Malaysia '99.9% Sure' Of Finding MH370

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Malaysia's defence minister has told Sky News he is "99.9% sure" the sonar technology being used in the hunt for missing flight MH370 will find the doomed jet.

Hishammuddin Hussein officially launched the Malaysian contracted vessel GO Phoenix and its underwater probe at Fremantle Port in Perth on Wednesday.

He told Sky News: "This is cutting-edge technology. That's my personal view based on experts' opinion - 99.9% sure (sonar devices can find it).

"But the ocean is huge so it depends on narrowing the search area and that's the challenge."

Mr Hishammuddin said there was no timeline for the search

The probe, which can go to depths of nearly four miles (6.4km) and cover up to 75 sq miles (194 sq km) per day, is being used in the search area 1,200 miles off the coast of Western Australia.

GO Phoenix is one of three ships being used in the search. Sky News was allowed on board as it was resupplied and refuelled in Fremantle.

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1. Gallery: MH370: Timeline Of False Hopes

   March 8: At 9am, an hour after flight MH370 is reported missing, rumours spread online that it has landed safely in China

2. March 8: Search planes spot two oil slicks in the South China Sea but tests show the fuel is not from an aircraft

3. March 9: Vietnam search plane spots mystery objects in the South China Sea but they turn out to be unrelated to MH370

4. March 10: A moss-covered piece of floating sea debris is mistaken for a yellow life raft

5. March 11: Two MH370 passengers travelling with stolen passports are identified as illegal immigrants from Iran and are no longer suspected of terrorist activity

6. March 12: Images released of three floating white objects close to MH370's last known location but searchers find nothing

7. March 19: PM Tony Abbot announces Australian search teams have spotted two large items in the southern Indian Ocean. They were never found

8. March 22: Objects tangled with a wooden pallet are mistaken for safety straps but turn out to be seaweed

9. March 23: 122 items are picked up via a French satellite but search planes are unable to locate any of them

10. March 27: Thai satellite detects about 300 floating objects in the Indian Ocean but they cannot be identified as coming from MH370

11. March 28: Search area moves 1,100km northeast as analysis suggests plane used up fuel more quickly than expected

12. March 30: FBI investigations into a flight simulator found at the home of one of the pilots reveal 'nothing sinister'

13. April 1: Contrary to previous suggestions, final cockpit communications from the two pilots appear to be entirely routine

14. April 2: Personal and psychological analysis of all 239 passengers and crew reveals no clues to the disappearance

15. April 4: Experts dismiss plan to locate the plane's black box using a 'pinger detector' as a 'desperate move' with little chance of success

16. May 29: US Navy claims a series of pings detected by Bluefin-21 are unlikely to have any connection to the missing plane and may well have come from the search ship itself

Mr Hishammuddin said there was no timeline for the search, but if there was he would leave it up to the experts to advise.

He said Malaysia has never strayed from its focus to find the plane despite numerous obstacles and setbacks.

"All that could have been done to find the plane at this point has been done," Mr Hishammuddin said.

"This is it, the next phase. The search goes on."

Video: June 8: 'Convinced Of A Cover-Up'

One of the crew operating the sonar probe explained how good the resolution is on images received by it.

Project leader Evan Tanner said: "It can identify objects roughly 10cm in size - the same size as a soda can. It will spot that from a kilometre away. It's impressive technology."

Mr Hishammuddin acknowledged the pain still felt by the families and friends of those on board MH370.

He said: "They remain in our thoughts and also in our prayers.

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1. Gallery: Missing Passengers Of Flight MH370

   Stuntman Ju Kun, 35, was travelling to Beijing to see his two young children before starting work on the new Netflix and Weinstein Company series Marco Polo in Malaysia.

2. Muktesh Mukherjee and Bai Xiaomo were heading home to Beijing after a beach holiday in Vietnam.

3. Yue Wenchao, 26, is originally from inner Mongolia but had moved to the UK to study a postgraduate course at the University of Hull Business School.

4. Bob and Cathy Lawton of Springfield Lakes, Australia, are parents to three daughters, as well as doting grandparents.

5. Hu Xiaoning, 34, was travelling home to Beijing with his three-year-old daughter Hu Siwan.

6. French students Hadrien Wattrelos, 17, and Zhao Yan, 18, were heading for school in Beijing.

7. Paul Weeks, a mechanical engineer, left his wedding ring and watch at home when he headed to Mongolia for a work trip.

"We must continue to hope because sometimes hope is all we have.

"We will find MH370."

The GO Phoenix is expected to depart from Fremantle on Thursday to join the search operation off southwestern Australia.

MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board during its March 8 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

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