Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished from radar on March 8, 2014 while flying from Malaysia to Beijing. Its disappearance sparked one of the largest ocean searches in recent memory, with teams scouring the depths for any clues as to the plane’s whereabouts. So far, nothing conclusive has ever been found in the search for the missing plane, but on the 10-year anniversary of its disappearance, Malaysian officials have said they will do “everything possible” to try and track it down.
According to a new report from CNN, Malaysia’s transport minister says the country’s government should endeavour to do “everything possible to solve this mystery once and for all.” This, according to reports, could include hiring deep sea investigation company Ocean Infinity to restart the search for the missing plane. As CNN reports:
The US-based seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity had made a “credible” new search proposal, Loke said, without providing details. The company has previously made two fruitless attempts at finding the plane.
“The Ministry of Transport are ready to invite Ocean Infinity to Malaysia to discuss the proposal of a no-find, no-fee proposal. We are waiting for Ocean Infinity to provide the suitable dates and I will meet them any time that they are ready to come to Malaysia,” Loke said.
So far, search teams scouring the ocean floor have found little trace of the vanished plane. However, fragments of it have reportedly washed up on the coast of Africa, including a wing flag in Tanzania, a wing fragment in Mauritius and a flaperon in Reunion Island, reports CNN.
Because of this, the hope of finding more of the missing aircraft has been kept alive in the decade since its disappearance.
The new search program would see Malaysian officials partner back up with Ocean Infinity, which was recruited to look for the plane in 2018. Back then, the company was offered up to $US70 million if it could locate the missing Boeing 777 aircraft.
For its deep sea exploration missions, Ocean Infinity uses an armada of autonomous submarines that scour the sea floor. They can map vast areas of the ocean using tech like sonar, which is deployed from submersible craft as well as mother ships on the sea surface.