The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will resume on December 30, Malaysia's transport ministry said on Wednesday, more than a decade after the Beijing-bound flight disappeared in one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. Multiple search operations for the plane have been conducted since then but all proved fruitless. The most recent search in the southern Indian Ocean was suspended in April after just a few weeks due to poor weather conditions. Exploration firm Ocean Infinity has confirmed it would recommence seabed operations for 55 days, conducted intermittently, the transport ministry said.
"The search will be carried out in targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft," it said in a statement.
No precise location of the search area has been given.
Malaysian investigators initially did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately taken off course. Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, has washed up along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean. The resumed search will be in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed upon between the government and Ocean Infinity for restarting the MH370 wreckage search, the ministry said.
Malaysia will pay the firm $70 million if substantive wreckage is found during the search on the seabed of an area in the southern Indian Ocean covering 15,000 sq km (5,790 sq miles).
Ocean Infinity had conducted prior searches for the plane up until 2018 but failed to find substantive wreckage.
A 495-page report into the disappearance in 2018 said the Boeing 777's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to go off course, but investigators could not determine who was responsible and stopped short of offering a conclusion on what happened, saying that depended on finding the wreckage.
Investigators have said there was nothing suspicious in the background, financial affairs, training and mental health of both the captain and co-pilot. More than 150 Chinese passengers were on the flight. Others included 50 Malaysians as well as citizens of France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine and Canada, among others. Relatives have demanded compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce and the Allianz insurance group, among others.
What we know about the missing MH370 plane
The disappearance nearly 12 years ago of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with 239 people on board remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.
The Boeing 777 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. More than 150 Chinese passengers and 50 Malaysians were on the flight, as well as citizens of France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine and Canada, among others.
Satellite data analysis showed the plane likely crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, off the coast of western Australia. However, two major searches failed to come up with any significant findings.
A new search for the missing aircraft will commence on December 30, 2025.
WHAT IS KNOWN?
The last transmission from the plane was about 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah signed off with "Good night, Malaysian three seven zero", as the plane entered Vietnamese airspace.
Shortly thereafter, its transponder was turned off, which meant it could not be easily tracked.
Military radar showed the plane left its flight path to fly back over northern Malaysia and Penang Island, and then out into the Andaman Sea towards the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It then turned south and all contact was lost.
UNDERWATER SEARCHES
Malaysia, Australia and China launched an underwater search in a 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) area in the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.
The search, which cost about A$200 million ($131.54 million), was called off after two years in January 2017, with no traces of the plane found.
In 2018, Malaysia accepted a "no-cure, no-fee" offer from U.S. exploration firm Ocean Infinity for a three-month search, meaning the company would only get paid if it found the plane.
That search covered 112,000 sq km (43,243 square miles) north of the original target area and also proved fruitless, ending in May 2018.
DEBRIS
More than 30 pieces of suspected aircraft debris have been collected along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean, but only three wing fragments were confirmed to be from MH370.
Most of the debris was used in drift pattern analysis in the hopes of narrowing down the aircraft's possible location.
INVESTIGATION REPORT
A 495-page report into MH370's disappearance, published in July 2018, said the Boeing 777's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course, but investigators could not determine who was responsible.
The report also highlighted mistakes made by the Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control centres and issued recommendations to avoid a repeat incident.
Investigators stopped short of offering any conclusions about what happened to MH370, saying that depended on finding the plane's wreckage.
CONSPIRACY THEORIES
The inability to locate MH370's crash site has fuelled numerous conspiracy theories, ranging from mechanical error or a remote-controlled crash, to more bizarre explanations like an alien abduction or a Russian plot.
In recent years, some aviation experts have said the most likely explanation was that the plane was deliberately taken off course by an experienced pilot. But investigators have said there was nothing suspicious in the background, financial affairs, training and mental health of both captain and co-pilot.
SEARCH RESUMPTION
Malaysia's government in December 2024 announced it would resume the search for the wreckage following a new proposal from Ocean Infinity, which would receive $70 million if substantive wreckage is found. The search started in March this year but was suspended after a few weeks due to bad weather.
The new search starting December 30 will be in accordance with the same terms and conditions agreed between Malaysia and Ocean Infinity in 2024 and will be conducted in a 15,000 sq km (5,790 sq miles) area of the southern Indian Ocean. The precise location has not been given.
Ocean Infinity has confirmed it would recommence seabed operations for 55 days, conducted intermittently, Malaysia's transport ministry said, adding the resumed search would be in "a targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft."
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