More than ten years after the mysterious disappearance of flight MH370, the search for the Malaysia Airlines plane has resumed. The Malaysian government has agreed to a new search operation, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Friday. The proposal from the American company Ocean Infinity is “solid and deserves to be taken into account”. Ocean Infinity had already searched for the wreck without success in 2018, but in a different search area.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 suddenly disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Experts suspect that the plane veered off course and crashed in the southern Indian Ocean after hours of flying with an empty tank.
Largest search in aviation history
However, a search of an area of 120,000 square kilometers found no trace of the wreckage; only a few pieces of debris had washed up on shore. In January 2017, Australia, Malaysia and China called off the largest search operation in aviation history. The fate of flight MH370 remained one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
After protests from family members, the Malaysian government commissioned the American company Ocean Infinity to continue the search for the first time in 2018: At the time, the search focused on an area of about 25,000 square kilometers north of the first search zone. The search vessel “Seabed Constructor” could not locate the wreck even with underwater drones.
15,000 square kilometers in focus
The Malaysian government has now given the green light for a new search operation: this time, according to Transport Minister Loke, an area of 15,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean will be searched. Ocean Infinity defined the new search area based on “the latest information and data analysis from experts and researchers,” Loke said. If the company finds the wreck, it will receive 70 million dollars (67 million euros).
The final details need to be clarified
The Malaysian government approved Ocean Infinity’s new plan “in principle” a week ago, Loke added. The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management will now determine the exact contract conditions in early 2025. The search can begin “as soon as the contract is finalized and signed by both parties.”
According to the company, the ideal time to search the defined search area is between January and April. The government is therefore trying to “conclude the agreement as quickly as possible”.
Source: Krone
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