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            Search for MH370 Narrows Following Detection of 'Pings'

   by VOA News

   The hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner narrowed further Thursday,
   as authorities search for more signals they think belong to the plane's
   flight data recorder.

   Australian authorities said the search area in the remote southern
   Indian Ocean now stands at 57,000 square kilometers - the smallest yet
   in the over month-long search for the Boeing 777.

   Search chief Angus Houston on Wednesday expressed hope the plane would
   soon be found, after authorities reacquired two "pings" consistent with
   the jet's black box.

   "I'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft in the not too
   distant future," said Houston.

   Time is running out for authorities to locate the origin of the
   signals, since the batteries on the black box's locator beacon are set
   to run out after about 30 days.

   The Malaysia Airlines jet, which was carrying 239 people, disappeared
   on March 8 while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

   Malaysian authorities believe the plane was deliberately diverted and
   crashed into the sea. But without wreckage, many are skeptical.

   In the Malaysian capital Thursday, salesman Wee Boon Seow said it is
   hard to be optimistic that search crews are narrowing in on the plane.

   "I mean, as a Malaysian, we tend to take everything with a pinch of
   salt, because there is always this latest development, this latest news
   about how they discovered the 'pings' in the south Indian Ocean. But I
   don't know. I'm pretty pessimistic about the news," said Seow.

   A total of 14 planes and 13 ships are involved in Thursday's search for
   the plane, which extends from about 2,300 kilometers northwest of the
   Australian city of Perth.

   If authorities can locate more pings, they plan to deploy a robot
   submarine to search the ocean floor.

   Once the black box is retrieved, authorities will be able to determine
   what happened to the plane. Its fate has become one of the most
   puzzling mysteries in modern aviation.

   The plane vanished without any distress calls, and authorities have
   refused to rule out any possibilities, including hijacking, sabotage or
   a mechanical malfunction.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/search-for-mh370-narrows-following-detection-of-pings/1890169.html