Just 10 years ago, on March 8th, 2014, the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200 flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board disappeared. The flight is one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history that has gone unsolved. On March 3rd, 2024, Malaysia announced it may begin a renewed search for flight MH370 as the 10th anniversary of the disappearance approaches. After several failed attempts, there is new hope for a successful search and money to investigate after nearly 10 years since the disappearance. 

On Sunday, March 3rd, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke stated, “The Malaysian government is committed to the search, and the search must go on.” Loke also mentioned that the US seabed exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, proposed a search after two failed attempts at locating the missing plane. Ocean Infinity made a “no find, no fee” proposal, as well as tried to get Australia on board again after its first failure in 2017. The search is going to cost millions if not billions of dollars but countries are seemingly willing to temporarily resume investigation processes.

There have been numerous accounts of searches for MH370 which all ultimately failed. What makes the search difficult is the plane disappearing from the radar and continuing to fly for hours before finally crashing into the Indian Ocean. The captain signed off with, “Good night Malaysian three seven zero”. A multinational search force, including Malaysia, Australia, the United States, and China continued search efforts after its initial disappearance. In 2017, Malaysia, China, and Australia ended the underwater hunt for the plane that cost $130 million. In 2018, the U.S.-led Ocean Infinity attempted to find the plane and Malaysia offered $70 million in the case that it was found. Many family members of the missing passengers are still seeking the truth and believe that it will “eventually come to light”, as Chinese national Bai Zhong, whose wife was on the plane, explains.

With the reopening of investigations for flight MH370 and with the continued help of Ocean Infinity, Malaysia is not putting the disappearance to rest. There is a lot of ground to cover but bringing answers to the mystery surrounding MH370 will be a relief to both the families of passengers on board but also to the international community.