By Tom Costello, Jay Blackman and Andee Capellan -
NBC News
Ten years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the Malaysian government and an American technology company are studying the possibility of conducting a new underwater search for the plane's wreckage, in an effort to solve one of the world's biggest mysteries. aviation of all time.
The Boeing 777 was carrying 239 passengers and crew, most of them Chinese, when it disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on a flight to Beijing.
Radar and satellite data showed that the plane had deviated from its original route, and is believed to have ended up crashing in the southern Indian Ocean.
The causes of the accident are still unclear, among which theories such as a mechanical failure, a kidnapping or a deliberate deviation from the route by the pilots are being studied.
Sarah Bajc, whose boyfriend at the time, Philip Wood, an IBM executive from Texas, was among the passengers, said that although she had doubts about whether the Malaysian government would follow through, she would be "delighted" if the search resumed.
"I think they owe it to the world, they owe it to the family members to find out what happened," he said in an interview.
A search officer scans the sea in the southern Indian Ocean for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, March 2014.Rob Griffith/AP - file
Ocean Infinity, a marine robotics company based in Austin, Texas, spent months searching for the wreckage of the plane that disappeared in 2018, but came up empty.
Now, company officials hope to try again and argue that the technology has advanced.
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"Finding MH370 and bringing some resolution to everyone associated with the loss of the aircraft has been on the back of our minds since we left the southern Indian Ocean in 2018," Oliver Plunkett, CEO of Ocean Infinity, said in a statement. .
The Malaysian government is open to the idea and says it is in talks with the company which, as in 2018, would only be paid if it found the remains.
"This is an issue that affects people's lives and whatever needs to be done must be done," Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters during a visit to Australia on Monday.
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In a speech at a memorial service outside Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke did not reveal how much Ocean Infinity would be paid if it was successful, but said the government was not worried about costs.
Although hundreds of thousands of square kilometers have been searched, only a few dozen remains have been found on the east coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
Experts believe the plane could be several kilometers underwater.
The southern Indian Ocean is one of the most remote areas in the world, making the search extremely difficult, according to aviation analyst John Cox.
"As with Amelia Earhart's plane, I suspect we will continue to look for it," he said.
"But it could be years and years before we find it."
Meanwhile, Bajc, who has since married and now runs a resort in Panama, is still waiting.
"I think sooner or later we will know what happened," he says.