US sending black box locator and robotic underwater vehicle

The US military sent a black box locator and a robotic underwater vehicle to the Indian Ocean, Monday, to help in the search for the plane’s black box. The locator system, which relies on acoustic signals to track down flight recorders, and the Bluefin-21, an unmanned device that can scan the ocean’s depths, were being flown to Perth, Australia. The equipment are to be used been only after a debris field has been confirmed. For reasons unknown, MH370 backtracked over the Malaysian peninsula and then flew on for hours. The search swung deep into the Indian Ocean last week after initial satellite images depicted large floating objects there. Hopes of a resolution to the mystery rose after a weekend in which an Australian aircraft spotted a wooden pallet, strapping and other debris, and French and Chinese satellite information indicated more floating objects.

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