Will AirAsia crash lead to better tracking systems? – Part 2

HARI SREENIVASAN:

Joining me now is Wall Street Journal reporter Andy Pasztor, who covers aviation.

So, Andy, we just rattled off all these different resources bringing to bear on this search. What's next? How long might it take?

ANDY PASZTOR, The Wall Street Journal:

Under the best of circumstances, it could be days or weeks. The water is relatively shallow, much shallower than in previous crashes your viewers may be aware of, such as the Malaysian 370 disappearance, where they're still looking.

And also there are some currents to contend with. But I think this is a scenario where investigators and experts hope that they can find what they want relatively quickly.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

OK. So how do they go about piecing together a cause, even after they get this black box?

ANDY PASZTOR:

Well, of course, they will construct a timeline and try to determine what was — precisely what was happening in the cockpit at what point, and also there will be recordings of what the pilots were saying and doing.

And I think, to put this into some perspective, as tragic as this is for the families and for the airline, this is probably not going to be a seminal accident or a seminal investigation. Experts call it a classic high-altitude stall, high-altitude upset instance, which was probably exacerbated by storms.

But I think we should talk a little bit about why it could be a very important investigation. It could be a turning point for the industry, because this might be what they needed or what they require to put on tracking systems on all aircraft and also to be able to stream data off aircraft, so that investigators know what happened and where the plane ended much more quickly than they do now.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

There's also almost been this collective moment where the world wonders, why is it that I can find my smartphone with such precision and I can't find something that's 1,000 times as big?

ANDY PASZTOR:

Well, that's right.

And the industry, so far, for the most part, has called Malaysia 370 a one-off event. And so the response to that disappearance, the disappearance of that aircraft, was a slow and very cautious effort to make sure that airlines — airliners can be tracked everywhere in the world regardless of where they're flying.

The question is, in today's digital world, three days, that's how long it took to find this aircraft debris. Is that too long, and should we be looking at a system that allows investigators and airlines and the flying public to know where a plane crashed and what was happening on board that plane much more quickly than the three days that it took this time?

HARI SREENIVASAN:

OK. And what about the role of the USS Sampson, the destroyer? What is that likely to do or what can that do in a search like this?

ANDY PASZTOR:

Well, I think at this point it's an ancillary role, because I don't believe they have any underwater search capability or technology on that ship.

But the U.S. probably will be asked and will help out in some underwater search efforts as this develops. And there are assets under way to the site now to be able to find the bodies and to be able to, of course, find the black box and the parts of the plane that may help answer what happened.

HARI SREENIVASAN:

All right, Andy Pasztor of The Wall Street Journal joining us tonight, thanks so much.

ANDY PASZTOR:

You're welcome.