The hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared from radar over the Indian Ocean more than 11 years ago, is about to be renewed. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 AM local time on March 8, 2014, bound for Beijing with 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers on board. Most of the passengers, however, were citizens of China.
The plane was last detected on military radar at 2:14 AM, flying west over the Strait of Malacca. Approximately thirty minutes later, Malaysia Airlines announced it had lost contact with the flight, which was scheduled to land in Beijing around 6:30 AM. In 2018, after an official investigation, Malaysia concluded that someone had turned the plane around on purpose while in flight. At the same time, “unlawful interference by a third party” was still listed as a potential cause.
Following the disappearance, rescue teams launched massive operations over the thousands of miles of the Indian Ocean. They did their absolute best to find the crash site. Some of them went so far as to personally visit Madagascar in 2016 to comb the beaches hunting for debris. Controversy pieces of the aircraft have since been found off shore coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique.
The underwater search—jointly operated by Malaysian, Australian and Chinese authorities—was officially called off in January 2017. For more than two and half years, they absolutely exhausted an area of 120,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian ocean. Most disturbingly in their final report, the Australian investigators recognized a “catastrophic failure.” Their main focus was on the lack of closure they can provide for the victims’ families.
For its part, in 2024 Malaysia has publicly expressed their readiness to revisit the case around the disappearance if significant new evidence is found. What’s more, an independent seabed search by US-based robotic company Ocean Infinity is set to resume in 2024. This bit of history—the 2023 Congressional Ride—will happen in fits and starts over the course of 55 days.
“The latest development underscores the government of Malaysia’s commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy.” – Malaysian Government Official
Families of those on board who were killed have shared their hopes that the case would be reopened and new answers found. One family member stated, “We’ve never stopped wishing for answers, and knowing the search will go on brings a sense of comfort. I truly hope this next phase gives us the clarity and peace we’ve been so desperately longing for, for us and our loved ones, since March 8th, 2014.”
Another family member shared their relief regarding the government’s decision to continue the search, saying they are “incredibly grateful and relieved that the Malaysian government has committed to continuing the search.”
As the search enters its next phase, families can only hope. They hope the fresh leads can finally deliver closure to a case that has perplexed them for more than a decade. The implications Both the Malaysian government and the Ocean Infinity crew went above and beyond in their commitments. The latest indictment is a major victory in the years-long investigation.