An aircraft from Naval Air Station Jacksonville is leading the search for debris found in the Indian Ocean that could be connected to the missing Malaysian jetliner.
The crew of the P-8A Poseidon started searching for the missing plane March 14, according to Captain Sean Liedman. He is the Commander of Patrol and Reconnaissance based at NAS Jax.
The Poseidon was specifically designed for maritime patrol missions, according to Captain Liedman.
“(It) flies higher, faster and farther than any maritime patrol craft that we’ve had in the force previously,” he said.
Thursday was the aircraft’s first day patrolling for debris. Captain Liedman told WOKV that Friday’s search is expected to last 10 hours.
The crew is made up of nine airman and 11 maintenance supporters. The crew was originally deployed to Okinawa in December.
Captain Liedman said the crew will fly one mission a day from Australia until the mission is complete or they move to the next phase of the search operation.
“Everyone who is executing that search…fully understands the gravity of what they are embarked in,” he said.
Satellite showed images of possible debris about 1,500 nautical miles from Australia, according to Captain Liedman.
