Finding the black box is crucial to know what happened on March 8 before the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people, including five Indians, on board disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Houston said the chances of finding something on the surface were “diminishing with time”.
Referring to the beacons on aircraft black boxes which had a nominal 30-day operating period, Houston said, “there is a chance that the locater beacon is about to cease transmission or has ceased transmission.”
Australian Defence Minister David Johnston said that the search could take more time than expected.
He said planes and ships were “flat out” trying to progress the latest “lead”.
“I want to confirm that we have at least several days of intense action ahead of us,” he said, adding that “it's very challenging,” he said.
