Search For Missing MH370 Resumes

4th Oct 2014

​Researchers will resume their search for the wreckage over a vast swathe of the Indian Ocean, the place where most researchers theoretically believed the plane crashed based on the communication signals sent by the aircraft minutes before it went missing.

The first of three ships, GO Phoenix, which will carry out the search mission, is expected to arrive at the search area on Sunday if good weather permits. The search crew will use equipment that would hopefully speed up their search with more success. These include sonar, video cameras, and jet fuel sensors.

To recall, flight MH370 departed Kuala Lumpur on the wee hours of March 8 for its more than 5-hour flight to Beijing. Less than an hour later, ground controllers lost contact with the aircraft. The missing airplane didn't arrive at the scheduled time of arrival at Beijing which prompted the company to issue that the flight was missing.

The missing flight went on to become the aviation history's most mysterious and baffling air incident escaping any theory investigators could possibly propose based on the prevailing circumstance.

It drew global attention the history could ever witness involving no less than three dozens search and rescue missions from as many countries.

The search was temporarily put on hold in May in order to create a more comprehensive plan by deploying ships that mapped out the unexplored ocean floor. During this four-month hiatus, the ships had mapped out possible areas in the vast Indian Ocean to include when search resumes.
Based on their new map, the search area involves 60,000 square kilometers that lies approximately 1,800 kilometers west of Australia, known as 'seventh arc'. This particular area was chosen because most investigators believed the aircraft expended its fuel and plunged headlong to the ocean. These theories are based primarily on the analysis of transmission signals between the aircraft and the satellite.

Both Malaysian and Australian search teams are confident that the new map will hopefully generate positive results and finally solve the most baffling air tragedy in aviation history. The area that search crews are now eying has been largely unknown to scientists for eons.

Both governments of Malaysia and Australia chipped in a combined $60 million for the new search effort.