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November 5, 1999 — The NOAA Ship Whiting continued its mission today of mapping the ocean floor in search of EgyptAir Flight 990. A break in the weather allowed the ship to set out Thursday night to resume its side-scan sonar operations. The weather could halt the operation once again during the weekend as gale force winds move into the search area.

(Click images for larger view.)

The Whiting had to suspend its mapping operations for a short while Friday because its side-scan sonar towfish, a torpedo-like device, became entangled in a lobster pot. Repairs were being made on board the NOAA Ship Whiting. NOAA Fisheries experts are working with local fishermen to note the location of other lobster pots to prevent any future entanglements or damage to the pots.

In addition to the Whiting crew, the NOAA team now consists of oil spill experts, marine weather forecasters and fisheries experts.

A NOAA offshore weather buoy in the vicinity of the search area and NOAA's Marine Prediction Center are supplying the latest near real-time ocean information, including offshore waters forecasts, (chart and text).

Background Information

NOAA SHIP WHITING

NOAA SHIPS TAKE PART IN JFK, JR. PLANE SEARCH

SIDE SCAN SONAR

DYNAMICALLY FOCUSED MULTI-BEAM SIDE SCAN SONAR

NOAA'S OFFICE OF COAST SURVEY — The nation's official chartmaker.

NOAA LOCATES WRECKAGE ON OCEAN FLOOR AFTER TWA FLIGHT 800 DISASTER

NOTE: A NAUTICAL MILE = 1.15 MILES ; e.g. 13.6 knots = 13.6 x 1.15 = 15.64 miles per hour

Office of NOAA Corps
Since NOAA’s beginning, a large percentage of its oceanographic, atmospheric, hydrographic, fisheries and coastal data has been collected on NOAA ships and aircraft. This fleet of platforms is managed and operated by the Office of NOAA Corps Operations, an office made up of civilians and officers of the NOAA Commissioned Corps (a uniformed service of the United States). In addition to research and monitoring activities critical to NOAA’s mission, NOAA ships and aircraft provide immediate response capabilities for unpredictable events, such as recovery and search efforts after the TWA Flight 800 crash, damage assessment after major oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez, Persian Gulf War and New Carissa, and several major hurricanes during the 1998 season.

Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields is the director of the NOAA Corps.




See real-time ocean information from a buoy near the crash site off the coast of Nantucket Island. This information comes from NOAA's National Data Buoy Center. Offshore waters forecasts (graphics and text) are also being provided in text format by NOAA's Marine Prediction Center.

Contact Information

Media should contact Greg Hernandez, NOAA public affairs, in Washington, DC, at (202) 482-3091 or the main number at (202) 482-6090. Media can also contact the U.S. Coast Guard public affairs command center in Newport, Rhode Island, at (401) 841-9541, -9542, or -9580.