New aviation rules could see all planes sending out a signal every minute, in an effort to find aircraft more easily when they disappear.

The measures are an attempt to prevent disappearances like that of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has become one of the world’s great aviation mysteries.

The tracking rules were prepared by an industry working group, and insiders expect the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) wil begin to phase them in over the coming months.

The ICAO is also pushing for airlines to equip their aircraft with ejectable black boxes.

The new rules will forces airlines to log the location of their aircraft at 15-minute intervals.

When an 'abnormal event' is detected the signal rate would hasten to every minute.

Such events include an unplanned change in direction or deviations from the flight path

Airlines will share the data with authorities in cases of emergencies, if the proposal is taken up.

With ping every minute, the authorities say search and rescue teams could quickly plot an aircraft to within 11 kilometres of its last known position.