Opinion | Can Malaysia’s MH370 aircraft still be found, 10 years after it disappeared?

Previous searches in the Indian Ocean did not locate any wreckage, although several pieces of debris have washed up over the years

With the debris field likely to remain intact even after 10 years, and a narrower search area and improved technology, there is a high chance the wreckage can still be found

Reading Time:3 minutes

A family member of passengers and crew on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 writes on a memorial wall during a remembrance event marking the 10th anniversary of its disappearance in Selangor, Malaysia, on March 3. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:00am, 9 Mar 2024Updated: 11:06am, 9 Mar 2024

It has been 10 years since Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014. To this day, it remains one of the biggest aviation mysteries globally.

It’s unthinkable that a modern Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 239 people on board can simply vanish without any explanation. Yet multiple searches in the past decade have still not yielded the main wreckage or the bodies of the victims.

At a remembrance event held earlier this week, the Malaysian transport minister announced a renewed push for another search.

If approved by the Malaysian government, the survey will be conducted by the United States-based seabed-exploration firm Ocean Infinity, whose efforts were unsuccessful in 2018.

Two Malaysian children stand in front of a message board with well wishes on it to people involved with the missing MH370, in Sepang, Malaysia, on March 16, 2014. Photo: AP

What happened to MH370?

The flight was scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft within 60 minutes of the plane taking off, as it flew over the South China Sea.