10 Years After Flight MH370 Disappeared with 239 on Board, New Investigation Might Bring 'Some Resolution'
A Texas-based marine robotics company recently approached the Malaysian Transportation Ministry about resuming the search for the plane
Malaysian authorities may reopen the search for MH 370
There were 239 people aboard the Boeing 777 when it disappeared — virtually without a trace — from radar less than an hour into its flight while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014
A Texas-based marine robotics company has approached the Malaysian government about helping with a new search
As the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines 370 approaches, authorities say they're open to resuming a search for the missing plane.
The Malaysian government announced that they were recently approached by a U.S.-based marine robotics company Ocean Infinity, which has made a “credible” search proposal, Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke said at an event, according to CNN.
There were 239 people aboard the Boeing 777 when it disappeared — virtually without a trace — from radar less than an hour into its flight while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
“Meaningful changes have been made to prevent a repeat of this tragedy, but I am also clearly aware that the task remains incomplete,” Loke said, adding that officials will “do everything possible to solve this mystery once and for all."
Related: Amelia Earhart’s Lost Plane May Have Been Found, Says Pilot Who Spent $11 Million to Fund Search
"The Ministry of Transport are ready to invite Ocean Infinity to Malaysia to discuss the proposal of a no-fine, no-fee proposal," Loke continued. "We are waiting for Ocean Infinity to provide the suitable dates, and I will meet them any time that they are ready to come to Malaysia."
Texas-based Ocean Infinity has not said whether it has any new information related to the decade-long aviation mystery.
"Finding MH370 and bringing some resolution for all connected with the loss of the aircraft has been a constant in our minds since we left the southern Indian Ocean in 2018," CEO Oliver Plunkett said in a statement obtained by ABC News. "Since then, we have focused on driving the transformation of operations at sea; innovating with technology and robotics to further advance our ocean search capabilities."
Plunkett continued, "This search is arguably the most challenging, and indeed pertinent one out there. We’ve been working with many experts, some outside of Ocean Infinity, to continue analyzing the data in the hope of narrowing the search area down to one in which success becomes potentially achievable."
Related: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Mystery and Heartbreak
In August 2015, a 10-ft.-long piece of debris was found off the coast of Réunion island, a French territory east of Madagascar. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak later said the fragment — believed to be part of a wing — was from the missing Boeing 777, but some officials from the United States and France questioned this.
The possible breakthrough was covered in the 2023 Netflix documentary MH370: The Plane That Disappeared.
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Ocean Infinity’s involvement in the search actually dates back to 2018, when the Malaysian government offered the firm $70 million to find the plane, according to ABC News.
A new search, with new advances in technology, could provide family members of the victims closure, at long last.
“I’m on top of the world,” Jacquita Gomes, whose flight attendant husband was on the plane, said about the announcement at the anniversary event, according to The Independent.
She added, “We have been on a roller coaster for the last 10 years. ... If it is not found, I hope that it will continue with another search.”
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