Flight MH370 Search For Crash Site May Have A ‘Ping’ From The Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Black Box

The Flight MH370 search for a potential crash site may have had its first positive lead with a Chinese patrol ship receiving a “ping” from a black box which may be from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, it’s claimed that if the Flight MH370 black box had been streaming its data then the missing plane would have been found a long time ago. But airlines claim the cost of using such technology is too expensive even though the cost of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 search has already cost millions.

So far the Flight MH370 search has not gone too well since the disappearance on March 8, 2014. A group of orange objects seen from a search plane that was considered possible debris from the Malaysia Airlines plane turned out be stray fishing equipment and other “ocean junk.” This past week a British Royal Navy survey ship, HMS Echo, was sent out to seek evidence of Flight MH370?s whereabouts. The Australian Navy also dispatched a ship, The Ocean Shield, which is outfitted with U.S. technology that can detect flight recorder pings. They actually thought they had a signal at one point but it turned out to be another dead end.

Now the Chinese state news agency Xinhua is reporting that a Chinese vessel called Haixun 01 picked up a potential ping at 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude in addition to spotting white floating objects in the area. According to Google Maps, this location is west of Australia and in the middle of nowhere, with no discernible land anywhere nearby.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 search authorities say they have not verified whether the apparent ping is from the plane. Unfortunately, if the apparent ping from the Flight MH370 black box turns out to be another false lead then the window for finding the missing plane is about to close. The locator beacon apparently only has enough power to transmit for about a month, which is only several days away.

Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, the head of the Australian agency coordinating the operation, says the Flight MH370 search will continue even if the black box shuts off:

“If we haven’t found anything in six weeks we will continue because there are a lot of things in the aircraft that will float. Eventually I think something will be found that will help us narrow the search area.”

The Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 search includes 10 military planes, three civilian jets and 11 ships, but they are searching over 88,000 square miles.