Featured Image Credit: National Geographic
Topics: MH370, Technology, World News
Emily Brown
Just a couple of weeks after the Malaysian government announced a new search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the mission has been suspended.
News of the fresh approach to the disappearance of MH370 came last month, when the local government reached an agreement with the exploration firm Ocean Infinity to target a 15,000 sq km area in the southern Indian Ocean, with the hope of finding new insight into what happened to the Boeing 777 aircraft when it vanished.
In the years since the plane's disappearance on March 8, 2014, family members of those on board have been left desperate for answers. While many experts have shared theories as to what could have happened to the plane, the majority of the wreckage has still not been found.
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Malaysia transport minister Loke Siew Fook incited new hope as he announced that Ocean Infinity would receive a payment of $70m if the wreckage is found, however authorities have since announced that now is simply not the right time for the search to go ahead.
Fellow transport minister Anthony Loke indicated Ocean Infinity had started its search, but during an event at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on April 2 he revealed that the company had 'stopped the operation for the time being'.
Loke added that Ocean Infinity will 'resume the search at the end of this year,' as he explained: "Right now, it's not the season”.
According to Aviation Source News, the delay has been prompted by adverse weather conditions in the search area, with Ocean Infinity's equipment having been subject to strong winds, rough seas, and unpredictable currents which made it tough to operate effectively.
When the search resumes, the company will use autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) launched from an Ocean Infinity ship to search the bottom of the ocean for evidence of the missing plane.
The vehicles are able to descend to a depth of more than three miles and can be operated via a satellite link which Ocean Infinity workers can manage from the company’s control centre in Southampton, UK. They can remain submerged for four days at a time, during which company is expected to explore four areas which have been identified as potential crash sites.
In a statement announcing the news of the latest search, Loke said: "The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers."