Malaysia To Resume Search For Missing Flight MH370 After Over A Decade

Malaysia has agreed to resume the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries, more than 10 years after the plane vanished during its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The announcement, made by Malaysia’s transport minister on Friday, marks a renewed commitment to solving the case that has baffled investigators and the world.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared on March 8, 2014, approximately 40 minutes after takeoff. The last transmission from the plane was Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero,” as the aircraft entered Vietnamese airspace. Shortly thereafter, its transponder was turned off, making it difficult to track.

Military radar later showed the plane had deviated from its flight path, turning back over northern Malaysia and Penang Island, before heading into the Andaman Sea towards the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It then turned south, and all contact was lost, marking the beginning of one of the most perplexing investigations in aviation history.

Satellite data analysis suggested the plane likely crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, off the coast of western Australia. In response, Malaysia, Australia, and China launched a large-scale underwater search across a 120,000 square kilometer area. Despite the vast search efforts and a cost of approximately A$200 million ($143 million), the plane’s wreckage remained elusive, and the search was called off in January 2017.

In 2018, Malaysia entered into a “no-cure, no-fee” agreement with U.S.-based Ocean Infinity, for a three-month search, meaning the company would only get paid if it found the plane. A three-month search in a new area north of the original search zone was conducted. However, that effort, covering 112,000 square kilometers, also ended without any significant findings by May 2018.

Over the years, more than 30 pieces of suspected MH370 debris have washed up along the coasts of Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean. Of these, only three wing fragments were confirmed to be from the missing plane. Investigators used drift pattern analysis in hopes of narrowing down the possible location of the wreckage.

A 495-page investigation report, published in July 2018, concluded that the aircraft’s controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take the plane off course. However, the report could not determine who was responsible for this act. It also criticised the air traffic control centers in Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City for mistakes during the early stages of the incident, while recommending procedural changes to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

Despite these findings, the investigation has stopped short of offering definitive conclusions, emphasising that understanding the cause of the crash depends on locating the plane’s wreckage.

The inability to find the aircraft has fueled numerous conspiracy theories, ranging from mechanical failure or a remote-controlled crash to more bizarre explanations like alien abduction or a Russian plot. Over the years, aviation experts have suggested that the plane might have been deliberately diverted by an experienced pilot. However, investigations have found no evidence of suspicious behavior from either the captain or co-pilot, including in their backgrounds, financial affairs, or mental health.

The decision to resume the search for Flight MH370, after over a decade of uncertainty, offers a glimmer of hope to the families of the victims and to those who have followed the case closely. While the previous search efforts failed to uncover the wreckage, the resumption of the search signals that the mystery of MH370 remains a priority for Malaysian authorities.

As the search for the plane continues, the world watches, hoping that one day the truth behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will finally be uncovered.

Melissa Enoch

Follow us on: