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TURBULENCE.
SOME SHIPS DID REMAIN OUT THERE,
THOUGH, TO KEEP THE SEARCH
GOING.
MORE SATELLITE IMAGES BUT NOT A
LOT MORE ANSWERS.
LET'S BRING IN OUR EXPERT PANEL
FOR MORE.
WE HAVE CAPTAIN TIM TAYLOR,
PRESIDENT OF TIBURON SUBSEA
SERVICES.
WE ALSO HAVE MILES O'BRIEN.
THANK YOU FOR COMING ON, MILES.
I WANT TO BEGIN WITH YOU BECAUSE
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT OUR
VIEWERS ARE STRUGGLING WITH.
EVERY DAY THERE ARE NEW
SATELLITE IMAGES THAT SHOWS
SPECKS THAT COULD BE DEBRIS BUT
EVERY DAY THEY ARE IN ROUGHLY
THE SAME AREA.
AS YOU BEGIN TO PIECE THESE
PICTURES TOGETHER, IS IT
REASONABLE TO CONCLUDE THAT
WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE A DEBRIS
FIELD HERE, THAT THERE IS MORE
EVIDENCE OF A DEBRIS FIELD?
>> LAYPERSON'S RESPONSE, YES.
THERE ARE THREE THINGS TO THINK
ABOUT HERE.
THE LOCATION, THE SHEER NUMBERS
AND SIMILARITY.
I ASSUME A TRASH PILE MAY HAVE
DIFFERENT SHADES AND I DON'T SEE
THAT.
FINALLY, AND WHAT I SEE ARE
SHAPES, MAYBE I'M TRYING TO SEE
IT, ARE AERODYNAMIC PIECES THAT
COULD BE THE FUSELAGE OR
HORIZONTAL STABILIZER.
SO I THINK THIS IS VERY
PROMISING.
>> IT'S ONE KEY THING, SHAPE.
TIM, AS YOU KNOW, THEY'VE HAD TO
SUSPEND THE CLOSE-UP SEARCHES.
THEY LOOK FROM MILES ABOVE THE
SKY FROM SAT IT LOOKELLITE AND D
THE PLANES IN TO GET A CLOSER
LOOK AND THEY'VE HAD A DIFFICULT
TIME WITH THE WEATHER.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFICULTIES
OF SPOTTING IT AND THEN GETTING
A SHIP TO FIND THE DEBRIS.
>> WE ARE FIGHTING MOTHER
NATURE.
AND WE'RE NOT ONLY FIGHTING
MOTHER NATURE, WE'RE FIGHTING
MOTHER NATURE.
SHE HAS A HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE,
IT'S LATE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
AND SHE'S KILLING US.
WE'VE GOT TO COME BACK.
WE'VE GOT TO FIND THESE THINGS.
BUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THESE
SATELLITES, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A
SATELLITE IMAGE AND THEN YOU'RE
NOT BEING ABLE TO PUT A SHIP ON
LOCATION UNTIL DAYS LATER AND
THEN, THEN YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO
PUT A RECOVERY -- YOU'RE NOT
EVEN FINDING THE STUFF.
YOU ARE CHASING IT.
EVERY DAY IS A DELAYED IMAGE.
WEATHER IS KNOCKING YOU DOWN.
IT IS ALMOST AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK
AND THE TARGET IS MOVING.
>> THE TARGET IS MOVING EVERY
DAY AND YOU'VE GOT THE WEATHER,
AS YOU MENTIONED, WE'RE TOLD
THAT THE NEXT FLIGHTS MIGHT NOT
BE UP UNTIL AS FAR FROM NOW
UNTIL SUNDAY.
THAT'S ANOTHER THREE DAYS AWAY.
THAT COULD MOVE A LOT OF MILES.
>> AND IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
THE DATA -- THE DATA LINKS
ARE -- IT'S A POSITIVE THING
THAT THEY ARE GETTING MULTIPLE
POSITIVE HITS FROM DIFFERENT
SATELLITES AND COUNTRIES.
THEY MAY BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE
SAME PIECES OF WRECKAGE AND
FOLLOW THEM OVER TIME.
AS IT GETS LONGER AND LONGER AND
LONGER AND DISPERSED FARTHER AND
FARTHER, THE ODDS GO
EXPONENTIALLY IF IT IS THE
WRECKAGE TO WHERE IT WENT IN THE
WATER.
>> IT'S INCREDIBLE.
AS YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURES, YOU
IMAGINE THESE NEAT LITTLE ARROWS
BUT IN FACT IT'S LIKE A THOUSAND
WASHING MACHINES.
MILES, THERE WAS A GREAT
INTERVIEW IN THE A.P. THAT
TALKED TO THE SPOTTERS AND
LOOKING AT THE CHALLENGE OF THE
EYES GLAZING OVER, 30, 60
MINUTES STARING AT THE SAME
OCEAN.
AND SOME OF THE SEAWEED
APPARENTLY IN THIS PART OF THE
OCEAN IS ORANGE AND THEY LOOK
FOR ORANGE OBJECTS AND THEY'VE
HAD A LOT OF FALSE ALARMS.
YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING WITH
VIEWERS.
TELL US WHAT A CHALLENGE IT IS
TO PICK THIS STUFF UP.
>> HERE'S A LITTLE FOOTAGE FROM
SEPTEMBER 2011.
FLEW A CIVIL AIR PATROL MISSION
ONE DAY AND GOT A KEEN
APPRECIATION FOR THE CHALLENGES.
THE NEVADA DESERT IS LIKE THE
OCEAN.
THERE'S A LOT OF JUNK LEFT OVER
FROM MINING DAYS AND IT'S
INTERESTING HOW YOUR EYES WILL
PLAY TRICKS ON YOU AND MAKE YOU
THINK YOU'RE SEEING A PLANE WHEN
IT'S AN OLD WHEELBARROW FROM A
MINE.
THE KEY IS, WHAT THE CIVIL AIR
PATROL DOES, YOU HAVE TO DO IT
IN INCREMENTAL SHIFTS.
I KNOW THESE CREW ROTATE PEOPLE
THROUGH BUT IT'S VERY FATIGUING
AND, OF COURSE, HUMAN NATURE IS,
YOU WANT TO FIND SOMETHING.
>> THEY ARE ALSO TALKING ABOUT
TRICKS THAT THEY USE, LIKE
MOVING YOUR EYES SO THEY DON'T
GET GLAZED OVER.
>> THERE'S A CERTAIN PATTERN
THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO AND I
WASN'T VERY GOOD AT IT.
>> THESE GUYS ARE PROFESSIONALS
AND THEY ARE ON LAND AND THAT
WAS IN NEVADA, A PIECE OF
NEVADA.
IT TOOK THEM TWO YEARS.
>> AND IT WAS FOUND REALLY KIND
OF A HIKER GOING THROUGH THE
WOODS FOUND I.D. CARDS THAT HAD
BEEN TAKEN AWAY BY AN ANIMAL.
SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW THAT
ENDED UP.
BUT THE TRUTH IS, THAT SEARCH
WAS FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND DID
NOT YIELD ANYTHING.
IT WAS A HIKER.
>> YEAH, SOMETIMES LUCK JUST
PLAYS A PART.
WEATHER IS GOING TO DETERIORATE
OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
THAT MUST MAKE IT HARDER, I
IMAGINE, TO USE MODEL FORECAST
TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THOSE
CURRENTS ARE BRINGING ALL THIS
DEBRIS.
HOW MUCH OF A CHALLENGE IS THAT?
DAYS, WEEKS?
WHAT DOES THIS PUSH -- HOW FAR
DOES THIS PUSH THE SEARCH OUT?
>> IT'S GETTING ALMOST TO THE
POINT OF IMPOSSIBILITY.
EVEN THE BEST MATHEMATICIANS,
UNLESS THEY GET SO MANY CLUES
AND RECOVER SO MUCH, IT LOOKS
LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE SO MINIMAL
THAT IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH TO
PLUG IT BACK, ESPECIALLY SINCE
IT'S BEEN THREE WEEKS.
MILES JUST SAID, THEY LOST A
PLANE ON LAND AND THEY COULDN'T
FIND IT.
OKAY.
THIS IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
OCEAN IN THE MOST REMOTE PART OF
THE WORLD THAT NOBODY GOES.
SO IT'S DAUNTING.
>> AND THEN THE LAND IS NOT
MOVING LIKE THE OCEAN IS,