SYDNEY — The submersible scouring the ocean floor for wreckage from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is nearing the end of its underwater search, having covered 80 percent of an area authorities believe to be the most likely resting place of the plane and its 239 passengers.
The Bluefin-21, on its ninth mission Tuesday, was searching an area of the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles northwest of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The agency coordinating the search said the underwater zone is defined as a circle with a 6.2-mile radius around the last acoustic signal detected on April 8.
The searches began after the Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield picked up four acoustic signals, two on April 5 and two more on April 8, using a towed pinger locator. At that time, the plane had been missing for a month after veering off course on March 8.
So far, no debris that can be identified as linked to the aircraft has been found, and the Bluefin has not recorded any information that shows promise in finding any wreckage.