It's been 11 years since a Malaysian Airlines flight seemingly vanished into thin air with countless theories coming to light in the decade since.
The MH370 flight, carrying 239 people from Malaysia to China, went missing in March 2014 as it completely fell off flight radars as it crossed Vietnamese airspace.
Two minutes after the pilot said 'Goodnight Malaysia three seven zero', the aircraft vanished.
Conspiracy theories have gripped the internet ever since, with the story made all the more mysterious by the fact extensive search efforts of the ocean from the west of Australia to Central Asia provided no real explanation.
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Malaysian military aircraft trackers were able to roughly trace MH370 and watched as it turned sharply left back into Malaysian airspace before flying another seven hours into the middle of the Indian Ocean.
It is presumed the jet ran out of fuel and crashed into the waters.
Australian authorities said at the time it decided to call the search a day in 2017: "Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting edge technology, as well as modeing and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft.
"The decision to suspend the underwater search has not been taken lightly nor without sadness."
What happened to MH370 has been the subject of countless theories and around 150 books, according to Richard Godfrey, who is a retired aerospace engineer and runs a website about the search for the aircraft.
Speaking to news.com.au, Godfrey said: "The various theories range from the bizarre like MH370 was taken by aliens, to the conspiratorial, like there was a plot involving several governments and secret service agents."
He also says there are more 'sinister' plots, like the MH370 being taken by China, Russia or the US.
But Godfrey told The Telegraph that the 'ghost radio signals' and historical Weak Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR) data might help determine where the plane disappeared.
His own analysis of the signals led him to a search radius of less than 20 miles, located approximately 1,000 miles west of Perth, Australia.
However, the WSPR theory is still in doubt by the creator of the transmitters, Professor Joseph Taylor of Princeton University who said the data from the network might not be able to track the aircraft.
A renewed search effort is now on the cards with the British maritime exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, on the verge of signing a contract with the Malaysian government.
Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke announced the move and said the country was looking forward to 'the proactiveness of Ocean Infinity to deploy their ships'.
The underwater exploration will be carried out on a new area of seabed, covering around 5,800 square miles.
The particular zone search is utilizing WSPR transmissions.
These 'whisper' transmissions were designed to send and receive low-power transmissions to test the capabilities and reach of antennas used by amateur radio enthusiasts.
They work by sending thousands of low-power radio pulses around the world every two minutes and are thought to be disrupted if an aircraft crosses them, which were in use at the time MH370 vanished.
Meanwhile, Oliver Plunkett, Ocean Infinity’s chief executive, said the decision to resume the search was 'great news'.
"We look forward to sharing further updates in the new year once we’ve finalized the details and the team gets ready to go," he said.
Topics: MH370, Conspiracy Theories, World News, China, Pilot, Australia, Technology
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