Efforts are underway once again to unravel one of the major enigmas in aviation history with the commencement of a new deep-sea quest for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean.
The Armada 86 05 has reached the designated search area equipped with two autonomous underwater vehicles to recommence the search for the passenger plane that disappeared with 239 individuals onboard over a decade ago.
The exact location of the ongoing search has not been disclosed by Malaysia’s Transport Ministry in their recent announcement. The search vessel prepared at Fremantle Port in Western Australia before embarking on the mission, as per the ministry.
Although the Malaysian government did not explicitly mention Ocean Infinity, reports indicate that the identified search vessel belongs to the Texas-based marine robotics company, which had previously led a search operation and was expected to spearhead the current endeavor under a “no-find, no-fee” deal.
Ocean Infinity declined to provide detailed comments on the operation, citing its sensitive nature. The company had undertaken a similar contract in 2018 but did not find any traces of the missing aircraft at that time.
Earlier this year, Ocean Infinity briefly resumed seabed search activities in a new 5,800-square-mile area of the southern Indian Ocean following government approval, which had to be halted in April due to adverse weather conditions.
The Boeing 777 vanished from radar screens 39 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The pilot’s final communication before the aircraft disappeared was “Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero,” as it failed to check in with Vietnamese controllers after crossing into their airspace.
Subsequently, the plane’s transponder ceased broadcasting its location, and military radar data indicated a turn back over the Andaman Sea. Satellite information suggested the plane continued flying for several hours, potentially until fuel depletion, before crashing in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean.