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Govt video to explain why MH370 is still missing

The Federal Government has released a video explaining to families of missing MH370 victims why the search has not found anything after eight months.

The Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared in March while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Of the 239 people on board, six were Australian.

The video highlights the scale of the task of finding the plane, saying: "The search area is a long way from land, the water is very deep and the seafloor is largely uncharted."

It also stressed that the search was ongoing, saying:"The expert satellite working group - comprised of the best international minds in this field - is continually refining analysis of the available data to identify the areas of the highest priority."

an autonomous underwater vehicle is craned over the side of the ocean shield in the search for missing malaysia airlines flight mh 370 . picture: adf
an autonomous underwater vehicle is craned over the side of the ocean shield in the search for missing malaysia airlines flight mh 370 . picture: adf

An autonomous underwater vehicle is craned over the side of the Ocean Shield in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 . Picture: ADF

Last week families were outraged when Malaysian Airlines commercial director Hugh Dunleavy said the carrier would announce the plane "lost", effectively ending the search.

Malaysia Airlines later distanced itself from Dunleavy's comments.

The video said the search for MH370 was now concentrated along a thin line along the Indian Ocean that includes all possible points where communication between the plane and a satellite could have taken place.

A detailed underwater search is being carried out along this strip using towed submersible vehicles fitted with sonar systems. The seafloor in the search area is 6km deep and cannot be penetrated by daylight.

The search is being conducted by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, a co-operative effort between Australia, Malaysia and China.

an ap-3c orion takes off to join the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 . picture: adf
an ap-3c orion takes off to join the search for malaysia airlines flight mh370 . picture: adf

An AP-3C Orion takes off to join the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 . Picture: ADF

JACC Chief Coordinator Judith Zielke told the New Straits Times last month that the search was begun with the optimism that the plane would eventually be found.

"We are planning for when the aircraft is located. We want to be ready to put in place all that is required at that time," she said.

"We are into the seventh month of the search and we want to be as ready as we possibly can."