Australian, Malaysian and Chinese officials will meet here tomorrow to chart out plans for the next stage of the hunt for the final resting place of the crashed Malaysian jet, nearly two months after the plane vanished mysteriously with 239 people on board.
One group will analyse the data and information collected so far. Another will look at the resources needed to find the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines plane.
The data audit will look at information gathered since the beginning of the search for Flight MH370.
The meeting comes after Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and head of the search operation Angus Houston met Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Chinese Transport Minister Yang Chuantang here on Monday to discuss further steps in the underwater search, which will focus on 60,000 sq kms in the Indian Ocean, where authorities believe the Boeing 777-200 plane crashed on March 8.
Authorities have relied on satellite information and pings believed to be from the plane's flight data recorders in picking their search area.
A key element of the new phase will be a detailed mapping of the ocean floor.
Truss said he is not sure how deep the ocean is in the expanded search area because "it's never been mapped."
The next stage of the hunt will involved highly specialised technology, including towed side-scan sonar and more autonomous underwater vehicles, Truss said.
Truss said he was optimistic that the new devices will be in the water within a month or two. In the meantime, he said, the Bluefin-21 drone will continue underwater missions.
The Bluefin-21 has already scanned 400 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean floor, but with no luck. The United States has authorised the use of the drone for another month.
While the Bluefin-21 provides greater resolution than deep-towed sonar devices, the drone can only go about 4.5 kilometers deep.
Australia estimates the next phase of the search will cost about USD 60 million, Truss said. He said officials will consult with Malaysia, China and other parties on how that cost would be shared.
Until now, all countries involved in the search have paid for their own costs.
The new phase will allow more parties to join the search, acting Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin said.
The Beijing-bound plane - carrying 239 people, including five Indians, had mysteriously vanished on March 8 after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia believes the flight was deliberately diverted by someone on board and that satellite data indicates it crashed in the Indian Ocean, west of the Australian city of Perth.
