Tech Question: Can't MH370 flaperon be tracked?

[hitchicken]

I assume we have satellites flying over snapping millions of hi-res pictures with each pass especially since the crash occurred. It's big, white, bright, floating and moving slowly in the ocean currents. In addition, there are satellites constantly tracking and recording ocean currents. So can't the eggheads go back over their photos and data and backtrack the flap? Just wondering what you all think?

 

[glhs837]

I assume we have satellites flying over snapping millions of hi-res pictures with each pass especially since the crash occurred. It's big, white, bright, floating and moving slowly in the ocean currents. In addition, there are satellites constantly tracking and recording ocean currents. So can't the eggheads go back over their photos and data and backtrack the flap? Just wondering what you all think?

Ah, no, we don't. That sort of persistent high res imagery costs, and so is focused on areas of interest. Conflict zones, areas with natural resources, that sort of thing. Open ocean? Not so much. And that's some of the most open ocean on the planet.

 

[hitchicken]

True, but the area became of interest when MH370 crashed. Many hi-resolution photos (good to 1 meter) of the area were released to the public through TomNod.com shortly after the crash and showed lots of debris. Now we know what to look for (flap is 3 meters long). In fact, the public was asked to help search for the crash site. Now the public should go back over those released photos and look for the flap.

 

[Gilligan]

Yes. there were numerous sightings of "debris" at the time, some from satellite imagery. All were investigated and found to be not from an airplane. The "area" was absolutely massive at the time...not some localized "spot" that could be focused on.

The single flap just recovered could well be about the only significant piece of the actual aircraft that remained on the surface....and has now traveled many thousands of miles from where the aircraft likely impacted. Experts in the ocean currents and the effects of wind on drifting objects have pretty much indicated that the distance traveled is simply far to long and over too much time to ever be able to "track back" the flap's path to it's source location.

 

[Ken King]

I assume we have satellites flying over snapping millions of hi-res pictures with each pass especially since the crash occurred. It's big, white, bright, floating and moving slowly in the ocean currents. In addition, there are satellites constantly tracking and recording ocean currents. So can't the eggheads go back over their photos and data and backtrack the flap? Just wondering what you all think?

The flaperon might not have separated from the wing until well after the crash. Best tracking mechanism right now will probably be the barnacles that attached while it was in the water.