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Just how hard is it to find a plane at the bottom of the ocean?

Imagine standing on a mountain top and trying to spot a suitcase on the ground below. Then imagine doing it in complete darkness.

That's basically what crews searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have been trying to do for a month.








A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion flies past the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on Wednesday, April 9, on a mission to drop sonar buoys to assist in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Searchers are combing thousands of square miles of the ocean for signs of Flight 370, which disappeared March 8.



A relative of a passenger on the missing flight cries at a vigil in Beijing on Tuesday, April 8.


A member of the Royal Australian Air Force walks toward a plane that has just arrived in Perth, Australia, on April 8.


Australian Defense Force divers from the Ocean Shield vessel scan the water for debris in the southern Indian Ocean on Monday, April 7.


A towed pinger locator is readied to be deployed on April 7 off the deck of the Australian vessel Ocean Shield in the search for the missing jet's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.


Capt. Mark Matthews of the U.S. Navy talks to reporters in Perth on April 7 about the search.


A member of the search operation points to a map outlining the current search areas during a press conference on April 7 in Perth.


A U.S. Navy airplane takes off from Perth to assist in the search on April 7.


A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks at a flare in the Indian Ocean on Friday, April 4, during search operations.


Members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force monitor data April 4 on board an aircraft during search operations.


A relative of a Flight 370 passenger watches television in a Beijing hotel as he awaits new information about the missing plane on Thursday, April 3.


Another relative of a Flight 370 passenger waits for updates in Beijing on Wednesday, April 2. Many families have criticized the Malaysian government's handling of information in the plane's disappearance.


A member of the Japanese coast guard points to a flight position data screen while searching for debris from the missing jet on Tuesday, April 1.


Kojiro Tanaka, head of the Japanese coast guard search mission, explains the efforts en route to the search zone April 1.



































































































































































































































































































































































































































Photos: The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Photos: The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370






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