The agency coordinating the search operation for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 wreck has revealed that "poignant messages" from the families of the passengers and crew are being used by it to motivate search crews to keep going as they enter their fourth month of scouring the southern Indian Ocean.
While talking about the measures that the agency has in place to stress on the importance of the mission to crews joining the operation, which has failed to provide any clues so far, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesperson said that the messages help them to understand that their work has a human side too, reported News.com.au.
"It's a hard job in a tough and fatiguing environment" and so crews are swapped after every six weeks," the spokesman said. He added that whenever a new crew is about to go out to the search area, they are briefed on the operation by representatives of the ATSB who explain the search and its context.
The messages sent by the passengers' families are part of the briefing and help the crew to understand that they are working to find the answers that will mean a great deal to people who have lost their loved ones and for the future safety of air travel.
He added that it helps in maintaining morale among the crew members more than ten months after the Boeing 777 disappeared with 239 people on board.
About 16,000 square kilometres of ocean floor has been searched so far, with no trace of the Boeing 777 detected.