On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 left Kuala Lumpur International Airport bound for Beijing Capital International Airport. The Boeing 777 vanished from radar just 39 minutes after takeoff, leading to one of the most perplexing aviation disappearances in modern history. The pilot’s final transmission - the farewell phrase "Good night, Malaysian Three Seven Zero" - was made shortly before the jet crossed into Vietnamese airspace. Subsequently, the aircraft failed to make routine communications with air traffic controllers.
Shortly after losing radar contact, the plane's transponder went silent. However, military radar detected the aircraft once again turning westward over the Andaman Sea. Satellite data further tracked the jet continuing for several hours, potentially until the fuel was depleted, before it is believed to have crashed into a remote area in the southern Indian Ocean.
Theories explaining the plane’s disappearance remain varied and speculative. Proposals include scenarios such as hijacking, sudden cabin depressurization, or power failure. The absence of distress signals, ransom demands, technical malfunction indications, or adverse weather conditions complicates the search for definitive answers. A Malaysian investigation in 2018 cleared the passengers and crew of responsibility but did not exclude the possibility of "unlawful interference," with authorities suggesting communications were deliberately disabled and the plane diverted away from its planned route.
Flight MH370 carried 239 individuals, including 12 crew members and 227 passengers, among them five young children. The passenger list was internationally diverse, predominantly Chinese nationals but also comprising people from the United States, Indonesia, France, Russia, and other countries. Onboard were unique passengers such as two Iranians traveling on stolen passports, a collective of Chinese calligraphy artists, 20 employees from a U.S.-based technology company, a stunt double for a well-known actor, and several families with young children, some tragically losing multiple members.
Search efforts commenced initially in the South China Sea, expanded to include the Andaman Sea, and eventually extended to cover the southern Indian Ocean. Australia, Malaysia, and China coordinated the most expansive underwater search ever undertaken, traversing approximately 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of seabed mainly off Western Australia. The collaborative endeavor utilized aircraft, sonar-equipped vessels, and autonomous underwater vehicles in an attempt to detect debris or wreckage.
During the mission, signals believed to be emanating from the aircraft’s black boxes were discovered but subsequently attributed to other sources. Substantial wreckage was notably absent until 2015, when a confirmed piece of the wing, a flaperon, washed ashore on Réunion Island. Additional fragments were recovered from locations along Africa’s eastern seaboard. Despite these finds, the main wreckage remains elusive. The large-scale search operation was called off in January 2017.
Subsequently, in 2018, the U.S. marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity resumed the search under a performance-based contract that offered payment only upon discovery of debris. This phase focused on areas identified by drift analyses of recovered fragments but concluded without locating the aircraft.
The difficulty in uncovering the plane has been compounded by the sheer enormity and complexity of the search area. The Indian Ocean ranks as the third largest ocean, encompassing vast regions with average depths near 4 kilometers (approximately 2.5 miles). Oceanic weather conditions were frequently challenging, and the expansive, mostly unexplored seabed terrain has made precise searching an arduous task. Incidents of aircraft disappearing into the deep sea are rare but notoriously difficult to resolve, with decades of similar unresolved cases highlighted by aviation safety authorities.
In early 2024, Malaysia authorized Ocean Infinity to initiate a new search campaign focused on a promising 15,000 square kilometer (5,800 square miles) zone distinct from previous operations. This contract maintains the "no-find, no-fee" structure, stipulating a payment of $70 million contingent on the successful location of the wreckage. Initial efforts launched in April were interrupted by adverse weather conditions.
Officials recently announced that the resumed search will begin intermittently from December 30, continuing for approximately 55 days in targeted areas determined by detailed expert analysis and new technological adaptations. While specific new evidence pinpointing the plane’s position has not been disclosed, Ocean Infinity asserts that extensive data review and collaboration with specialists have focused the search to regions with the greatest probability of success.