A new search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumes off the Indian Ocean coast, with a Texas-based company leading the operation under a $70 million contract.
The Malaysian government has given final approval to a Texas-based marine robotics company, Ocean Infinity, to renew the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The ‘no-find, no-fee’ contract will allow the company to receive $70 million if wreckage is discovered. The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
A new 15,000-square-kilometer site in the southern Indian Ocean will be searched under a ‘no-find, no-fee’ contract. The company will receive $70 million if wreckage is discovered. The search vessel has already been sent to the site, and January-April is considered the best period for the search.
Flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Its disappearance remains one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries, which continues to haunt the families of the passengers. Investigators generally agree that the plane crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, though the reason for the crash remains unclear.
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing with 239 people on board.
The 'vanishing act' of the plane sparked a massive search and rescue operation.
Despite extensive searches by multiple nations, the plane's fate remains unknown.
Debris later found in the Indian Ocean was confirmed to be from a Boeing 777, but its connection to MH370 is disputed.
Investigations have suggested pilot involvement, but no concrete evidence has been found.
The disappearance of MH370 continues to puzzle investigators and families of those on board.
Previous searches by multinational teams and private companies have failed to turn up any clues to its location. A 2018 search by Ocean Infinity under similar terms ended unsuccessfully after three months. The Malaysian government had previously agreed to resume the search in principle but completed final negotiations only in March.
The families of passengers expressed mixed reactions when the news was announced in December. Some called it a step towards closure, while others described the news as bittersweet. Li Eryou, whose mother was on the missing flight, voiced frustration over Malaysia’s communication and lack of direct information. Cheng Liping, whose husband had been returning to China on MH370, hoped for more communication between Beijing and Malaysia to uncover the truth.
An investigation in 2018 found that the plane’s controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course, but no conclusions were drawn behind the crash. Investigators said at the time that ‘the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found.’
