A new attempt to solve a great mystery of world aviation. Missing plane MH370, searched for at the bottom of the ocean
Mural of the missing plane MH370. Photo source: Kepy / Zuma Press / Profimedia
The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume on December 30, Malaysia's Transport Ministry announced on Wednesday, more than a decade after the Beijing-bound flight disappeared, one of the biggest mysteries in world aviation, Reuters reports.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, had 227 passengers and 12 crew on board when it disappeared in 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Since then, multiple search operations have been conducted for the plane, but all have proved fruitless.
The most recent search operation in the southern Indian Ocean was suspended in April after just a few weeks due to poor weather conditions.
Exploration company Ocean Infinity has confirmed it will resume operations on the seabed for 55 days, which will be done intermittently, the Asian country's Ministry of Transport said.
“The search will be conducted in the target area assessed as having the highest probability of locating the aircraft,” it said in a statement. But the exact location of the search area was not specified.
Malaysian investigators did not initially rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately diverted from its course. Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, has been washed up by waves on the coasts of Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean.
$70 million if significant remains are found
The new search will be conducted in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed between the government and Ocean Infinity to resume the search for the wreckage of MH370, the ministry said.
Malaysia will pay the firm $70 million if significant debris is found during seabed searches in an area of 15,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean.
Ocean Infinity conducted previous searches for the plane until 2018, but failed to find significant debris.
A 495-page report into the plane's disappearance in 2018 found that the Boeing 777's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to veer off course, but investigators could not determine who was responsible and did not reach a conclusion on what happened, saying it depended on finding the wreckage.
Investigators said there was nothing suspicious about the captain and co-pilot's past, financial situation, training and mental health.
There were over 150 Chinese passengers on board the plane. The other passengers included 50 Malaysians, as well as nationals from France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine and Canada, among others.
Relatives have sought compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, jet engine maker Rolls-Royce and insurance group Allianz, among others.
