Scanning an endless white-speckled expanse of the blue Andaman Sea, Malaysian air force Captain Fareq Hassan's team of spotters fight turbulence, nausea and mental strain in a seeming "Mission Impossible": to find Flight 370.
"This is not just a needle in a haystack, it's a haystack that gets bigger and shifts under us due to the (ocean's) drift," said Fareq, the flight's navigator.
AFP journalists accompanied fatigued spotters on a search flight to the southeastern Andaman Sea, one of hundreds launched by Malaysia and a number of other nations across vast swathes of Southeast Asian seas and the Indian Ocean in search of any trace of the Boeing 777.
The Casa CN235, a medium-sized twin-prop, has been conducting gruelling eight-hour sorties for a week straight, with a rotating crew scouring more than 20,000 square nautical miles, and finding nothing.
While data from high-tech radars, transponders, and satellites has been brought to bear in the hunt for the missing plane that has gripped the world, the low-tech reality aboard search planes is a mind-numbing, naked-eye affair.
After a 90-minute flight from Kuala Lumpur to the southeastern Andaman Sea far off the coast of Thailand, the crew began looking.
Descending to about 500 feet (152 metres) over the water, the plane settled into a three-hour back-and-forth tracking pattern reminiscent of a lawn being mowed.
"You get dizzy and nauseous trying to track as the sea moves so quickly under you. By the time the flight is over you're close to hallucinating," Sergeant Nor Sarifah Ahmad said over the deafening roar of propellers as turbulence jostled the plane.
The now week-long search for the Boeing 777 jumbo jet initially focused on waters in the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam, where the plane disappeared from radar on March 8.
But, to the torment of passenger's families enduring a long and anxious wait, it has rapidly expanded and shifted.
After Malaysia's leader Najib Razak announced startling new findings, it is now focused on a northern corridor stretching from Thailand to Kazakhstan, and a southern zone from Indonesia towards the southern Indian Ocean.
Najib said Saturday the jet was deliberately diverted off its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight path toward the Indian Ocean and parts unknown, and may have flown for nearly seven hours after it disappeared from civilian radar.
The search goes on.
Fareq held a paper map methodically plotting out each day's search route as spotters scanned a seascape sprinkled with deceptive white caps. Only the occasional ship or tiny island broke the monotony.
"Because of the sun's glare, you can't really spot anything blue or white, so we look for baggage or life vests, or something brown or black," said Flight Sergeant Kamarulzaman Jainai.
Yet at 500 feet up, even a fishing barge appears small, let alone spotting a life vest or suitcase.
Fareq said the lack of precise data from multi-million-dollar radar equipment and satellites has hampered operations.
"Yesterday, we were heading to one spot and then received orders to go elsewhere but we don't know why. It throws off our plans," he said.
The palpable tension was punctuated by Kamarulzaman creating a crackling noise while nervously wringing an empty bottle.
But there were light moments as well, as when Kamarulzaman prompted chuckles by jokingly asking Nor Sarifah to massage his neck, stiffened by constant craning.
Ultimately, yet another fruitless flight ended in frustration.
There was a "minor problem with the avionics," Fareq said, announcing the mission would be cut short with about 30 percent of the intended search area yet to be scoured.
"We just have to keep praying."
AFP
Sun Mar 16 2014
Indonesian national search and rescue agency personel watch over high seas during a search operation for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Andaman Sea on March 15, 2014. --AFP PHOTO/Chaideer MAHYUDDIN
514,070 murid di sabah nikmati prasarana lebih baik
Seramai 514,070 murid dan pelajar di Sabah menikmati prasarana sekolah lebih baik hasil usaha berterusan kerajaan Persekutuan menerusi Kementerian Pendidikan dalam menaik taraf sekolah daif serta kerja-kerja penyelenggaraan bangunan sekolah di negeri itu.
Jangan politikkan isu kebajikan penjawat awam - Cuepacs
Cuepacs menggesa semua pihak tidak mempolitikkan isu kebajikan penjawat awam termasuk pengumuman kenaikan gaji oleh Perdana Menteri pada 1 Mei lepas.
Pantau Agenda Reformasi: Kedudukan Malaysia merudum, apa perlu dilakukan?
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Kenaikan gaji penjawat awam bukan bahan kempen - Saifuddin
Saifuddin perkara itu sudah lama diteliti oleh Kerajaan Perpaduan dan ia dirancang untuk diumumkan pada 1 Mei lepas sempena sambutan Hari Pekerja 2024.
Badminton: Terima kasih, selamat bersara Kento Momota!
Fanatik badminton dunia akan terlepas aksi menarik dan lakaran emosi tersendiri ditampilkan oleh bekas pemain nombor satu dunia, Kento Momota.
Isu ladang musang king: Polis kenal pasti wakil rakyat untuk bantu siasatan
Polis kini sedang mengambil keterangan beberapa individu berhubung insiden menghalang penjawat awam menjalankan tugas ketika operasi penguatkuasaan di hutan simpan di Raub.
KHSB tawar 2,340 unit teres di bawah projek Rumah Selangorku di Bernam Jaya
Sebanyak 2,340 unit rumah teres akan dibangunkan di bawah projek Rumah Selangorku berskala besar pertama di negeri ini dikenali sebagai Lagenda Ardea.
Pelaburan AI perlu dimanfaatkan di setiap peringkat masyarakat
Menurut Profesor Rangkaian Komputer dan Keselamatan Siber Fakulti Sains Komputer dan Teknologi Maklumat, UPM, Prof. TS. Dr Zuriati Ahmad Zukarnain, inisiatif ini telah disusun untuk memberi panduan yang jelas dalam sokongan terhadap ekosistem pembangunan dan penggunaan teknologi AI negara.
Mesyuarat kaji penubuhan rangkaian 5G kedua Selasa depan
Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Digital Nasional BHD (DNB) akan mengadakan mesyuarat pada minggu depan bagi mengkaji laporan usaha wajar berkaitan penubuhan rangkaian 5G kedua.
DNB, Ericsson bekerjasama memangkinkan pendigitalan
Kerjasama itu menandakan inisiatif industri perintis yang akan membuka jalan kepada teknologi termaju untuk membolehkan pendigitalan perusahaan merentas pelbagai industri berbeza dan memacu Malaysia ke hadapan sebagai negara digital terkemuka.