A report into missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 by the Australian safety investigator leading the search supports its view that the aircraft descended rapidly after running out of fuel with no human intervention, the agency said on Wednesday.
Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew onboard in one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report released on Wednesday said analysis of wing flap debris showed the aircraft was not configured for a landing.
It also said satellite communications from the aircraft were consistent with it being in a "high and increasing rate of descent" when it vanished, colloquially known as a death dive.
The 28-page report contains new end-of-flight and drift simulations that suggests experts believe the current search area is the most likely to contain the crash site. It coincides with the start of a three-day meeting of international experts to develop potential plans to continue the search.
ATSB search director Peter Foley told media on Wednesday that analysis of a wing flap had "enhanced certainty" at what had happened.
"It was probably in a non-extended position which means the aircraft wasn’t configured for a landing or a ditching," said Foley, referring to the practice of extending wing flaps to allow an aircraft to travel safely at slower speeds in preparation for a landing.
"You can draw your own conclusions as to whether that means someone was in control or not."
The question of whether there was human intervention during the descent is crucial because if the aircraft glided, the debris field could be outside the 120,000 sq km (46,330 sq mile) search zone which has almost been exhausted.
Authorities assume the plane had no "inputs" during its final descent, meaning there was no pilot or no conscious pilot. They believe it was on auto-pilot and spiralled when it ran out of fuel.
But the engineering group leading the search, Fugro, has previously raised the prospect someone could have glided the aircraft to explain why it hasn't been found.
Jason Middleton, head of aviation at the University of New South Wales, said the wing flap analysis was of limited benefit.
"It meant the pilot was not alert, awake or planning a safe landing - that's all it means," Middleton told Reuters.
He said the new drift simulations only showed the aircraft was "in that generic part of the ocean" that is being searched and did not help define a new search area in the Indian Ocean.
In a separate development, a lawyer for the families of four Australian victims told Reuters that Malaysia Airlines had agreed to release information about the missing plane as part of a compensation case.
John Dawson, a partner at Carneys Lawyers, said he had been advised he would receive the information by the end of the month. The information is to include the most recent medical certificates held by the flight crew.
Reuters
Wed Nov 02 2016
The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for flight MH370 on March 31, 2014. - Reuters
Warga emas bersalah bunuh abang, kakak ipar
Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini mensabitkan kesalahan seorang warga emas atas dua pertuduhan pindaan membunuh abang dan kakak iparnya dua tahun lalu.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp kemuka laporan tindakan susulan
Mas Ermieyati Samsudin berkata tempoh itu diberikan susulan laporan audit berkaitan, baru dibentangkan pada minggu lepas.
Buli siber: Beberapa kementerian bincang perketat undang-undang - Fahmi
Penambahbaikan aspek perundangan akan diteliti kerajaan, termasuk mengadakan perbincangan dengan beberapa kementerian berkaitan dalam masa terdekat.
Kementerian Digital sedia bantu PKS dalam pelaksanaan e-invois - Gobind
Beliau menegaskan bahawa pelaksanaan e-Invois itu akan memberi manfaat, termasuk meningkatkan pendapatan PKS.
Kim Pan-gon akan ke Ulsan Hyundai?
Bekas pengendali skuad negara itu dilaporkan sedang menjadi calon utama untuk mengisi jawatan pengurus kelab gergasi Korea Selatan, Ulsan Hyundai.
Lebih 2,300 hektar kawasan lapang di ibu negara diperuntukkan kawasan hijau
Daripada keluasan itu, sebanyak 977.55 hektar tanah telah diwartakan, manakala 1,416.24 hektar tanah lapang yang berpotensi akan dan sedang dalam proses diwartakan.
Guna jawatan untuk projek pembekalan, suami isteri ditahan
Sepasang suami isteri direman enam hari dalam siasatan penyalahgunaan jawatan untuk mendapatkan projek pembekalan bernilai lebih RM200,000.
Perintah reman dikeluarkan Majistret Noor Mazrinie Mahmood bermula hari ini hingga Ahad.
Perintah reman dikeluarkan Majistret Noor Mazrinie Mahmood bermula hari ini hingga Ahad.
DBKL ubah lalu lintas Jalan Sultan Ismail bermula 22 Julai
Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) akan melaksanakan perubahan lalu lintas di Jalan Sultan Ismail berkuat kuasa 22 Julai ini.
ADUN Rembia sertai Pas, kenapa tak umum tahun lepas? - MP Kampar
Tindakan tersebut seolah-olah satu penghinaan paling besar kepada Parlimen yang telah meluluskan pindaan Perlembagaan Persekutuan berkait Akta Antilompat Parti.
[TERKINI] Perbelanjaan pengguna Malaysia dijangka kembali teguh
Perbelanjaan pengguna Malaysia dijangka teguh sepanjang tahun ini, demikian menurut BMI, iaitu syarikat Fitch Solitions.