Search for long-missing Malaysia Airlines fight to resume

The search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume on 30 December, over a decade after the aircraft with 239 people on board vanished, Malaysian authorities have said.

This fresh search, which will run for 55 days, had begun in March but was suspended shortly after because of poor weather conditions.

“The latest development underscores the [Malaysia’s] commitment to providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy,” the transport ministry said Wednesday, according to local media.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, disappeared in 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and sparked the largest search in aviation history.

Exploration firm Ocean Infinity is leading the current search under a “no find, no fee” arrangement. It will receive $70m (£56m) if the wreckage is found, Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook earlier said.

Previous attempts include a multinational search involving 60 ships and 50 aircraft from 26 countries, which ended in 2017, and a 2018 effort by Ocean Infinity ended after three months.

Flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after take-off on 8 March 2014, and radar showed it had deviated from its original flight path.

It remains one of the greatest aviation mysteries, which continues to haunt the families of those on board. Over the years, many had called for a new search, noting their struggle to find closure.

The incident has also given rise to a host of conspiracy theories, including speculation that the pilot had deliberately brought the plane down or that it had been hijacked.

An investigation in 2018 found that the plane’s controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course, but drew no conclusions behind it.

Investigators said at the time that “the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found”.