Ten years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers, the country’s Transport Minister Anthony Locke said on Friday (December 20) that the government had agreed in principle to resume the search for the wreckage.
The government has accepted a new offer from US exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which will receive $70 million if a solid wreck is found.
A previous search in the southern Indian Ocean, where the Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed, found no sign of debris.
Only parts of the fuselage have washed up on islands in the Indian Ocean and on beaches in East Africa.
Here are some details of the search for MH370 and the unsolved mystery of what happened
what happened
The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The last transmission from the aircraft was 40 minutes after take off.
As the plane entered Vietnamese airspace, Captain Zahari Ahmad Shah signed off by writing, “Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero.”
Shortly thereafter, its transponder went off, meaning it could not be easily tracked.
Military radar showed the plane had left its flight path to return to northern Malaysia and Penang Island, before reaching the tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the Andaman Sea. It then turned south and lost all contact.
What was done to discover the jet?
Malaysia, Australia and China launched an underwater search of 120,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean, based on data from an automatic link between Inmarsat satellites and aircraft.
The search, which cost about $143 million, was called off after two years in January 2017 after no trace of the plane was found.
In 2018, Malaysia accepted a “no-cure, no-fish” offer from Ocean Infinity for a three-month search, meaning the company would only get paid if the plane was found.
That search covered 112,000 square kilometers north of the original target area and ended in May 2018, proving fruitless.
What does the investigation report say?
A 495-page report on the disappearance of MH370, published in July 2018, said the Boeing 777’s controls were deliberately manipulated to eject it, but investigators could not determine who was responsible.
The report also highlighted mistakes made by the Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control centers and issued recommendations to avoid repetition.
Investigators stopped short of offering any conclusions about what happened to MH370, saying it depended on finding the plane’s wreckage.
What will the new search include?
The new search, after an agreement was signed between Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian government, will expand the previous search area by 15,000 square kilometers, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
The contract will cover a period of 18 months and the firm indicated that the best time for the search would be between January and April.
Why should you buy our membership?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be confused and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package