New Search for Missing MH370 Plane Using Advanced Robotics

The MH370 Mystery

• ✈️ Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board, vanishing from civilian radar 39 minutes after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.
• military radar tracked the plane turning west over the Malay Peninsula and then south into the Indian Ocean.
• 🛰️ Satellite pings were received for several hours before going silent.

Previous Search Efforts

• 🗺️ A nearly three-year search was conducted over an area roughly the size of the state of Virginia.
• 🌊 Despite no major wreckage being found, a few dozen fragments believed to be from the plane washed ashore along Africa's eastern coast over a couple of years.

New Search Technology and Strategy

• 🤖 A British-American deep sea robotics company, Ocean Infinity, is leading a new search effort.
• ⚓ The company utilizes advanced underwater drones capable of diving to 20,000 feet and operating for over 4 days.
• 🔊 These drones use sonar to map the seabed, ultrasound to see under sediment, and magnetometers to detect metal wreckage.

Financial Incentives and Potential Outcomes

• 💰 The Malaysian government has agreed to pay Ocean Infinity $70 million if wreckage is found.
• 🚫 If no wreckage is found, the company receives no payment.
• 📈 While the payment is considered modest for such a large search, success would bring significant prestige and potentially more business, solving one of the biggest airline mysteries.