10 years on: an overview of Efforts to find Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370
On the 8th of March 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 abruptly lost contact with air traffic control, less than an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The Boeing 777 was carrying 239 passengers and crew on board, and was conducting a routine flight to Beijing Capital International Airport. Despite immediate search and rescue and efforts, the aircraft could not be located, seamlessly vanishing into the vast Indian Ocean. On the 10th anniversary of this event, this article provides an overview of the extensive search efforts and reflects on the enduring quest for Flight MH370.
In 2014, during the subsequent global search and rescue operations, officials failed to find both debris and definitive clues to explain the aircraft’s sudden disappearance. Underwater search efforts were led by Australia, Malaysia, and China. Operations cost around $143 million and covered 120 000 sq km, equivalent to the entire UK landmass. Although search operations represented the most extensive efforts in aviation history, the remote nature of the southern Indian Ocean and depths of the ocean floor posed significant challenges to deep-sea exploration.
Australia quickly emerged as the pivotal player in initiating, then coordinating, search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysia, being the state of registry for the aircraft, was originally responsible for carrying out operations to find MH370. However, at the request of Prime Minister Najib Razak, Malaysia delegated the efforts to the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB). Subsequently, Canberra deployed aircrafts, ships, and cutting-edge technology to support underwater operations.
It wasn’t until July 2015 that the first trace of the aircraft emerged. A flaperon – a part of one of the plane’s wings – was discovered on the French island of La Réunion, reenergizing search and rescue efforts. A wave of debris washed up during the following months along the coastlines of East Africa. These debris discoveries confirmed the fate of MH370, albeit, the discoveries fell short of providing definite answers.
After nearly three years of intensive search and recovery operations, officials suspended efforts in January 2017. Instead, private companies and independent groups took over the challenge of finding MH370. Albeit motivated by a commitment to uncovering the truth and providing closure for the families of those on board, these groups failed to locate the aircraft.
In particular, the U.S. exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, carried out an extensive search north of the initial target area early 2018. The company introduced a “no-cure, no-fee” proposal, meaning that they would solely be paid if they found the aircraft. Although fruitless, Ocean Infinity’s 3-month-search managed to encompass an area equivalent to what government operations covered between 2014 and 2017.
In July 2018, Malaysian authorities released a 495-page safety investigation report. The paper concluded that the aircraft’s controls seemed to have been deliberately manipulated to turn the Boeing 777 away from its flight path. The report further indicated shortcomings by Malaysian Air Traffic Control in the immediate search and rescue efforts to find MH370, leading to the resignation of the state’s civil aviation chief.
As such, the inability to locate Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has fuelled a wide range of conspiracy theories and debates over the reasons for which the plane went missing. Could mechanical failure have caused its crash? Or perhaps, it was hijacked by passengers on board or by the pilot himself? More bizarre theories have ranged from alien abductions to a meticulously planned Russian plot.
A decade later, aviation experts confirm that the most probable explanation is that MH370 was intentionally steered off course by an experienced pilot, Captian Zaharie Ahmad Shah. While investigators have stated that there was nothing suspicious regarding the mental health and background of both the captain and co-pilot, there is no indication that any other passenger aboard the aircraft underwent aviation training. It is therefore, possible that the pilot could have undertaken an act of murder-suicide.
In memoriam of flight MH370, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to investigation the disappearance of the aircraft. In particular, Ocean Infinity has been invited to discuss the possibility of new search proposals. The firm’s chief executive, Oliver Plunkett, has confirmed that he has submitted a new proposal with another “no-find, no-fee” clause. In the past few years, the company has strengthened its ocean search capabilities by adopting robotic programs and other technological advancements.
The possibility of fresh search operations, fuels renewed optimism for uncovering the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s fate. Locating the wreckage of MH370 is key to answering the questions surrounding the flight – who was in the cockpit when the aircraft disappeared and what was the cause of its crash? By resolving this mystery, closure can finally be provided to the families of those on board and the aviation sector can ensure that this tragedy will never be replicated.
Image courtesy of Jonathan Morgan via NBC News, ©2013. Some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
