Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat Plc will release the raw satellite data received from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on May 27, Malaysian officials announced today.
The plane was equipped with an Inmarsat satellite connection, but investigators were unable to detect the plane's location before the black box batteries died. Officials hope that the raw data can be analyzed by independent sources to find out what happened to the plane.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. No debris or evidence of a crash site have been found.
In a joint statement, Malaysian and Inmarsat officials said that they are working towards "greater transparency," and will release "data communication logs and the technical description of the analysis for public consumption."
Two weeks ago, Inmarsat announced that it would offer free tracking devices for planes flying over oceans—about 11,000 commercial passenger aircrafts. Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce said that the tracking devices are a relatively easy and cost-effective way to prevent a similar disaster.
"This offer responsibly, quickly, and at little or no cost to the industry, addresses in part the problem brought to light by the recent tragic events around MH370," Pearce told the Associated Press.
Inmarsat also said it will offer enhanced position reporting and a "black box in the cloud" service that allows the flight recorder to transmit information as soon as a plane deviates from its flight plan. Those services will be offered for a fee.
Nearly all of the world's long-haul, commercial aircrafts currently use Inmarsat's satellite connection, making the proposed enhancements easier to adopt.
"Because of the universal nature of existing Inmarsat aviation services, our proposals can be implemented right away on all ocean-going commercial aircraft using equipment that is already installed," Pearce said.
The last detected position of Flight 370 was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Perth, Australia. 239 people were on board.
