The research will be conducted by the company Ocean Infinity, which will receive compensation only if it succeeds in finding the remains of the aircraft, thus continuing the search for answers to one of the biggest unsolved questions in the history of aviation.
The Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared on March 8, 2014 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were 227 passengers and 12 crew members in the aircraft, mostly citizens of China and Malaysia. The last contact with the aircraft was made less than an hour after takeoff, after which the plane mysteriously deviated from the planned route and disappeared from radar.
Military radar data later showed that the plane had changed direction, flown over Malaysia and headed for the Andaman Sea, before disappearing from all tracking systems. It is believed that it then continued its flight to the south of the Indian Ocean, where it probably crashed.
In recent years, extensive underwater searches have been carried out in an area of more than 120,000 square kilometers, involving Malaysia, Australia and China. Despite great efforts and invested resources, no decisive clue has been found. The search was first suspended in 2017 and then restarted in 2018, but without results.
Although parts of the wreckage have been found on the coasts of African countries and islands in the Indian Ocean over the years, only a few fragments have been linked with complete certainty to flight MH370. However, those findings were not enough to precisely determine the place where the plane fell.
An official investigation report, released in 2018, said the plane likely veered off course on purpose, but did not offer a definitive answer about the cause of the disappearance or who was responsible. The report, however, noted shortcomings in the operation of air traffic control in Malaysia and Vietnam.
The new search effort, which begins at the end of December, will cover an area of about 15,000 square kilometers in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. The Malaysian government and Ocean Infinity have agreed that the firm will receive a $70 million payment only if it finds the wreck.
Although numerous theories have emerged over the years – from technical failure to deliberate sabotage – none have been definitively confirmed. This is precisely why the new search raises hope that, after more than a decade of uncertainty, the families of the victims could finally get answers about the fate of flight MH370.
(Vijesti.ba)
