A new search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumed on Tuesday, nearly 12 years after it mysteriously disappeared over the Indian Ocean.
The Malaysian government stated in a release earlier this
month that the Texas-based robotics company Ocean Infinity would resume the search on December 30. The robotics firm has launched a search operation to locate the wreckage of MH370, the Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 people on board.
It will survey an area of 15,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean for 55 days to focus closely on the targeted areas where the likelihood of finding the missing aircraft would be the highest. The search will be carried out using Ocean Infinity’s autonomous underwater vehicles from its ship Armada 86.
Ocean Infinity had earlier performed an extensive scan of a 25,000-sq-km area of the ocean in 2018, but couldn’t locate the aircraft. The marine exploration company based in the UK and the US will resume its search on a “no find, no fee” basis: they would be paid by the Malaysian government only if they find the missing wreckage.
If successful, Ocean Infinity will be awarded $70 million by the Malaysian government.
What Happened In 2014?
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777, took off from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport with 239 people onboard for Beijing Capital International Airport in China. It had more than 150 Chinese nationals, 50 Malaysians as well as citizens of France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine, and Canada, among others.
Less than 40 minutes after takeoff, the plane lost contact with air traffic control.
According to a report by the BBC, Flight MH370 vanished while transitioning between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace, abruptly cutting off all communication with air traffic control. The aircraft was scheduled to land in Beijing at around 6:30 AM but never arrived.
From 2014-2017, Malaysia, Australia, and China jointly searched a 1,20,000-sq-km rectangle in the southern Indian Ocean. The joint effort failed in its mission.
Theories And Beyond
The exact reason why Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 deflected from its intended path remains unknown more than a decade later. Among the various theories, one that continues to intrigue online aviation detectives is that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah intentionally diverted the aircraft. At his residence, authorities found a home flight simulator containing a deleted data set that depicted a flight path bearing striking similarities to the route investigators believe MH370 ultimately followed toward a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean.
