Malaysia’s latest deep-sea search for the missing Flight MH370 has ended without success, 12 years after the aircraft vanished with 239 people onboard.
Latest Search
Malaysia’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau authorised marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity to resume searching in March 2025. The firm would receive $70 million only if it located the aircraft.
Over the course of 28 days (March 25–28, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2025, to Jan. 23, 2026), the government-contracted hunt surveyed about 7,571 kilometres of the Indian Ocean seabed but found no confirmed wreckage, authorities confirmed on the anniversary of the disappearance. Weather disruptions periodically halted the work.
“The search activities have not yielded any findings that confirm the location of the aircraft wreckage,” the bureau said in a statement.
Ocean Infinity’s vessel has now moved to other work. With the Southern Hemisphere winter approaching, a return before the contract ends in June appears unlikely.
Families Demand Extension
Voice 370, a group representing families of those onboard, has urged the Malaysian government to extend Ocean Infinity’s contract, without changes to the core terms. This would allow the search to continue. The group also called for similar “no find, no fee” opportunities to be offered to other capable deep-sea exploration firms.
“The government pays nothing unless the aircraft is found. Any request by Ocean Infinity to extend the search contract should therefore be granted without hesitation,” the group said, vowing to “continue the fight for answers.”
The Boeing 777 vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, becoming one of aviation’s greatest mysteries. Satellite data indicated it diverted south into the remote Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed. Despite multinational and private searches over 12 years, only scattered debris has ever been recovered.
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