Did MH370 spiral out of control? Theory revealed as teams admit search zone could be WRONG
TEAMS searching for lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 believe the plane could have spiralled out of control into the southern Indian Ocean – and they could be searching in the WRONG place.
In a new report, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is coordinating the search, revealed that end-of-flight simulators suggested the aircraft could possibly have spiralled into the Indian Ocean as it ran out of fuel.
The report said: "The simulator activities involved fuel exhaustion of the right engine followed by flameout of the left engine with no control inputs.
"This scenario resulted in the aircraft entering a descending spiralling low bank angle left turn and the aircraft entering the water in a relatively short distance after the last engine flameout."
The plane is believed to have run out of fuel and descended into the sea along the "seventh arc" - the region where the final satellite "handshake" from the plane was located.
But the ATSB has also said that the underwater search for the jet "should be prioritised further south" than the current area.
It said: "The latest analyses indicates that the underwater search should be prioritised further south within the wide search area for the next phase of the search."
The report also made clear that the new search area could change again.
The first of three ships to begin the next phase of the search for MH370 arrived this week.
The Malaysian-contracted GO Phoenix arrived in the search zone earlier in the week and was expected to spend 12 days searching.
Sonar, video cameras and jet fuel sensors will be used to scout the seabed for the lost Boeing 777, around 1,100 miles west of Australia.
The search was halted for four months so crews could map the seabed of the search zone, which measures approximately 23,000 square miles.
Two other ships being provided by Dutch contractor Fugro are expected to join the GO Phoenix later this month.
Flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic controllers on March 8 while carrying 239 people on a flight between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.
The aircraft last made contact 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu.
A huge search operation has continued since the jet's disappearance but so far not a single piece of debris has been found.
