area was determined by satellite data that revealed the
plane turned back sharply over the Malaysian Peninsula and flew
undetected for another six hours before crashing into the
inhospitable southern Indian Ocean. The unchartered waters, buffeted by the Roaring Forties winds,
stretch as deep as 6 km, hiding old volcanoes and cliffs in their
depths. Australia, Malaysia and China earlier this month agreed to
double the search area to 120,000 sq km.
Whether Phoenix International, which has U.S. navy contracts and
found AF447, will be part of that extended search area is unclear
after the ATSB said that Go Phoenix, owned by Australian firm Go
Marine, will cease operating on June 19. Phoenix International,
which was contracted separately by the Malaysian government, did not
immediately return calls about its position. The Malaysian
government also did not reply to requests for comment.
Two of the Fugro ships traverse up and down 2.4 km-wide strips of
the sea floor, pulling via a cable a "towfish" that contains sonar
equipment, in a technique often called "mowing the lawn".
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The towfish coasts around 100 meters above the sea floor, sending
out sound waves diagonally across a swath, or broad strip, to
produce a flattened image of the seabed.
The Fugro ships are using sonar provided by EdgeTech, the same U.S.
company whose sonar was used successfully to find Air France AF447
after it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.
However, experts say while the type of sonar equipment being used by
Fugro gives good results in flat surfaces, it is less well-suited to
rugged underwater terrain, a world of confusing shadows.
The ATSB has routinely released detailed data from Go Phoenix, but
has not done so for the Fugro ships. Experts have cobbled together
an analysis from glimpses of the sonar use and data in videos and
images posted to the ATSB website. From that, they've gauged the
EdgeTech sonars are operating at swathes beyond their optimum
capabilities, resulting in poor quality images and leaving side gaps
in coverage.
"It makes no sense to be using fine scale tools to cover a massive
area; it is like mowing an entire wheat field with a household
lawnmower," said Rob McCallum, a vice-president at Williamson &
Associates.
Fugro deputy managing director Paul Kennedy said the sonar is
running within its capabilities, noting the system identified
five "debris-like" objects in 700-metre deep water at a test range
off the West Australian coast.
"The test range gives us full confidence the sonars will see the
debris field when we cross it," he said.
WILD WEATHER
Fugro is known for its expertise in high-quality low-resolution
mapping of sea floors but has far less experience than some of the
rejected bidders in deepwater aircraft searches. It has been
involved in 17 search and recovery efforts for aircraft or ships
over 15 years, compared with some of the bidders who search for 4-5
aircraft every year.
Kennedy pointed to the find earlier this month of a previously
uncharted shipwreck as evidence Fugro was capable of finding the
plane.
Concerning experts further is the fact that the third Fugro vessel,
which was being used to scan the gaps between the other two ships
with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), was this month taken
out of action because of encroaching wild winter weather.
That leaves the daily search without an AUV, a much more nimble
piece of equipment that was vital in successful search for AF447.
"We are continuously reviewing the search data as it comes in and we
are satisfied that the coverage and detection standards we have
specified are being met or exceeded," ATSB Chief Commissioner Martin
Dolan said in an email.
(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in PARIS; Editing by Jeremy
Laurence)
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