Search for missing flight MH370 to resume this month, Malaysia says
The Boeing 777-200 left Kuala Lumpur for a six-hour flight to Beijing. (Wikipedia: Ercan Karakas)
In short:
Malaysia has agreed to resume the search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The plane was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014.
What's next?
The search will resume on December 30 for a total of 55 days, Malaysia's transport ministry said.
The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will resume at the end of December, Malaysia's transport ministry said, more than a decade after the Beijing-bound flight disappeared.
The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014 in one of aviation's greatest mysteries.
Two thirds of the passengers were Chinese, while the others included Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as Indian, American, Dutch and French nationals.
Despite being the focus of the largest search in aviation history, the plane has not been found.
The transport ministry said in a statement that US-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity will search intermittently from December 30 for a total of 55 days in areas where the aircraft was most likely to be found.
"The latest development underscores the government of Malaysia's commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy," it said.
Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.
Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine scans the water in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia during a search in 2014. (AP: Rob Griffith)
Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity will be conducting the search "in [a] targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft," the ministry said.
Malaysia's transport ministry said the search would be conducted intermittently.
Last search suspended
The most recent search in the southern Indian Ocean in April this year was suspended due to poor weather conditions.
Malaysia government gave the green light in March for a "no find, no fee" contract with Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometre site in the ocean.
Ocean Infinity will be paid $USD70 million ($106 million) if the wreckage is discovered.
Loading...Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.
An initial Australian-led search covered 120,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean over three years, but found hardly any trace of the plane other than a few pieces of debris.
The ministry said the latest development underscores its commitment in "providing closure to the families affected by the tragedy".
Poets and dancers performed and family members of the passengers and crew lit candles at the remembrance event in Subang Jaya, Malaysia. (Reuters: Hasnoor Hussain)
A 495-page report into the disappearance in 2018 said the Boeing 777's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to go off course, but investigators could not determine who was responsible and stopped short of offering a conclusion on what happened, saying that depended on finding the wreckage.
Investigators have said there was nothing suspicious in the background, financial affairs, training and mental health of the captain and co-pilot.
Relatives of the victims had voiced hope in February that a new search could finally bring some answers.
Wires