An overview........

06 April 2014| last updated at 10:44PM

MH370 Tragedy: Chronology on missing plane

KUALA LUMPUR: Following is the chronology of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370:

* March 8 - Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, left the KL International Airport at 12.41am and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea. It was to have landed in Beijing at 6.30am on the same day.

- A search and rescue (SAR) operation for the missing aircraft was launched at 5.30am, involving 15 Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) aircraft, including four Hercules C130, a CN 235, four EC 725 and two Augusta helicopters, and nine ships comprising six from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and three from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).

- MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya confirmed the disappearance of the aircraft at 7.30am. The passengers comprised 38 Malaysians, China (153), Indonesia (seven), Australia (seven), France (three), United States (three), New Zealand (two), Ukraine (two), Canada (two), Russia (one), Italy (one), Taiwan (one), Holland (one) and Austria (one).

* March 9 - Armed Forces Chief Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said search area was extended from the South China Sea to the Melaka Strait. Several countries including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, China and the United States deployed their men and assets to aid the search.

- The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) radar recorded the plane, as later confirmed, heading towards the west coast of the peninsula through the Melaka Strait before it went missing 200 nautical miles off Penang's northwest at 2.15am.

- DCA director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman confirmed that two passengers boarded the aircraft with fake passports under the guise of an Italian and Austrian who had earlier reported their passports were stolen.

* March 10 - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pledged that the government will do its best in the SAR operation for Flight MH370.

- MMEA received test results from the oil slick spotted off Vietnam's coast, which came back negative for jet fuel. The oil was used as fuel for cargo ships.

* March 11 - Malaysian police and Interpol disclosed that the two men travelling on stolen passports were Iranian nationals Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 19, and Delavar Seyed Mohammad Erza, 29, with no apparent links to

terrorist groups. They were believed to be trying to migrate to Europe.

* March 12 - Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein clarified a number of issues: the possibility of Flight MH370 flying pass the Melaka Strait, cooperation of foreign aviation experts and Flight MH370 manifest.

Four passengers who did not check-in were replaced by four passengers from the waiting list. All passengers boarded the aircraft. No luggage was removed from the plane.

The two Iranian men entered and left Malaysia by Flight MH370, using the same passports.

* March 13 - Hishammuddin dismissed claims that the missing aircraft might have flown for about four hours past the time it disappeared from the tracking systems.

- No link in satellite images: China's civil aviation chief said there was no proof that floating objects in the South China Sea captured in satellite images on Sunday were connected to the missing MAS plane. Chinese authorities

also said the satellite images were mistakenly issued.

* March 14 - International search expanded westwards towards the Indian Ocean.

The United States (US) Navy Seventh Fleet's USS Kidd arrived in the northwestern section of the Melaka Strait to assist in the search efforts.

- The authorities were looking at four to five possibilities on how a missing Malaysian airliner’s transponder could possibly shut down, said Hishammuddin.

* March 15 - The prime minister said he could not confirm reports of a hijacking and maintained all possible causes for the plane's disappearance were under investigation.

- Najib said the FAA, NTSB, AAIB and the Malaysian authorities were working separately on the same primary radar data that was obtained from the data service provider, and the last confirmed communication between the plane and the satellite was at 8.11am on Saturday, March 8.

He said Flight MH370's communication system and transponder were switched off when the plane reached the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and between the Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, respectively.

Najib announced that the plane was flown for hours in a manner "consistent with deliberate action" after dropping off the primary radar.

He said the plane's last communication with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors; a northern corridor stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand or southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

Najib said SAR mission enters a new phase, in the northern and southern corridors. Australia and Indonesia lead search in their own regions. A total of 26 countries are involved in the search.

Najib said SAR ended its operations in the South China Sea.

* March 16 - Hishammuddin said no ransom demanded over the missing Flight MH370. Hence, the police were looking into four aspects of investigation.

On the SAR, he said Malaysian officials were liaising with 15 countries along the northern and southern corridors for assistance, in relation to the missing aircraft.

All MAS ground staff, engineers involved in handling the MH370 aircraft were under investigation by the police.

- Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said missing MH370 was investigated under Section 130 (C) Penal Code for hijacking, terrorism and sabotage offences, Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and Aviation Offences Act 2003.

Police seized flight simulator from the house of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of the missing MH370.

* March 17 - Hishammuddin said the SAR multinational operations involving 26 countries had begun in Southern and Northern corridors.

- The defence minister pledged to review the nation's radar system once the SAR operation for the plane was completed.

* March 18 - Hishammuddin said the SAR operation area for the missing MH370 covered the so-called southern and northern corridors - a total of 2.24 million square nautical miles.

- He said the search operation focused on four tasks; gathering information from satellite surveillance; analysis of surveillance radar data; increasing air and surface assets and increasing the number of technical and subject matter experts.

- Three million people joined in one of the largest crowd sourcing efforts led by satellite operator DigitalGlobe to scour 24,000km for MH370 SAR area as more images were added daily, including areas in the Indian Ocean.

* March 19 - Hishammuddin dismissed a report claiming that a missing Malaysian airliner was sighted flying low over the Maldives.

- Five relatives of Chinese passengers on board the missing flight caused a commotion when they tried twice to gatecrash the media centre at the Sama-Sama Hotel.

* March 20 - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot called Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at 10am, to say that objects possibly related to MH370, spotted in the southern Indian Ocean, located about 2,500km

southwest of Perth.

- Hishammuddin said the SAR operation continued despite the Australian finding, until further verification can be made.

* March 21 - Malaysia was still waiting for information from the Australian authorities on whether the objects sighted in the southern Indian Ocean were related to the missing flight MH370.

- Hishammuddin said international intelligence agencies did not find any unusual items from the passenger manifest of Flight MH370.

- Hishammuddin said background check on the sole Ukranian passenger on board the missing Flight MH370 had been cleared by Ukraine's authorities.

* March 22 - The communication transcript that allegedly took place between MH370 and air traffic control (ATC) the night it was reported missing on March 8, had been classified inaccurate and invalid, said DCA.

- Hishammuddin said Chinese satellite spotted a floating object measuring 22.5 metres by 13 metres.

- Hishammuddin said no sighting of objects identified by Australian authorities, some 2,500km southwest of Perth.

* March 23 - Hishammuddin said Malaysia had relayed new satellite images from the French authorities to the Australian rescue co-ordination centre.

- Hishammuddin said as of 2.30pm Malaysia time, Australian officials informed Malaysia that they had not made any new sightings regarding MH370.

* March 24 - Hishammuddin said more than 100 people had been interviewed by police, including the MH370 pilot's family.

- At 10pm, Najib announced that data released by Britain's Inmarsat satellite concluded that the missing Boeing 777-200ER ended in the southern Indian Ocean, West of Perth.

- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) expressed profound regret that its MH370 aircraft ended in the southern Indian Ocean, as announced by Najib.

* March 25 - MAS chairman said the airlines declared MH370 aircraft and 239 passengers and crew lost, based on the evidence from Inmarsat and AAIB.

- Najib said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott promised the country would continue search efforts to locate the missing MH370.

- Hishammuddin said MH370 flight's last position was identified using "Doppler effect" by United Kingdom's AAIB and the search of MH370 in northern corridor has been called off.

- The Malaysian mainstream newspapers ran black and white front pages with the news of the ill-fated Malaysian airliner.

* March 26 - Najib said Malaysia and China would continue to work closely in the ‪search for MH370.

- Hishammuddin said new satellite images had detected 122 potential objects that might be related to the missing MH370 aircraft, approximately 2,557km from Perth, Australia.

* March 27 - Hishammuddin said Malaysia was preparing to send a team to Perth, Australia comprising DCA, MAS, RMN and RMAF.

- A Thailand satellite detected 300 floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean, around 2,700km (1,680 miles) southwest of Perth.

* March 28 - Hishammuddin said the search operation to locate the MH370 jetliner was focusing on getting to the debris located in the southern Indian Ocean, following several reports from few countries that they had spotted objects.

- India's High Commissioner to Malaysia, T. S. Tirumurti said the Indian Government expressed deep appreciation to Malaysia over its handling of the Flight MH370 tragedy, which it described as an "unprecedented task."

* March 29 - Hishammuddin said there was a need to strengthen Malaysia's military assets from the radar system to technological capabilities.

- Hishammuddin advised the media, especially international media, not to speculate or spread false information over the disappearance of the MH370.

* March 30 - The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said a number of objects retrieved by the HMAS Success and Haixun 01 on Saturday had been examined and were believed not related to the MH370.

- Family members of those on board MH370 urging government for evidence that the flight ended in the Indian Ocean.

* March 31 - MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun appointed special officer to represent Malaysia to China to meet with family members of passengers in the missing MH370.

- Hishammuddin issued last conversation in the transcript between the air traffic controller and the cockpit of MH370 at 0119 hours (Malaysian Time) on March 8: "Good Night, Malaysian three seven zero".

- Australian prime minister backed his Malaysian counterpart's view that MH370 aircraft's final flight path ended in the remote southern Indian Ocean.

* April 1 - The transport ministry released the full transcript of the communication between MH370 and Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control, with no indication of anything abnormal.

- MAS said it had been advised that a petition filed on behalf of one of the passengers on board MH370 has been dismissed by order of a US Court.

* April 2 - A British Trafalgar Class submarine, HMS Tireless, arrived in the southern Indian Ocean as the search there for MH370 entered its 26th day.

- The police "cleared" all passengers of a missing Malaysian airliner of hijacking, sabotage and psychological and personal problems, but were still investigating the cabin crew, including the pilot and co-pilot.

- The authorities handling the investigation and search for MH370 met more than 40 relatives of passengers on the plane at the Bangi-Putrajaya Hotel where the next-of-kin, mainly Chinese nationals, were staying.

- The words "ended in the southern Indian Ocean" chosen by Najib to describe the fate of the missing Flight MH370 was the most appropriate, said China's Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Huang Huikang.

* April 3 - The search for MH370 entered its 27th day, with the area of the search covering about 223,000 sq km, some 1,680km west-north-west of Perth, Australia.

- The media centre operations for the missing Flight MH370 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here would be closed, effective April 8.

- A robotic submarine or underwater drone was needed for the next phase of the search and recovery operation in the southern Indian Ocean, said Najib.

Najib discussed with his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, on the need to acquire assistance from other countries for such technology.

Najib said such technology was needed once the black box pinger battery ran out, and should the SAR team locate the missing aircraft.

- Both Malaysia and Australia vowed to continue the search without any timeline.

- There had been no sighting of any object in the search area, said the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

* April 4 - The search for MH370 entered its 28th day today, and became a race against time as the battery of the black box was due to run out in two days.

- Australia was drafting a comprehensive agreement to serve as an "accredited representative" in the investigation of the missing aircraft.

Australian Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, the chief co-coordinator of JACC, said the agreement would enable the country to support Malaysia in the investigation into Flight MH370, in accordance with international law.

The search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean went underwater today, to scour the treacherous waters to hunt for the black box 'pinger'.

* April 5 - Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein announced that Malaysia will appoint an independent 'Investigator In Charge' to lead an investigation team.

- The investigation team would include accredited countries, including Australia beside China, the United States, the United Kingdom and France as accredited representatives.

- The Government had also established three ministerial committees in order to streamline and strengthen an on-going efforts.

- Hishammuddin also stated that the investigation on the crew members of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was still ongoing and nobody had been cleared.

- A black box detector deployed by the Chinese patrol vessel Haixun 01, picked up two short pulse signal in southern Indian Ocean waters.

* April 6 - The search for MH370 had been intensified in the southern Indian Ocean involving 112 aircraft and 13 ships, covering 134,000 square miles.

- Another pulse signal was detected in the southern Indian Ocean by Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield, about 300 nautical miles from the pulse signals picked up by Haixun 01.

- Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) however still could not confirm that the pulse detected by both Haixun 01 and Ocean Shield came from MH370. - BERNAMA

Debunking a popular blogsphere notion......Just a distraction .....

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Freescale_Patent_Holders_Weren%27t_On_Flight_370/34290/0/38/38/Y/M.html

FREESCALE PATENT HOLDERS WEREN'T ON FLIGHT 370

LEE ROGERS WRITES:

One of the stories being promoted by the alternative media is that four patent holders of a new fabrication technologyand employees of Freescale Seminconductor were on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. This turns out not to be the case. Even though it is true that several employees from Freescale are listed in the manifest none of the aforementioned patent holders are listed.

This is important to point out because it appears as if a bunch of these stories detailing a conspiracy to kill the patent holders to benefit the Rothschild family and others is at best poor journalism or at worst disinformation. If you look at the official Flight 370 manifest supplied by Malaysia Airlines and an even a more descriptive passenger list provided by New York Daily News, it is clear that none of the patent holders names are listed.

It is quite possible that this business surrounding Freescale, patent holders, the Rothschilds etc.. is just a manufactured rabbit trail to distract alternative researchers. A hat tip to Dahboo7 and his YouTube channel for exposing this. Check out his video on the same topic below.

and.......

06 April 2014| last updated at 03:50PM

MH370 Tragedy: JACC press conference

Below are excerpts of press conference by Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) chief coordinator Angus Houston

JACC announced that the pulse detected by a Chinese vessel has not been verified as being from MH370
AMSA is in contact with the Chinese at the Rescue Coordination Centre to get additional information regarding the contact picked up by Haixun 01
JACC reports that Haixun 01 detected another signal 2km from the earlier signal
RAAF has been tasked to check out these acoustic signals picked up by the Chinese vessel.
HMS Echo is the closest to Haixun 01's location. The Chinese ship picked up the first contact about 36 hours ago. Second contact, lasting 90 seconds, was picked up yesterday afternoon
Ocean Shield is pursuing its own contact, picked up an hour ago. The Shield is roughly 300 nautical miles from Haixun 01's position.
The International Investigation team advised of a correction to the satellite data with regard to MH370's flight track
The effect of this correction raises the importance of the southern part of the search
JACC chief coordinator Angus Houston says the fact that there are two acoustic events picked up by Haixun 01 in the same location makes this 'very promising'
The first detection was fleeting, says Houston. However, the 2nd one, in the afternoon, lasted about 90 seconds. Both events occurred in the high probability area in the southern part of the search area
HMS Echo is about 14 hours from Haixun 01's position. Houston says if needed, more assets will rendezvous with Haixun to render assistance.
Ocean Shield is investigating its own contact but if it turns out to be nothing, it will be re-tasked to support Echo and Haixun
It will take the Shield more than a day to reposition itself
Houston is unsure if the ROV on board the Shield will be deployed to investigate the contact
Houston says the Rescue Coordination Centre is controlling the search and deployment of assets

Sunday, 06 April 2014 15:49

China ship may have detected SECOND SIGNAL from black box of MH370

font size

E-mail

Comments (

)

Rate this item

(2 votes)

A SECOND signal that could be from the black box of missing flight MH370 has been detected 2km from the initial detection area.

Chinese ship the Haixun 01 detected the signal late yesterday hours after it picked up an initial pulse signal.

Former Defence Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Houston — who is heading the Joint Agency Coordination Centre — described the signal as “an important and encouraging lead” but urged caution until anything could be confirmed.

He said Australian vessel the Ocean Shield is also investigating an “acoustic noise” about 300 nautical miles from the signals picked up by the Chinese vessel.

But authorities remain unable to confirm that the signals picked up are from the black box flight recorder of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has been missing for a month.

HMS Echo and Australian vessel the Ocean Shield have been diverted to the area to assist in the search.

HMS Echo is expected to reach the area relatively quickly, but Ocean Shield is examining another “acoustic event” and will travel to the area once that had been fully investigated.

It will take over a day for it to reach the area.

The water where the Chinese vessel is operating is about 4500m deep.

“Any recovery operation is going to be very challenging and extremely demanding,” Air Chief Marshal Houston said.

However, he said it first had to be established that anything was down there and that search authorities were a long way from being able to do that.

He said the fact there had been two detections in that location “provides some promise that requires a full investigation of the location.”

The first signal was detected on Friday night while the second signal was picked up yesterday afternoon.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said that in the vast southern Indian Ocean, the two detections were very close together and had to be “investigated fully”.

He said the signals were picked up in the southern zone which search authorities felt was the most likely area to find the aircraft.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said a “correction” of satellite data picked up from MH370 in its final moments had firmed the search area in the southern area.

He said this put the “area of highest probability” in the southern part of the existing search area, close to where the Chinese vessel is operating.

About midday AEST today Ocean Shield picked up a “detection” which it was now investigating, authorities said.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said search authorities were “running out of time” to pick up signals from the black box recorder, with the 30-day battery life due to expire tomorrow.

He said the signal detected by the Ocean Shield was about 300 nautical miles from the signals picked up by the Chinese vessel.

Time running out to find black box

Batteries in the Malaysia Airlines 777’s two black boxes are due to expire today or tomorrow.

Australian planes may be sent to the southern Indian Ocean search area where the “pulse signal” was detected.

But the Australian team leading the international search has warned there is no confirmed link to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

Pulse detected ... the towed pinger locator (TPL-25) on the deck of Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield. Source:Supplied

Late yesterday it was reported by the Xinhua News Agency — apparently from Chinese reporters on the vessel — that a 15 second pulse was picked up at around 4.30pm.

The pulse was reportedly emitting pulses every second at 37.5kHz — the international standard beacon frequency for black boxes.

The Malaysia Airlines jet had two black boxes aboard, the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder.

It would be expected that a boat such as Haixun 01, which is thought to have a hull-mounted beacon-listening device, would initially pick up a signal and then lose it as it passed over the location. It would then retrace its steps to refine the location.

The JACC did not say whether the Australian Defence support vessel Ocean Shield, which has been towing a pinger locator in areas east of the Haixun 01, will now be moved to Haixun’s location.

Searching ... Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield in the search area for MH370. Picture: LSIS Bradley Darvill/Australian Defence Force Source: AFP

The location, which according to Xinhua is 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, places it in a new area beneath and above areas that have already been searched, roughly 1500km west-north-west of Shark Bay.

Chinese naval vessels Jinggangshan and Kunlunshan have already joined up withHaixun 01. Now it remains to be seen if there will be a convergence of ships and planes on the area.

An update from Mr Houston could come at around 11am WST, if he has anything to add.

In an interview with News Corp yesterday, prior to the Xinhua report, the mission commander on the Ocean Shield, James Lybrand, said it was to be expected that if a boat picked up black box signals, the sound would quickly fade as the ship moved away.

It would then be required to turn back over the search area and “localise” the frequency emissions, which could take many hours.

Looking for evidence ... an observer watches as a smoke flare is deployed to mark an unidentified object spotted from a RNZAF P3 Orion during search operations. Picture: Nick Perry Source: Getty Images

Commander Lybrand said yesterday there was “negligible” chance any pings at 37.5kHz was from biological sources, such as whales, and would almost certainly be from one of the two black boxes.

These sounds, or pulses, cannot be heard with human ears.

Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News cited its reporter on board the patrol ship as reporting that the ship’s crew had “basically confirmed” that the signal was from the missing Boeing 777-200.

However, experts have cautioned that the same signal could come from “a variety of things”.

“It could be a false signal,” oceanographer Simon Boxall told CNN. “We’ve had a lot of red herrings, hyperbole on this whole search.”

Waiting for answers ... MH370 has been missing for a month. Picture: Lai Seng Sin Source: AP

The view is not necessarily shared by searchers, who believe the beacon frequencies are too distinctive to be confused for anything else.

If the signals do turn out to be from the black boxes, the priority will be to narrow the location to as small an area as possible, and then to send an automated underwater vehicle (AUV) down.

It is not clear whether the Chinese have such a vessel, but the Ocean Shield does. It can take high-resolution images and has robotic arms that would be able to grab the black boxes if they were accessible.

The AUV would be controlled by underwater search experts from private firm Phoenix International, who are aboard the Ocean Shield with RAN, and the US Navy’s Supervisor of Salvage.

It would also be likely the British sub MHS Tireless, which is operating in the search zone, would also be sent to the area if it was determined the pulses were a credible lead.

Urging caution ... Retired Royal Australian Air Force Air Marshall Angus Houston is heading up the Joint Agency Coordination Centre. Picture: Rob Griffith Source: AP

Mr Houston said last night that its rescue coordination centre was now in contact with the Chinese searchers.

“The RCC in Australia has spoken to the RCC in China and asked for any further information that may be relevant,” he said last night.

“The deployment of RAAF assets to the area where the Chinese ship detected the sounds is being considered. I will provide further updates if, and when, more information becomes available.”

It has been a month since Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared en route to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Up to 10 military planes, three civilian jets and 11 ships have been scouring a 217,000-sq-km of ocean northwest of Perth near where investigators have hypothesised the plane went down.

Australian Defence Minister David Johnston was asked last night about Chinese reports during a live cross on ABC24 for the WA Senate election.

“I know nothing. I don’t want to confirm anything because I think there has been a lot of this sort of false positives,” Senator Johnston said.

“Let’s wait until we have an official release.

“But look, I’m excited, I’m optimistic, but let me tell you it’s a very, very big ocean out there and up until this time, we’ve had a lot of disappointment.” - news.com.au

Sunday, 06 April 2014 16:50

IS IT MH370? 3.5 miles below ocean 'black box' signal heard, from air '20 pieces of debris' seen

font size

E-mail

Comments (

)

Rate this item

(0 votes)

The hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane took an extraordinary twist last night when China said it may have detected a signal from its black box recorder on the floor of the Indian Ocean.

The faint signal was picked up by a Chinese search vessel on the twenty-ninth day of the hunt for Flight MH370, just hours before the recorder’s batteries were expected to die.

China’s state-run news agency said the search vessel Haixun 01 picked up the signal on the precise frequency used by black box recorders in a search zone hundreds of miles off the west coast of Australia.

A Chinese ship is said to have detected a 'pulse signal' in the southern Indian Ocean today

A white floating object spotted by Chinese air force in the southern Indian Ocean today

The signal was detected using a black box detector – a remote- controlled missile-shaped submersible – at around 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude, according to a Chinese journalist on board the ship.

The signal was picked up for only 90 seconds, suggesting, remarkably, that if it did come from the plane’s black box recorder it may have been the final output before the battery died at the end of its 30-day life.

Later, the Xinhua news agency said a Chinese airforce plane had spotted ‘several white objects’ floating on the surface of the ocean 1,680 miles from Perth at 11.05am yesterday. The debris was just 55 miles from the area where the ping was detected.

Pulse signal heard from depths of Indian Ocean

A huge underwater search was expected to be launched at daylight to see if the ship has found the Boeing 777, which disappeared less than an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

Britain’s HMS Echo – carrying sophisticated equipment that can hear the recorder’s pings – has joined the hunt and robot submersibles from an Australian search team are expected to be sent down where the ocean is up to two miles deep. An 11-strong international flotilla is searching a vast area of the southern Indian Ocean for the plane.

To hear the black box signals the Chinese ship would have needed to be almost directly above the shoebox-sized black box, which was housed in the plane’s tail section.

The discovery would be unprecedented as black box recorders have only ever been found after a field of debris was detected first.

Ship looking for MH370 detects black box 'pulse signal'

The potential discovery came as Malaysia vowed it would not give up on trying to find the missing jetliner and announced details of a multinational investigation team to solve the aviation mystery, as the search for the plane entered its fifth week

Hishammuddin Hussein, (right) Malaysia's defense minister and acting transport minister, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the cost of mounting the search was immaterial compared to providing solace for the families of those on board by establishing what happened

Malaysia and Australia, which is in charge of the Indian Ocean search, greeted the news with cautious optimism last night but advised people to wait for developments, anxious that it could turn out to be another false lead.

In the first week after the plane disappeared, China announced through Xinhua that it had satellite images of what might be debris from the missing flight in the South China Sea, only to claim later the data had been put out in error.

China informed Australian officials about the black box signals at lunchtime on Saturday before breaking ranks to announce the discovery shortly after Malaysian officials told journalists at a daily briefing that there had been no new developments in the search.

Teams are searching for two black boxes like this one which investigators hope will reveal what happened on board the doomed flight

U.S. Navy Captain Mark Matthews with the pinger locator which has now reached the remote search area in the Indian Ocean where investigators hope it will pick up a signal from MH370's black boxes

Clinging to hope: A underwater pinger locator (above) which is capable of detecting signals from MH370's black boxes has reached the search zone in the Indian Ocean on board the Australian navy ship Ocean Shield

A Royal New Zealand Air Force crew member looks out for debris from the Malaysia Airlines plane

A government source in Kuala Lumpur said: ‘We sincerely hope the black box recorder has been found but our main concern is for the relatives of those missing, and we feel the way the Chinese government has announced this is not appropriate. It smacks of one-upmanship.’

Chinese nationals account for 157 of the passengers on the plane.

If debris or the black box cannot be found, the only hope for finding the plane may be a full survey of the Indian Ocean floor, an operation that would take years. -Dailymail