announcer: this is cnn breaking news. according to state news agency xinhua in china, something has been detected. it is specifically a pulse signal. this was detected by a chinese patrol ship. this could change things, if it turns out to be anything, we need to clarify, we do not know if this is even a flight data recorder from any sort of plane. this is what is very interesting about the information coming in this morning. according to the state news agency xinhua, the chinese patrol ship in the indian ocean, detected a pulse signal of 37.5 kilohertz. we have confirmed from the president of the pinger manufacturer that this is the standard beacon frequency. we do not know if it is from any black box of any sort. that still has to be determined. however, the fact it is the same
announcer: this is cnn breaking news. if this turns out to be true, it will by far, be some of the most extraordinary news we have heard in the last four weeks. the chinese news state agency xinhua reporting a chinese patrol ship, a short while ago, detected a pulse signal out in the indian ocean with the frequency of 37.5 kilohertz. we confirmed that is the standard beacon frequency. as they search for malaysia airline flight 370, it is possible they may have found the pinging from the blacks box. that is not confirmed or coming from the australia joint collaboration center. we are getting word the collaboration center did know about the pinging or this report from the alleged pulse signal back at lunchtime. a few hours ago. several hours ago. we don t know who might be on
ships, high powered echo sounders operate at 30, 33 kilohertz. there are some mind hunting sonars that operate at 37 kilohertz. and, you know, we ve got a lot of ships in the area. we ve got some submarines. and there could be some other signal that may not be precisely 37.5 kilohertz but could be very close. and it might be confusing. so there are a lot of things that we have to think about, you know, that there are a lot of ships and airplanes in the area. you know, this may be the pinger but it might be something close to that frequency. i just wanted to add that. okay. let me ask you, michael kay, our retired lieutenant colonel. we don t have michael kay. mike williamson, let me go to you. if they are releasing this, we ve had a lot of talk about
yes. the company manufacturers these beacons for the global market or voice and data recorders for aviation as well as submarine application. you re exactly right in terms of installation. the way these devices operate, they are designed to automatically begin emmii m emi ping at 37.5 kilohertz, one ping per second, when they are immersed in water. that ping will continue until the device is recovered for a period of 30 days. possibly a bit more depending on the condition and age of the battery. and that is what authorities are hopefully listening and hearing in this situation. so it s fascinating about what we re hearing from the chinese news agency is that this chinese vessel, unbeknownst to anyone else had this equipment on its ship and it just happened
for the search for flight 370. a chinese ship allegedly has detected an unidentified pulse signal which has the same frequency as the plane s black box. how big a deal is this? could it be a false positive here? joining us, chuck nash, a pilot and retired u.s. navy captain. always good to talk to you. there are a lot of noises under water. one is tempted to say this could be something else, but this is supposed to be the same frequency we mentioned, which is 37.5 kilohertz. what do you make of it? the thing that captures my attention, they describe it as a pulse signal. if it was just a spurious signal, that would be one thing.