Flight MH370 mystery: Malaysia resumes search for plane that disappeared more than a decade ago

More than a decade after the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane, investigators will resume efforts to unravel one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. A new search operation will begin from Tuesday (30/12), in the third attempt to find out what happened to flight MH370, which had 239 people on board. The Boeing 777 disappeared during a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. There were 150 Chinese and 50 Malaysians on board, as well as citizens of several other countries. An analysis of satellite data showed that the plane likely crashed off the Australian coast of the Pacific Ocean. However, two large-scale searches have already failed to make significant discoveries. Last words The plane’s last transmission occurred about 40 minutes after takeoff. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah said goodbye in a normal tone, wishing the controllers good night, as the plane entered Vietnamese airspace. The radio transmitter in the cockpit was turned off shortly afterwards, making it impossible for him to be easily tracked. Military radar showed that the plane left its flight path to return to fly over northern Malaysia and Penang Island, then heading towards the Andaman Sea, towards the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The aircraft then headed south, and all contact was lost. Debris at sea Since then, more than 30 pieces of suspected aircraft wreckage have been found along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean. But only three wing fragments have been confirmed as belonging to MH370. Most of this debris was used in drift pattern analysis in an attempt to narrow down the possible area where the plane could have been. The greatest physical evidence was a piece called a flaperon, a piece of the wing, which in 2015, 16 months after the plane’s disappearance, appeared on the coast of Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean, close to Madagascar. Responsibility unclear A 495-page report into the disappearance of MH370, published in July 2018, stated that the Boeing 777’s controls were likely manipulated deliberately to knock it off course. For aviation experts, the most plausible explanation seems to be that an experienced pilot would have made this decision. Investigators, however, were unable to determine who was responsible. They say there are no known reasons to raise suspicions about the captain or co-pilot. Errors were also detected by the air traffic control centers in Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Investigators have not reached definitive conclusions, however, about what happened to MH370, claiming that it is necessary to first find the wreckage of the aircraft. Several conspiracy theories have emerged over the past decade, including a mechanical error, a remotely controlled crash or even an alien abduction or Russian involvement. Failure of the search After the disappearance of the aircraft, Malaysia, Australia and China launched the first underwater search in an area of ​​120 thousand square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean, based on data from automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane. The search, which cost around 200 million Australian dollars (the equivalent today of R$700 million) was ended after two years, in January 2017, without any trace of the plane. The following year, Malaysia accepted a proposal from the American company Ocean Infinity for a new three-month search. The company would only receive payment if it found the plane. The new operation covered 112 thousand square kilometers north of the original area, but also had no results, ending in May 2018. Renewed hopes? In December 2024, the Malaysian government announced that searches would resume, although experts doubt that further efforts could have a different outcome. Ocean Infinity is expected to receive 70 million dollars (R$375 million) if significant wreckage is found. The operation began in March, but was quickly suspended due to bad weather. The search will finally resume on December 30 in an area of ​​15 thousand square kilometers of the Indian Ocean. The company will work for 55 intermittent days on the case. According to the Malaysian Ministry of Transport, the target area is assessed as the most likely location of the aircraft. Its precise location is not publicly known. The government also stated that the renewed efforts are proof of its commitment to offering a response to families affected by the tragedy. ht/cn (Reuters, ots)

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