MH370 search resumes after 12 years, reviving the longest and costliest hunt in aviation history

No find, no fee

• Ocean Infinity begins new deep-sea search for missing MH370 in Indian Ocean
• Search covers 15,000 sq km over 55 days under a "no find, no fee" agreement
• Finding MH370 wreckage could finally bring closure to families after 12 years

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Nearly 12 years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished with 239 people on board, the search for one of aviation’s greatest mysteries has begun again.

On Tuesday, December 30, US- and UK-based marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity launched a renewed deep-sea operation to locate the wreckage of the Boeing 777 that disappeared on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Where the new search is focused

Ocean Infinity will survey about 15,000 square kilometres of the southern Indian Ocean over 55 days, targeting a newly identified zone believed to hold the strongest clues to the aircraft’s final resting place.

The operation is being carried out under a “no find, no fee” agreement with the Malaysian government, meaning the company will only be paid if it successfully locates the wreckage. If the search yields results, Malaysia will pay Ocean Infinity $70 million.

The mission is being conducted using autonomous underwater vehicles deployed from the vessel Armada 86, allowing the company to scan the seabed at extreme depths with greater precision than earlier efforts.

What happened to Flight MH370

Flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic control about 40 minutes after take-off. The last known transmission from the cockpit came as the aircraft entered Vietnamese airspace, when the captain signed off with the now-famous words: “Good night, Malaysian three seven zero.”

Soon after, the plane’s transponder was switched off, making it difficult to track. Satellite data later suggested the aircraft veered far off course and likely crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, west of Australia.

Two large-scale international searches, spanning years and costing billions of dollars, failed to locate the main wreckage, making MH370 the longest and most expensive search in aviation history.

The aircraft carried passengers from multiple countries, including more than 150 Chinese nationals, 50 Malaysians, and citizens of India, Australia, France, the United States, Canada, Ukraine and Indonesia.

For families who have waited more than a decade without answers, the renewed effort has revived cautious hope. Finding the wreckage could finally explain what went wrong, and bring closure to a mystery that has haunted aviation since 2014.