Coordination chaos causes delays in search efforts for Malaysian jet

Poor coordination between the bodies trying to find the Malaysia Airlines plane has caused delays and confusion in search operations.

Sources said the abrupt shift in search area last Friday had been carried out because of two separate investigative processes by different international teams of experts trying to establish the plane.

According to news.com.au, one team based the plane's likely speed and rate of fuel consumption based upon data gained from radar contacts and aircraft performance modelling based on the manufacturer's data.

A second team focused on tracking and measuring the 'pings' from automated data transmitting equipment aboard the aircraft which were recorded by relay satellites, the wall Street Journal reports.

It was only when the two groups combined their data that the new search area was established.

The original Southern Ocean search area had been determined by the satellite tracking team, the report said.

According to the report, after three days of an unproductive hunt at the extreme edge of search-aircraft endurance, it was suddenly moved about 1000km northeast.

This move was taken after the updated speed and fuel-consumption statistics were discovered and taken into account, the report added.