The following are ships of the Chinese FLEET (too big to be a flotilla) searching for MH370 in the area off Western Australia in the southern Indian Ocean. Basically in descending order of tonnage:

Qiandaohu Type 903 replenishment ship 20,500 tons, long term supplies, rations, fuel, spares.

JinggangShan, Type 071 amphibious transport dock – 20,000 tons carrying life-saving equipment, landing craft, underwater detection equipment, supplies of water and food, two helicopters, 30 medical personnel, 10 divers and a 52-member marine contingent.

KunlunShan Type 071 amphibious transport dock , same details as JinggangShan.

Haikou, Type 052C destroyer 7,000 tons, fleet operations, communications and control, mainly military use radar, sonar and optics. Search helicopter and small UAVs. Can lower boats and dinghies to pick up floating objects.

Haixun 01, 3,000 tons? Coast guard - rescue ship, a helicopter and radar. Perhaps http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/8581645.html

Nanhaijiu 115 rescue ship, and

Donghaijiu 101 rescue ship http://english.cntv.cn/2014/03/30/VIDE1396155241742200.shtml

See post on my blog at http://gentleseas.blogspot.com.au/

Pete

I just wonder, if we are looking in the right place?
The first area, was dropped in favor of something much closer to Australia!
Could the plane have landed somewhere in sparsely populated north western Australia?
Perhaps on an abandoned runway, that last saw service during WW11?
How can we be certain that this mystery, is not part of a conspiracy, to embarrass, Malaysia, and its homophobic fearful Government; and or, bring it into disrepute with a very much larger China/the world?
And if the airliner landed, could it be that it was placed under camouflage, and then offloaded the passengers and refueled?
The passengers, would be totally reliant on others for their very survival and almost certain to be completely compliant?
I mean, everyone knows, that the northwest is a most harsh and rugged country, only traversed by those with specialist survival skills?
With the passengers offloaded, flown across the continent overnight, at a low enough altitude, to beat current radar surveillance, which certainly wouldn't be expecting MH370, to overfly any part of the Australian territory, let alone, parked somewhere in the sunshine coast hinterland?
I don't know where it could land, but there are a number of dirt roads, in the hinterland, which possibly have a straight section long enough, and given a stock route, enough width.
And a plane like that could have been mistaken by sleepy farmers, as an overnight road train? What else could they think?
And many farms have sheds large enough to hide a airliner, perhaps for months!?
The Malaysians have acted as if there was something to hide, or knew more than they were telling?
They have come forth with several different versions of the last conversation with the missing plane.
And it simply defies all rational logic, given the totally unexplained change of course, that this wasn't some sort of conspiracy/terrorist plot, that maybe went wrong, or worse, was spectacularly successful?
Rhrosty.

Hi Rhrosty

I share your doubts to the extent that MH370 may not have followed the assumed rigidly linear route South. It may have diverged between the last two "pings". This could theoretically place it anywhere up to 1,500 kms west of the current search area.

However I think any which way it would have crashed - I'd say 95% chance in the Ocean.

If it was on land it also would have crashed. This is because very large jets need especially paved - very thick concrete-tarmac runways. Even secretly upgraded WWII runways aren't in that league. It takes experts with many earth movers and 1,000s of tons of the right materials.

So if its on land there may be wreckage of MH370 - though very unlikely on Australian soil.

But its most likely that doubts in years might do nothing but launch a thousand books and cults.

Unfortunately the authorities can only concentrate finite resources on the most likely crash area - and have to do it quickly before all debris sinks and the Black Box battery life dies.

Regards

Pete

Australia's news.com.au, April 2, 2014, reports http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/nuclear-submarine-joins-search-for-missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370/story-fnizu68q-1226871783527

"NUCLEAR SUB JOINS THE SEARCH [FOR MH370]

A British nuclear submarine [HMS Tireless] is set to join the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The Ministry of Defence said the Trafalgar class submarine had arrived in the southern Indian Ocean and would soon be joined by the survey vessel HMS Echo.

Both ships carry advanced underwater search capabilities which will be applied in the search for the ultrasonic “pings” being emitted by the missing aircraft’s black box flight recorders.

It may prove to be one of the last missions for HMS Tireless, which had originally been scheduled to be scrapped in 2013.

The nuclear-powered submarine was launched in 1984. It carries a crew of 130 and 18 officers."

My Comment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Tireless_(S88) was launched in 1984 and has a mixed safety record. Tireless will probably attemp to detect “pings” emitted by MH370's Black Box using its passive sonars and other electronic receivers. It is less likely that Tireless' active sonars and other sensors would be able to "shape" (detect) MH370 debris floating or on the ocean floor. Tireless is unlikely to be equipped to recover MH370 debries from the ocean floor.

HMS Echo - a multi-role hydrographic survey ship of 3,500 tons is likely to be more useful in search and recovery.
-
Pete

The faulty circular logic I referred to earlier in this comment string goes like this:

- Two satellite images taken on 16 March (Australian-US satellite satellite) and 18 March (Chinese satellite) showed 20+ metre long potential aircraft debris in the southern Indian Ocean

But to date these satellite sightings have signified NOTHING (according to followup satellite, aircraft and ship searches).

- The 24 March, INMARSAT "Doppler ping" evidence seemed to support the POSITION of the two satellite images taken on 16 and 18 March theory - but as these images were later found to signify NOTHING (by followup satellite, aircraft and ship searches) INMARSAT was providing supporting evidence signifying NOTHING.

Hence the vast international effort to find anything is time-critical and well-intentioned but once the Black Box batteries die - in about 3 weeks - then probably pointless - aside from international relations benefits.

Something floating may well turn up in months or years once the search has finished. But actually finding anything on the ocean floor is extremely remote.

I hope the above is wrong.

See best assembly of MH370 evidence at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mh370

Pete

There are certainly some way out speculations here.
It is quite simple, Inmarsat using Doppler shift of the Satphone
transmitter frequency on the aircraft, which the crew could not turn off,
were able to determine that the aircraft went south.
The amount and direction of Doppler shift told them how far east or
west of the satellite the southern track lay.
That it went south was probably determined by the fact the shift went
to zero and then rose again because it crossed the equator.
It was near equinox at the time.
All this is a bit of very tricky calculation by Inmarsat and they should be congratulated.

Now all this is supposition by me, but from the little that has been
said by Inmarsat that seems the most likely deduction.

Now the Jindalee system may have seen the aircraft early in its flight
but if it crossed the equator a long way west then probably would not be seen.
Also ionospheric conditions may not have been favourable.
Out where its track is presumed then conventional military radar
would definitely not see it even if there are such radars present.
Even military radars cannot perform miracles.