Scarfies on the hunt for missing MH370
The view from the MV Fugro Discovery, which is involved in the search for missing airliner MH370.
Seven former
Kate Downes is one of seven May 2015 graduates of the University of Otago's Bachelor of Surveying programme looking for MH370
The hydrographic surveyors were employed by Dutch company Fugro Surveying Pty Ltd, which was contracted to locate the plane which left Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014.
Graduation day for the Otago surveyors who have been part of the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 (from left): Hayes Ballantyne, Kate Downes, Jason Farr, Rhiannon Woolhouse-Williams, Dan Graham, Ian Hauman, and Billy Greer.
The Boeing 777 disappeared en route to Beijing with its 227 passengers and 12 crew.
Wreckage from the plane – a flaperon – washed up on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean on July 29.
Downes moved from Mosgiel at the start of the year to Perth, the location of Fugro Survey Pty Ltd's office, and said she found the work "greatly rewarding".
Seven University of Otago graduates are working on the MV Fugro Discovery in the search for missing airliner MH370.
"I am very aware of how many people are invested in the outcome of the search for MH370," she said.
"The fundamental reason for the wreckage needing to be found is to help give some sense of closure to the families – this is something always at the forefront of your mind when out at sea, as well as something to remind yourself of when having 'one of those days'.
"There is a real sense of significance and purpose to the project."
She hoped the wreckage would eventually be found in the search area of the southern Indian Ocean, an area which covered some 120,000 square kilometres, with waters up to 5000 metres deep.
"I trust the equipment and methods we have been using throughout the search as well as the wealth of experience that has been involved in the project from the outset."
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Downes had completed one six-week "swing" on the MV Fugro Discovery so far as part of the search for the missing plane, and two other jobs in Australia's north-west shelf mapping the sea floor.
She could expect to be offshore for at least 100 days of any calendar year, with offshore shifts being 12 hours long.
While searching for MH370 she worked the night shift of
The role of the surveyor on the shift was to ensure the
"At this stage in my career, most things I do at work are novel to me, everything is a new experience. The diversity of the workload, or more so the ongoing potential of different work is what keeps me motivated.
"The job is very satisfying – it is a good feeling putting your all into a project while offshore and then coming back to land after completing what's required for the time being."
Most staff at the Perth office were involved in the search in some way – whether it was interpreting data, developing software, organising logistics or working at a management level.
Alongside her group of May 2015 graduates — which included Hayes Ballantyne, Jason Farr, Rhiannon Woolhouse-Williams, Dan Graham, Ian Hauman and Billy Greer — were another dozen University of Otago surveying alumni working on the search for the missing plane.
Downes said the consuming nature of such a large scale project "only intensifies the investment of all personnel involved, always working towards an outcome for the families".
- Stuff
