Signals captured by underwater microphones, or hydrophones, may play a crucial role in locating aeroplanes that crash into the ocean such as Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, Cardiff University research shows.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, analysed more than 100 hours of data from hydrophones following 10 historical aircraft accidents and the disappearance of a submarine. The findings offer recommendations for further investigation of the aircraft’s last known location and establishes a framework for addressing similar incidents in the future.

MH370 vanished in 2014 during a journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Extensive rescue operations were undertaken, but the main body of the plane is still missing despite several pieces of debris washing up in the years since the flight’s disappearance.

Violent ocean impacts such as aeroplane crashes produce distinctive acoustic signatures that travel vast distances through the water and are recorded by hydrophone technology from various...