Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 11.5.14

14 | NOVEMBER 5, 2014 MH 370
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Initial reports showed the plane dis- appearing over the South China Sea, which is too shallow for the company’s sonar device to be of any use, but as the mystery expanded and analyses showed the plane heading west over Sumatra and into the Indian Ocean, the technolo- gy available on the market became more esoteric.
“That definitely put it in the realm of our search capabilities,” Larsen said.
HSI and Phoenix International, a company that provides solutions for un- derwater operations, put out a bid for the contract with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the agency that initial- ly took the reins on the multinational search.
The ATSB ultimately selected a Dutch oil-and-gas consulting firm, but the Malaysian government stepped up and awarded HSI and Phoenix a direct contract to conduct their own search. The Malaysian Defense Minister is heading the search, and joined the crew on board the ship to launch the mission and thank them for their efforts.
By the time Larsen and his crew set out, military search crews had already spent about 100 days scanning the ocean surface for debris after the Boeing 777 went missing, but turned up nothing linked to the aircraft. An initial under- water search also failed to find any trace of Flight 370.
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Crews on board the GO Phoenix, a search vessel scouring the Indian Ocean in search of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight, work on equipment. Whitefish-based Hydrospheric Solutions LLC is among the crew searching for the flight, which disappeared in March. COURTESY PHOTO
as Jay’s father, Larry, who in 1992, while working as a logger, was one of nine log- gers on board a helicopter that crashed in a remote area of Alaska. Larry sur- vived, but hours passed before it was no- ticed missing and dispatch was notified. He spent months enduring surgeries for life-threatening injuries, while his co- workers perished.
Katrina Larsen, Jay’s wife and Kolt- er’s mother, and whose logistical exper- tise figures prominently into the com- pany, said the tragedy was a defining moment for the family, and has made them more empathetic to the plight of the families awaiting answers.
Knowing that her husband and son are serving in such integral roles in a major search mission has been a source of pride, even as the family is apart with little contact.
“One thing we are really proud of is to be Montanans out doing some really cool, unique and highly technical work in the world that might not normally be associated with our state. Jay and I are proud to have been raised and edu- cated in Montana and to have been giv- en the opportunity to raise and educate our two kids here as well,” she said. “We don’t feel living in a small community has to inhibit one’s ability to do really big stuff. Both SLH and HSI are Mon- tana corporations and we make every ef- fort to infuse our crew with hard work- ing Montana folk. They are the best vari- ety. Right now we have four Montanans on the crew, including Jay and Kolter.”
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Larsen and HSI began their hunt for the missing flight, mobilizing in Singa- pore before heading south to Jakarta, Indonesia for some last-minute refine- ments.
“Then we kept on south and did some equipment testing in the shoals of Christmas Island. After that it was something like six more days south to the site. The site is up to 5,200 meters
(3.2 miles) deep and the equipment has been working well,” Larsen said. “We’ve had pretty good weather with winds never above 40 MPH and wave heights never more than 4-5 meters, which we can handle in a vessel as large as the GO Phoenix, though we have to strap [the equipment] down well.”
The mission has also dredged up per- sonal memories for the Larsen family,
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