More than 60 percent of the ocean floor where investigators believe Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 crashed has now been searched, authorities said Wednesday.
“Assuming no significant delays with vessels, equipment or from the weather, the current underwater search area may be largely completed around May 2015,” the Australia Transportation Safety Bureau announced in an operational update.
One of the privately-contracted vessels involved in the search, GO Phoenix, left the southern Indian Ocean search area Wednesday to resupply in the Australian port of Freemantle. As it did so, Fugro Equator arrived in Fremantle and was expected to set sail again within 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Fugro Discovery was on its way back from Freemantle to the search area.
It has been more than a year since the Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
In March, the first comprehensive report into the disappearance showed that the jet's underwater locator beacon's battery had expired — but offered few other clues.
IN-DEPTH
- Beacon Battery Expired Before MH370 Vanished: Report
- Malaysian PM 'Hopeful' That MH370 Will Be Found
- If MH370 Isn't Found, It's 'Back to the Drawing Board'