The search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared on December 30, 2014, will resume, the Malaysian Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday (3), more than a decade after the disappearance of the aircraft, which was destined for Beijing, in one of the biggest mysteries in world aviation.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it disappeared, en route between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. Several search operations have been carried out since then, but none have yielded results.
The most recent searches in the southern Indian Ocean were suspended in April, after just a few weeks, due to poor weather conditions.
Exploration company Ocean Infinity has confirmed that it will resume operations on the seabed for 55 days, carried out intermittently, the Ministry of Transport said.
“The search will be carried out in a specific area, considered to be most likely to locate the aircraft,” the ministry said in a statement.
The exact location of the search area was not disclosed.
Malaysian investigators initially did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately diverted from its route.
Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, was found along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
The resumption of the search will take place in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed between the government and Ocean Infinity for the resumption of the search for the wreckage of MH370, the ministry said.
Malaysia will pay the company US$70 million if substantial debris is found during searches at the bottom of the sea, in an area of 15 thousand km² in the southern Indian Ocean.
Ocean Infinity had previously conducted searches for the plane as recently as 2018, but was unable to find substantial wreckage.
A 495-page report on the disappearance, released in 2018, stated that the Boeing 777’s controls were likely deliberately manipulated to divert its route, but investigators were unable to determine who was responsible and avoided reaching a conclusion about what happened, saying it depended on the location of the wreckage.
Investigators said there was nothing suspicious about the history, finances, training or mental health of either the commander or copilot.
More than 150 Chinese passengers were on board the flight. Among the others, there were 50 Malaysians, as well as citizens from France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine and Canada, among others.
Family members demanded compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and the insurance group Allianz, among others.
