MH370 search update: 'extraordinary data' but still no sign of missing flight

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) that coordinates the Australian Government's support for the search into missing flight MH370 has this week released a report on the search operation's progress, saying that the mission has now searched over 9,000 square kilometres of the seafloor.

A seabed mapping and underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean is providing "extraordinary data". ( Australian Transport Safety Bureau / Geoscience Australia)

MH370 underwater search areas planning map. (Australian Transport Safety Bureau/Geoscience Australia)

In addition to locating the aircraft, the underwater search aims to map the MH370 debris field in order to identify and prioritise the recovery of specific aircraft components, including flight recorders, which will assist with the Malaysian investigation.

The Fugro Equator - a dedicated survey vessel that was contracted to conduct a bathymetric survey in the southern Indian Ocean for the purpose of searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 - has continued its survey work. To date, around 200,000 square kilometres of the search area have been surveyed.

Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Progress of Bathymetric Survey. (Australian Transport Safety Bureau / Geoscience Australia)

The equipment used on three vessels - the Fugro Equator, Fugro Discovery and GO Phoenix - has, according to the JACC's MH370 Operational Search Update, provided "extraordinary data".

A synthetic aperture sonar acoustic image of the seafloor gathered by GO Phoenix is indicative of the resolution and quality of the data and that it is revealing important detail of the seafloor.

Synthetic aperture sonar acoustic image of the seafloor gathered by GO Phoenix. (Phoenix International & SL Hydrospheric)