The Airliner Still Missing After 12 Years

Years after Boeing 777 flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board, it remains one of the most mysterious air disasters in history.

It was past midnight and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was scheduled to leave Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. The Boeing 777 plane with 239 passengers continued on its way in the night sky; A normal flight that was supposed to last about 6 hours. But less than an hour after takeoff, the plane disappeared from the radar screen and one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history was formed.

According to Zomit, more than 12 years have passed since that night. Pieces of the plane have been found thousands of kilometers away from the planned path, satellite data has narrowed down the possible crash site, and several deep-ocean searches have been conducted; But the main wreckage of the plane and its black boxes have not been found yet.

The reason for the disappearance of MH370 is still unknown. Even with today's advanced technology, the answer to the question of what exactly happened to the 239 passengers remains hidden under the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:42 AM on March 8, 2014 (March 17, 2014) local time in Malaysia. There were 227 passengers and 12 crew members on the plane; Most of the passengers were Chinese citizens. The destination was Beijing and at first there were no obvious signs of an accident.

About 40 minutes after takeoff, the plane's normal radio communication with Malaysian air traffic control was lost. The last known voice message from the cockpit was a short, casual phrase: "Good night, Malaysia 370." Shortly thereafter, the plane's radar transponder also failed, and the usual position information was no longer available to controllers.

How did a large passenger plane deviate from its course and disappear without sending an emergency message?

But the plane did not crash at that moment. Military radar data showed that its course had changed and instead of continuing to fly northeast, it turned west. The plane crossed the Malaysian peninsula and went to the Andaman Sea; Then it went out of reliable radar coverage.

At that time, the families of the passengers were still hoping that the plane had landed somewhere or that the connection had been lost due to a technical reason. The initial search began in the South China Sea; But it gradually became clear that the plane was probably headed in a completely different direction. The main question was: How did a large passenger plane deviate from its course and disappear without sending an emergency message and without determining the cause?

Signals from the sky and pieces from the ocean

When radars no longer detected MH370, satellite signals became the most important clue in the investigation. The plane's communication equipment continued to exchange automatic signals with a satellite owned by Inmarst; communications that, unlike GPS data, did not show the exact position of the aircraft; But they made it possible to estimate its distance from the satellite.

Analysis of the timing and characteristics of these signals showed that the plane continued to fly hours after it disappeared from radar. The last communication was recorded at 08:19 AM Malaysian time. By combining these data and other information, the researchers concluded that the most likely area of ​​the fall is located in the southern Indian Ocean; A remote area with great depth and difficult weather conditions. However, these data did not specify the exact location of the crash.

The most likely area of fall was in the southern Indian Ocean

The search in this area became one of the largest underwater search operations in history. Australia, Malaysia and China were involved in the initial operation, and teams surveyed large sections of the seabed; But the main carcass was not found. The vastness of the area, the roughness of the ocean floor and the difficulty of mapping the depths of several thousand meters made finding the plane a very complicated mission.

The first important physical clue was obtained in early 2015; When a fragment of an airplane wing was found on Reunion Island, in the western Indian Ocean. Investigations confirmed that this piece was the flaperon of the right wing of MH370. In the following years, other pieces of the fuselage, wings and various parts of the plane were found on the coast of East Africa and on the islands of the Indian Ocean. Expert reviews have attributed a number of them with high or absolute certainty to MH370.

Fragments indicated that the plane most likely crashed in the southern Indian Ocean; But they did not answer the main questions: Who or what factor changed the plane's path? Why was it disconnected? And what happened in the cabin during the final hours of the flight?

The final report of Malaysia's safety investigation, published in 2018, failed to determine the real cause of the plane's disappearance. Investigations showed that the change of direction of the plane was probably done under manual control; But there was not enough evidence to determine who was responsible or why it happened.

The report also could not bring different scenarios to a definite conclusion. Therefore, theories such as technical failure, loss of consciousness of the occupants, or intentional interference still remain at the level of hypothesis; None of them have been conclusively proven.

A search that continues after 12 years

In 2018, the oceanography and underwater robotics company Ocean Infinity searched a large area of ​​the Indian Ocean; But it did not reach the main carcass. The company resumed new operations in 2025 with the agreement of the Malaysian government. The new contract aimed to search an area of ​​about 15,000 square kilometers; An area that experts have assessed as one of the most likely places to find the plane.

The operation was carried out in two stages and included a total of 28 days of operational search. According to the announcement of the Ministry of Transportation of Malaysia in 2026, about 7571 square kilometers of the seabed had been surveyed; But no findings confirmed the location of the wreckage. Unfavorable sea and weather conditions had also disrupted operations many times.

This year, the Malaysian government extended the agreement with Ocean Infinity for another year until mid-2027. According to this agreement, the company will be entitled to receive the agreed amount only if the original carcass is found; The method is known as "no detection, no payment".

Even after more than 12 years, we still don't know what exactly happened in the last hours of flight MH370. Satellite data, found fragments, and extensive research have shed light on the possible extent of the crash, but a definitive answer remains elusive. Maybe one day the underwater robots will find the wreckage in the darkness of the deep ocean and the black boxes will reveal part of the truth; Until then, MH370 will remain not just an aviation mystery, but an open wound for the families of its 239 passengers.