Digital Phablet

Tag: MH370

  • Search for MH370 ends without answers to 12-year mystery

    Search for MH370 ends without answers to 12-year mystery

    A woman is seated in front of a board filled with prayers and messages written by relatives of missing passengers from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.— AFP

    Malaysia’s transportation ministry announced Sunday that the latest efforts to locate Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared 12 years ago, ended in January without any new discoveries. The Boeing 777, carrying 239 individuals, vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The passenger list was predominantly Chinese, comprising about two-thirds, with the rest including Malaysians, Indonesians, Australians, and nationals from India, the United States, the Netherlands, and France.

    Despite extensive search operations, including the largest in aviation history, neither the aircraft, the passengers, nor the black boxes have ever been recovered. The most recent search, which started in December, covered roughly 15,000 square kilometers but did not produce any evidence confirming the aircraft’s location, according to a statement from Malaysia’s transport department.

    This search was led by Ocean Infinity, a Britain and US-based exploration company, which concluded its efforts on January 23. On the anniversary of the disappearance—Sunday—the families of the Chinese passengers issued an open letter criticizing the lack of information provided during the recent search process.

    “We empathize with the challenges of the search,” the families stated in a joint letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, expressing gratitude for his efforts. “However, since January 15, we have not received any further updates or briefings on the search.” They added, “Over the past two months, we have repeatedly contacted Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport through both Malaysia Airlines and the Chinese government, yet we have received no reply.”

    In their ongoing effort to find the missing aircraft, Ocean Infinity deployed autonomous underwater drones capable of reaching depths of up to 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). Previous searches in 2018 and by Australia, which lasted three years until 2017, also ended without detection.

    The families also shared that, over the past 12 years, they have received little genuine psychological support and simply ask to be acknowledged, heard, and treated with dignity and respect. They are scheduled to meet with China’s foreign ministry on Monday, as they do annually, before delivering their letter to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing for Prime Minister Anwar.

  • Malaysia Finalizes Terms for Renewed MH370 Wreckage Search

    Malaysia Finalizes Terms for Renewed MH370 Wreckage Search

    Families of passengers from both China and Malaysia gather during a memorial event for the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, on March 3, 2024. — Reuters

    • The mystery of flight MH370 is one of the greatest unsolved cases in aviation history.
    • Ocean Infinity stands to earn $70 million if they successfully find the wreckage.
    • The government reaffirms its commitment to finding closure for the families impacted by the MH370 incident.

    KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has reached an agreement with exploration company Ocean Infinity to restart the search for the lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, according to a statement from the transport minister on Wednesday.

    Flight MH370, which was a Boeing 777, disappeared in 2014 while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, and is still considered one of aviation’s biggest mysteries.

    This new agreement will allow search operations to begin in a different area of the southern Indian Ocean, covering approximately 15,000 square kilometers (around 5,790 square miles), based on a “no find, no fee” principle, as noted by Minister Loke Siew Fook.

    If Ocean Infinity successfully locates the wreckage, they will receive $70 million, the minister confirmed.

    “The government is dedicated to continuing the search efforts and to providing closure for the families of those aboard MH370,” Loke stated.

    In December, the government indicated that it had agreed in principle to Ocean Infinity’s proposal to restart the search after the company conducted the last search in 2018, which did not result in any findings.

    The previous attempts followed an underwater search led by Malaysia, Australia, and China, covering a vast 120,000 square kilometers (about 46,332 square miles) area of the southern Indian Ocean, based on data from automatic connections between the plane and an Inmarsat satellite.

    A ship designated for the search was dispatched to the designated area in the Indian Ocean late last month, as indicated by tracking data, even before the official agreement was finalized with the government.

    It is still unclear how long the search contract with Ocean Infinity will last, although Loke had mentioned that it would span approximately 18 months.