As of: March 8, 2024, 5:57 a.m
By: Andreas Sieler
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Like the disappearance of the plane, the fate of the 239 people on board remains unclear.
imago images © Supian Ahmad/Imago
Ten years ago, flight MH370 disappeared without a trace.
The surviving relatives of the 239 victims are demanding clarification.
There are increasing signs that a new search will soon be started.
Kuala Lumpur – It has now been ten years since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared without a trace.
For the relatives of the 239 victims on board the plane, 227 passengers and twelve crew members, it has been ten long years of uncertainty.
They want to know what happened on March 8, 2014.
Last weekend, hundreds of them gathered for a memorial event in a shopping center near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
They are calling for a new search for the missing plane.
Theories surrounding missing flight MH370: debris washed up on the opposite side of the sea
To date, there are more theories than evidence about the events surrounding MH370, which is considered one of aviation's greatest mysteries.
Based on what is known, the only thing that is certain is that the Boeing 777-200 must have crashed.
The last radio contact with the machine took place about 40 minutes after take-off from Kuala Lumpur towards Beijing - without any abnormalities.
Shortly afterwards, the aircraft's transponder was probably intentionally deactivated and it disappeared from the radar.
However, it apparently continued to fly for hours, and after several course changes, it finally flew presumably in a southerly direction out towards the Indian Ocean.
Many experts suspect a crash site far west of Australia.
Individual pieces of debris later washed up on the opposite side of the sea on the African coast.
Some experts also conclude from their flow calculations that there is a crash site west of Australia.
Puzzle about MH370: “Systems switched off manually or power supply interrupted”
It is likely, according to a final report from 2018, that a loss of communication occurred because “systems were manually turned off or their power was interrupted.”
The most common theory is that the pilot committed suicide, but there is a whole range of evidence that speaks against it.
Even a malfunction of the aircraft cannot be ruled out, although there are many indications that the fault and the cause are more likely to be found in a human.
If you also take conspiracy theories into account, there are many possibilities as to why the plane has disappeared to this day.
Ultimately, there will only be clarity when the wreckage is found and, at best, data from the flight recorder can be evaluated.
Search for missing Boeing to be resumed: “We now feel capable”
According to numerous media reports, the hope of the surviving relatives that the search will be carried out again has increased again in the past week.
If there is new evidence, the investigation would be reopened, said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of a summit between Australia and the Asean states in Melbourne.
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On Sunday, his Transport Minister Anthony Loke said, according to international media reports, that there had been discussions with the US company Ocean Infinity.
It last carried out a large-scale search in the Indian Ocean in 2018 - but it was as unsuccessful as other large searches before it.
Since then, the Texas company has repeatedly shown itself open to continuing the search for the aircraft.
CEO Oliver Plunkett pointed out to the Malaysian newspaper “New Straits Times” that Ocean Infinity had improved its search options since 2018, also due to new technologies.
“We now feel able to restart the search for MH370 and have made a proposal to the Malaysian government,” Plunkett said.
Deal between Government of Malaysia and Ocean Infinity?
Neither side has given any details, and it will probably take some time before Ocean Infinity and Malaysia agree on a new search.
According to reports, it could come down to a deal, as has been the case in the past, where the government only has to pay something if Ocean Infinity actually locates the wreckage of the plane.
Such a success bonus would hardly be cheap.
But according to media such as the New Straits Times, Minister Loke apparently says the will is there.
He expressed confidence that the Cabinet would approve the proposal.
Also with regard to the financial aspect: “The costs are not a factor here.” Plunkett, however, hopes that things will start soon: “We have worked with many experts to further analyze data in the hope of narrowing down the search area.”
Aviation engineer may have narrowed down MH370 crash site to a small area
This leads to the exciting question of where a new search might be most promising.
Between 2014 and 2018, a search was understandably carried out where experts considered a crash to be most likely.
In recent years, a theory by aeronautical engineer Richard Godfrey has gained increasing attention in the search for a possible crash site.
The retiree developed a type of aviation tracking system in his free time.
He tries to locate aircraft by analyzing so-called WSPR or whisper signals from an amateur radio network stored in a database.
Airplanes interfere with the propagation of these radio waves.
Using this method, he claims to have narrowed down a possible crash site to a relatively small area that has not yet been searched for.
If Godfrey is correct, the next search could lead to success and the solution to one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.