Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Omaha Steve

(99,660 posts)
Tue Apr 15, 2014, 08:49 AM Apr 2014

Deep water thwarts robot sub's 1st search for jet

Source: AP-EXCITE

By MARGIE MASON

PERTH, Australia (AP) - A robotic submarine hunting for the missing Malaysian jet aborted its first mission after only six hours, surfacing with no new clues when it exceeded its maximum depth along the floor of the Indian Ocean, officials said Tuesday.

Search crews sent the U.S. Navy's Bluefin 21 into the depths Monday to begin scouring the seabed for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 after failing for six days to detect any new signals believed to be coming from its black boxes.

But the 16-hour mission was cut short when the unmanned sub, which is programmed to hover 30 meters (100 feet) above the seabed, entered a patch that was deeper than its maximum depth of 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), the search coordination center and the U.S. Navy said.

A built-in safety feature returned the Bluefin to the surface and it was not damaged, they said.

full STORY AT LINK.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140415/DAD6HII00.html





In this Monday, April 14, 2014, photo provided by the Australian Defense Force an autonomous underwater vehicle is prepared to be deployed from ADV Ocean Shield in the search of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean. The search area for the missing Malaysian jet has proved too deep for the robotic submarine which was hauled back to the surface of the Indian Ocean less than half way through its first seabed hunt for wreckage and the all-important black boxes, authorities said on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Australian Defense Force, Lt. Kelli Lunt) EDITORIAL USE ONLY
7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
 

randome

(34,845 posts)
1. A yellow submersible with a blue propeller = 'BlueFin'.
Tue Apr 15, 2014, 11:37 AM
Apr 2014

Huh.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game. -Existenz[/center][/font][hr]

hack89

(39,171 posts)
4. Bluefin Tuna are some of the deepest diving fish in the ocean.
Tue Apr 15, 2014, 03:58 PM
Apr 2014

I suspect that is where the name comes from.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
3. Took too long to narrow the location.
Tue Apr 15, 2014, 03:44 PM
Apr 2014

Fucked now, with the pinger dead, out of juice. Might as well look for Amelia Earhart, and Jimmy Hoffa while you're down there.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
5. It took two years to find the black boxes from Air France 447.
Tue Apr 15, 2014, 04:01 PM
Apr 2014

It can be done, but you are right that it is hard as hell.

Botany

(70,516 posts)
7. Some of those depths are unreal 1.5 miles to over 5 miles will make this .....
Tue Apr 15, 2014, 08:24 PM
Apr 2014

.... a very tough nut to crack and even if they find the plane getting the flight recorder
out and back to the surface will be an engineering nightmare. Much of the suspected
area is over 3 miles in depth.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Deep water thwarts robot ...