After 11 years of mystery, a new search operation for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has begun, potentially marking the final effort to locate the vanished plane. Maritime firm Ocean Infinity has resumed its seabed search, building on its previous attempt in 2018, as per an announcement by Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Tuesday, reported the New York Post.
The renewed search will concentrate on a roughly 5,800 square-mile area of the Indian Ocean, previously overlooked, which has been identified as a priority zone based on credible data, including satellite signals and disrupted radio transmissions. Researchers will focus on four specific “hotspots” where they believe wreckage, including the plane’s fuselage, may have settled, as reported by The Telegraph.
Ocean Infinity, a company with bases in England and Texas, is optimistic that this latest search, potentially the final one, will yield results, thanks to advancements in ocean-floor searching drones.
The Armada 7806 vessel is currently operating in the Indian Ocean, deploying advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with cutting-edge technology, including 3D imagers, sonars, lasers, and cameras. These AUVs boast impressive capabilities, diving nearly four miles deep and remaining submerged for up to four days – twice the endurance of the remotely operated drones used in the 2018 search.
Ocean Infinity has agreed to a “no find, no fee” contract with the Malaysian government, which means the company will only receive the $70 million reward if they successfully locate wreckage from the plane.
One of the areas being searched for evidence was pinpointed by amateur ham radio operators, who propose that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have disrupted WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) transmitters. These transmitters send low-power radio pulses globally every two minutes, and disturbances in these signals can occur when intercepted by an aircraft.
According to retired NASA engineer Richard Godfrey’s analysis, 130 such signal disruptions were detected in the Indian Ocean on the night the flight disappeared, providing a potential lead in the search for the doomed plane.
Notably, flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board disappeared after leaving Kuala Lumpur Airport in southern Malaysia en route to Beijing, China, on March 8, 2014. A nearly three-year search covering 120,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean found hardly any trace of the plane, with only some pieces of debris picked up. Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has never been found and the operation was suspended in January 2017.
