AirAsia flight QZ8501: Singapore ready to deploy system to detect plane

Senior investigator Steven Teo of the Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore explaining to the media the functions of the various components of the Underwater Locater Beacon Detector System.  Indonesia has accepted Singapore's offer of t
Senior investigator Steven Teo of the Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore explaining to the media the functions of the various components of the Underwater Locater Beacon Detector System.  Indonesia has accepted Singapore's offer of two teams of specialists and two sets of underwater locator beacon detectors to assist in locating the data recorders of missing flight QZ8501.

SINGAPORE - Singapore is ready to deploy two systems to detect plane underwater and is now waiting for the go-ahead from Indonesia.

On Monday, Indonesia accepted Singapore's offer to send the two systems and four specialists from the Transport Ministry's Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to help in search operations for QZ8501.

The system comprises a hydrophone which is submerged and then rotated 360 degrees underwater, said the AAIB's senior investigator Steven Teo.

The hydrophone is able "listen" for the pinging sounds emitted by the aircraft black box, or flight recorder's underwater locator beacon (ULB), and allow specialists to triangulate an approximate location where the ULB might be.

"With this information we will then forward it to our Indonesian counterparts for them to follow-up," said Mr Teo.

"Things that could be done include sending divers to locations with the highest probability to physically look for the flight data recorder."

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