Company Teases New Evidence of MH370's Location

Nine years after Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 vanished over the Indian Ocean, leaving little evidence of its tragic fate, one of the biggest mysteries in aviation continues to baffle, as evidenced by Netflix's new documentary exploring what might have happened to the Boeing 777 along its route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, per Fox News. Family members of those lost, however, hope the mystery might finally be solved with another search. After a hunt led by Malaysia, China, and Australia came to an unsuccessful end in 2017, Malaysia tasked US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity with another, which also failed, per CNN. Five years on, however, the company says it has fresh evidence worthy of a third search, which it's proposing on a "no find, no fee" basis as before, per the Guardian.

Malaysia's government has long said it will support another search only with credible evidence of the aircraft's final resting place, a position reiterated this week by Transport Minister Anthony Loke. According to Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunkett, the company has "made real progress" over the last year, "working with many people to enhance our knowledge of the events in 2014, and ultimately improve our chances of conducting a successful search." But he isn't saying more than that, and it doesn't seem as though the government has gained any more information. Speaking at a virtual remembrance event on Wednesday, Plunkett told family members that he would present the new evidence to the government "in the coming weeks."

"Discussions are ongoing and there is still much work to be done," Plunkett says, per the Guardian. Yet "we are hopeful that our experienced team and marine robotics will be instructed later this year or in 2024." The talk has animated a group of family members of MH370's 227 passengers and 12 crew members, who hailed from 14 countries. "As long as we remain in the dark about what happened to MH370, we will never be able to prevent a similar tragedy," says Voice370. "Accordingly, we believe that it is a matter of paramount importance that the search for MH370 is carried out to its completion." More than 20 pieces of debris consistent with a Boeing 777 have been found on the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean since MH370 disappeared. (More MH370 stories.)