MH370: Underwater robots to search for aircraft missing for over eleven years

The Malaysian Ministry of Transport intends to resume the search for the aircraft of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which has been missing for over eleven years, using underwater robots from Ocean Infinity. The search is scheduled to begin on December 30th in selected areas in the depths of the Indian Ocean. The search is initially limited to 55 days, writes Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday.

On March 8, 2014, the aircraft of flight MH370 disappeared shortly after takeoff in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, en route to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. Radar contact with the Boeing 777 was lost at the beginning of the flight, making it initially impossible to trace the flight path. However, later analyses of satellite data based on automatically sent signals indicate that the aircraft deviated from its original route and flew south towards the Indian Ocean. Authorities assume that the aircraft intentionally deviated from its route, was later controlled by autopilot, and then crashed due to lack of fuel. The search initiated at the time, involving four countries, remained unsuccessful. The aircraft was never found.

Search with robots in a defined target area

The Malaysian government has now decided to continue the search in the depths of the Indian Ocean to "provide certainty to the families affected by this tragedy," as stated by the Ministry of Transport.

Underwater robots from the US-based underwater mapping company Ocean Infinity will be deployed. The agreement between the Malaysian government and Ocean Infinity stipulates that if the wreckage is successfully found, the company will receive 70 million US dollars. If it is not found, there will be no payment ("No-Find, No Fee"). The company had already conducted a search operation in the spring but had to abandon it due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The search will now resume in selected target areas in the southern Indian Ocean. The target areas, covering approximately 15,000 km², were selected based on drift analyses of aircraft wreckage parts that had washed ashore on African coasts and various islands in the Indian Ocean. Improved modeling has thus helped to narrow down the search area.

The underwater robots from Ocean Infinity are primarily designed for deep-sea mapping. However, they can also automatically detect objects, allowing for the identification of an aircraft wreck. By narrowing down the search area and employing more modern search methods, the Malaysian government hopes to gain certainty about the aircraft's whereabouts and uncover the circumstances of the crash.

(olb)