Everything you need to know about the latest search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

A new search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is underway, more than 10 years after its mysterious and puzzling disappearance.

On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777 disappeared while traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing with 249 passengers on board, most of whom were Chinese nationals, but the flight also included citizens of Malaysia, Canada, France and elsewhere.

To date, little is known about this disappearance. The plane likely crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, according to analysis of satellite data, and some small fragments washed up on the east coast of Africa and on Indian Ocean islands. Furthermore, two previous large-scale research studies did not produce any significant results. No bodies or large wreckage were ever found, and no one knows why the plane crashed.

But now new research is underway, reviving long-held hopes that this painful mystery can finally be solved.

Here’s everything you need to know about the latest hunt for the plane that apparently disappeared without a trace:

Who conducts the research?

Earlier this month, Malaysia’s transport ministry said Texas-based marine robotics company Ocean Infinity would resume the deep-sea search for the plane that went missing on December 30.

The latest search began in March, but the operation was interrupted weeks later due to bad weather.

The company is conducting the research under a “no research, no fee” contract with the Malaysian government. This means Ocean Infinity could earn $70 million – if significant wrecks are found.

Multiple reports indicate that it is unclear whether Ocean Infinity has any new information on the plane’s whereabouts. But the company’s CEO, Oliver Punkett, said the company had improved its technology following unsuccessful research in 2018 under a similar deal.

Punkett said his team worked with numerous experts to analyze the data and narrowed the search area to the most likely site, according to reports.

Malaysia’s transport ministry confirmed that the resumption of the search would be in “a targeted area considered to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft”. The precise location has not been disclosed, but the research will be carried out across a sprawling 15,000 square kilometer area in the southern Indian Ocean.

How long will the latest deep sea searches last?

It should start intermittently on Tuesday, for a duration of 55 days.

According to Scientific Americanthe company deploys a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles for research. The vehicles hover tens of meters above the seafloor and map the terrain down to a depth of around 6,000 meters.

Here’s what we already know

The plane’s last transmission came about 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah signed “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero”, as the plane entered Vietnamese airspace and failed to register with its controllers.

Shortly after, the plane’s transponder was turned off, making it difficult to locate.

Military radar showed the plane had left its flight path back over northern Malaysia and the island of Penang, then into the Andaman Sea toward the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

The plane then turned south and all contact was lost.

Previous searches have been largely unsuccessful

Searches have been conducted from time to time since the plane’s disappearance, but mostly to no avail.

Shortly after its disappearance, Malaysia, Australia and China launched an underwater search in an area of ​​120,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean, based on data from automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.

The cost of the research is approximately 183 million Canadian dollars and was canceled after two years in January 2017, with no trace of the plane found.

So far, around 30 pieces of suspected aircraft debris have been collected, but only three wing fragments have been confirmed to have come from MH370.

Report found manipulations, errors

A report published in 2018 indicated that the Boeing 777’s controls were likely deliberately manipulated to throw it off course, but investigators were unable to determine who was responsible.

Malaysian investigators cleared the passengers and crew.

The report also made recommendations to avoid a repeat incident after identifying errors made by air traffic control centers in Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City.

Investigators were unable to draw any conclusions about what happened to MH370, saying it depended on the location of the wreckage.

Possible theories

Plausible theories range from a plane hijacking to a power outage, with other conspiracy theories following the tragedy since it occurred.

Yet questions abound given that there have been no distress calls, no ransom demands, no severe weather or evidence of technical failure.