The Malaysian government said on Friday it had accepted in principle an offer from US exploration firm Ocean Infinity to begin searching for missing flight MH370. Previous attempts to uncover this aviation mystery — one multi-national search and two by the same company, Ocean Infinity — have ended in disappointment. The current contract will be on a ‘no find, no fee’ basis.
The plane is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean in 2014. Although some debris has been found, only three pieces of MH370’s wings have been confirmed. Ap Reported.
The latest search mission will span 15,000 square kilometers and take 18 months. The company, which stands to receive $70 million if “significant wreckage” is found, said the optimal time to search is between January and April.
Why is the search for MH370 restarting after 10 years?
The government said it was processing new information from several experts and that the Texas-based company was optimistic about finding the plane’s remains.
The search will take place off the coast of a new area in the southern Indian Ocean, but no exact search location has been given. Reuters Reported.
According to the arrangement, the Malaysian government does not have to pay Ocean Infinity until sufficient wreckage is found and certified.
Who was on board MH370 when it disappeared?
Flight MH370 was a Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members. On March 8, 2014, the plane disappeared while flying from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur.
Over the years, some wreckage has been found off the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean, but only a fraction of it can be confirmed to be related to the crashed flight.
In 2018, the Malaysian government released a 495-page report containing some findings about the missing flight. It is possible that someone manipulated the Boeing 777’s flight controls, but investigators have not been able to establish responsibility. They said that only after the wreckage of the plane is found and analyzed will it be confirmed what happened to the plane.
Amid conspiracy theories that an experienced pilot crashed the plane on purpose, investigators said they did not raise any doubts about the “background, financial affairs, training and mental health of both the captain and co-pilot”.
What do you know about the latest flight MH370?
About 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, Captain Zahari Ahmad Shah signed off saying ‘Good night, Malaysian three seven zero’. This last transmission was received as the aircraft entered Vietnamese airspace.
Shortly after, the plane’s transponder went off, making it difficult to track.
But military radar had some data. The plane reportedly deviated from its planned flight path. Instead it flew “back to Malaysia and Penang Island and then to the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Andaman Sea”. After this the plane went south and contact was not made. Know all about its fateful flight.
Who was everyone on the last MH370 flight?
Its last flight carried more than 150 Chinese, 50 Malaysians and other nationals from countries such as France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine and Canada.
What did past search efforts do?
After the disappearance, Malaysia, Australia and China combed an area of 120,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean. This underwater search cost more than $140 million and used data from an “automated connection between Inmarsat satellites and aircraft”. Reuters Reported. This effort was canceled in January 2017. No trace of the plane was found.
Later, Malaysia enlisted the services of Ocean Infinity twice, but to no avail.
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