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The Malaysian government has given the go-ahead for a new search for the remains of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 over ten years after the plane disappeared.
The search will encompass a 15,000 sq km region of the southern Indian Ocean, based on a “no find, no fee” arrangement with the exploration company Ocean Infinity.
The firm will be awarded $70 million if the wreckage is located, as announced by transport minister Loke Siew Fook.
Flight MH370 went missing in 2014, with 239 individuals on board while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Its mysterious disappearance remains one of the most significant aviation enigmas, profoundly affecting the families of those on board.
Despite thorough search efforts over the years, no remnants have been discovered—past initiatives, including a multinational search totalling $150 million, concluded in 2017 without success.
The governments of Malaysia, Australia, and China have said that the search will proceed only if credible new evidence about the aircraft’s whereabouts emerges.
A 2018 search conducted by Ocean Infinity under similar conditions also ended without finding the wreckage after three months. In December, Malaysia’s government tentatively agreed to restart the search; however, final negotiations did not conclude until March. With Malaysia’s official approval on Wednesday, the search can now commence.
Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur early on March 8, 2014. Less than an hour after takeoff, it lost contact with air traffic control, and radar indicated that it strayed from its intended flight route.
Investigators generally concur that the aircraft crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, but the cause of the crash remains unknown.
Over the years following its disappearance, pieces of debris believed to be from the plane have surfaced along the Indian Ocean’s shores.
