Why is Malaysia resuming the search for missing MH370, 11 years after its disappearance?- The Week

Malaysia will resume its search for the missing MH370 flight this month, more than 11 years after it disappeared in one of aviation’s biggest mysteries.

The Malaysian transport ministry announced that the search would resume on December 30. The US-based robotic company Ocean Infinity would recommence its search of the seabed intermittently over a period of 55 days in areas where it is most likely to be found.

The ministry said that the search would resume, “In [a] targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft.”

The last search for the missing plane in April this year was suspended due to poor weather conditions.

The Malaysian government has formed a “no find, no fee” contract with Ocean Infinity to resume the search at a new 15,000 square kilometre site in the ocean.

The company will be paid $USD70 million if the wreckage of the plane is found.

The Britain and US-based company had led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to restart this year. A multinational search was also held involving 60 ships and 50 aircraft from 26 countries, which ended in 2017.

The initial search covered 129,000 kilometres in the Indian Ocean over 3 years but only found a few pieces of debris.

The ministry said that the new search shows the government’s commitment to providing closure to the families affected by the tragedy.

The Malaysian flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after takeoff on March 8, 2014 and has been missing ever since. The radar shows that the aircraft deviated from its original flight path to Beijing and was last seen heading west over the Strait of Malacca.

The flight carried 12 Malaysian crew and 227 passengers, mostly Chinese citizens. Passengers were also from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, France, the US, Iran, Ukraine, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia and Taiwan.

Considered one of the greatest aviation mysteries, the incident has given rise to multiple conspiracy theories. One 495-page investigative report released in 2028 said that the Boeing 777 flight’s control could have been deliberately manipulated to go off course.

Investigators have also said that there was nothing suspicious about the captain and the copilot after searches of their background, financial affairs, training and mental health.