TRUNG CỘNG NGÀY NAY QUÁ XÁ TIẾN BỘ- CHỈ CẦN DÙNG CÁI LON SỮA BÒ CỘT VÀO CÂY SÀO RỒI QUƠ QUƠ TRÊN MẶT BIỂN LÀ NGHE ĐƯỢC TÍN HIỆU CỦA BLACK BOX./- Mt67

But the signal beacon on the black box has an average battery life of around 30 days, and could expire any day now. And numerous undersea factors can distort such signals and their location.

Q: If they are from MH370, what happens next?

If the pings are confirmed, authorities would deploy a submersible device to scan the seabed for debris.

If found, the difficult task of reaching and recovering the black box in ocean depths ranging from 4,000-5,000 metres (13,100-16,400 feet) would begin.

Seafloor-mapping and recovery is "a very intense and time-consuming process", said Anthony Brickhouse, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the United States.

But lessons were learnt during the two-year search for the data recorders from the 2009 crash of Air France flight 447, which contributed greatly to today's body of knowledge, he said.

"We know a lot more now that we did before Air France about how to do this," he said.

This image shows where two pings possibly from MH370 were detected along a tract where the plane is believed to have crashed into the ocean. Photo: Supplied

Q: If the pings are not from MH370, might the plane never be found?