Search & rescue operations for DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo & pilots: on sonar & prayers

       News peg: “… (T)he sonar craft deployed in the crash site detected an object less than a kilometer off the Masbate island, an interview over radio dzBB revealed. “ (Yahoo Philippines at ph.yahoo.com)

       According to Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, the designated spokesperson, the sonar craft can detect objects on a “look-down” basis without “sideways” vision.  In other words, it has a straight, vertical view downwards. This probably means it can “see” an area downwards, vertically,  the size of the sonar craft .  In other words, it doesn’t have  a wide-angle- lens- view; yet miraculously, it has been able to detect a metal object that is part of the aircraft a kilometer off the coast.     

     The area that is being scoured, according to Roxas, is about a 6-kilometer radius between Masbate City and Ticao island, as of press time. I don’t know if that area has been narrowed down.  

    How big is the sonar craft and how big is the size of the view? (because it doesn’t have any other kind of sight but straight, vertical). Here  it is (below, video):

(Video produced and uploaded by RTVMalacanang used here non-commercially for review purposes).

      The sonar craft is  probably about 5 meters X 2 meters. Or a 5 meter X 2 meter view,  downwards, straight, vertical. You’d want to cover every square meter.

     how fast can it produce images onscreen? Maybe ten seconds per image? Can you fact-check me.  On a 5 meter x 2 meter view. To cover a 6,000-meter-radius.  How many hours and days. Maybe the area can be divided up into priority sites.  i didn’t give you my computation because… the search and rescue is multi-pronged, in different directions, mobilizing hundreds and hundreds,  deploying dozens of sea craft, aircraft, vessels, and the prayers of thousands.