Almost 22 years have passed since the day the Malaysian Boeing 777 disappeared into the ocean with 239 people. After the discovery of parts on the African coast and several interrupted missions, the Ocean Infinity company returns to explore the seabed. It will only be paid if it brings certain results
One of the greatest mysteries of modern aviation must be solved. It was March 8, 2014 when the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370a Boeing 777-200ER in service from the international airport of Kuala Lumpurin Malaysiaat the airport of Beijingin Chinadisappeared from radar screens and tracking sites. The last communication with the crew was approximately 38 minutes after takeoff as the airplane flew over the South China Sea. A few minutes later, the flight disappeared from civilian flight control radars but continued to be tracked by military radars for approximately an hour along a route much further west than the intended flight plan. Until it went out of radar range just under 400km northwest of Penang Island.
Malaysia’s decision to resume searches
After investigations, suppositions, proven expeditions, partial discoveries of parts of the wreck and also hypothesis of murder-suicide by the commandernow the Malaysian government he decided to resume searches starting December 31st. The operation then began following a plan 55 days previously announced and follows a previous mission executed by the company Ocean Infinity which ended last April due to bad weather conditions present in the areas to be searched.
The role of Ocean Infinity and the “no find, no fee” agreement
Now the marine robotics company based in UK and USA is conducting the research under an agreement “no find, no fee” with the Malaysian Ministry of Transportor if the wreckage is not found on the seabed no further money will be paid by the Malaysian government. Operations are now conducted by covering 5,800 square miles in the southern Indian Oceanidentified as those with a greater probability of locating what remains of the Boeing 777 missingalthough authorities have not yet released the exact coordinates.
The new analyzes on trajectory and debris
According to the Malaysian Ministry of Transport the renewed attention is based on updated analyzes of the flight path detected by satellites and of drift produced by ocean currentsas well as on surveys carried out on debris coming from the plane that had run aground on the plane a few years ago coasts of Africa. Ocean Infinity, which previously surveyed the area in 2018 and earlier this year, had no comment on the times foreseen by the mission.
The hypotheses about the disaster and the suspicion of a deliberate act
The flight disappeared with 239 people on boardtriggering one of the biggest underwater research campaigns never undertaken on behalf of the air force. Officially, despite the various hypotheses formulated and supported by evidence, the cause of the accident has not yet been declared while the families of the victims continue to demand answers. According to what the New York Times in 2022publishing a confidential document of the investigations drawn up by Malaysian policethe commander of the plane, Zaharie Ahmad Shahhad conducted a simulated flight to the most remote part of the southern Indian Ocean less than a month before March 8, thus giving rise to the suspicion of a premeditated act of murder suicide.
Alternative routes, radio signals and compensation
It would not be the only clue that points to this thesis: one of these is the fact that the initial changes of direction occurred precisely in coincidence with the radio frequency and airspace control sector changeseffectively buying time to “disappear”. Other theses favored different routesfurther south than the one then considered as the most probable, thanks also to calculations made by a former English driver who, as a passionate radio amateur, uses theAircraft scatterthat is, it bounces radio waves off airplanes in flight that are halfway between the transmitting and receiving stations. As often happens, the final outcome of the investigations determines the amount of compensation to the victims’ families.
