The search continues for missing flight MH370 which was carrying 239 passengers and cabin crew when it disappeared on 8th March 2014. The 120,000 sq km search area in the southern Indian Ocean has almost completely been checked – but there is still about 10,000 sq km left to investigate. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau noted that due to poor weather conditions, the search will likely be over only in January or February 2017 instead of the previous target of December 2016.

During a meeting of ministers from Malaysia, Australia, and China in July 2016 to discuss the progress of the search, parties agreed to suspend the search upon completion of the 120,000 sq km search area if they fail to find new and credible evidence to identify the location of the aircraft.

Families of the missing passengers were understandably upset by this announcement. The ATSB and the Malaysian government have reiterated that investigations and search efforts will not be terminated outright and that if new evidence should surface, they will continue to look for the missing aircraft.

Due to poor weather conditions in recent weeks, search teams have been unable to safely deploy the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to investigate specific locations of interest identified by sonar. However, the state of the water are improving and the ROV is being re-mobilised on the Don Hai Jui 101 which is currently docked in Fremantle, Australia. ATSB explained that none of the sonar contacts look like a typical aircraft debris field but some do exhibit man-made properties and therefore should be investigated if only to be positively eliminated.

What we know so far

MH370 went missing nearly three years ago, on 8th March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The Malaysia Airlines flight last made contact at 1:20am Malaysian time when it was over the South China Sea before disappearing from air traffic control radar at 1:22am.,

The disappearance is still very much a mystery since the over two year long search has turned up nothing but small debris of the plane – none of which were recovered by the official search party. Here’s a brief update on what we know so far:

8th March 2014

Flight MH370 disappears from air traffic control radar at 1:22am, and then from military radar at 2.22am. Its last known location is over the Andaman Sea. Search efforts were first concentrated there, then the South China Sea. The search parameters were changed many times due to conflicting investigations and analysis of where the plane might have crashed.

16th March 2014

By this point, satellite tracking data, radar, and aircraft performance data appear to confirm that the plane crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, so that’s where search efforts have been concentrated since. A 120,000 sq km search area was identified and search efforts have since been led by Australia.

April 2014

Ultrasonic signals were picked up which sounded like it might be coming from a planes black box. However, search teams didn’t find anything at that location, so they rule it out as the crash site and continued to carefully scour the floor beds of the search area.

June 2014

A new 60,000 sq km search area was identified, just off the coast of Perth based on new satellite information. At this point, search teams have yet to find the plane’s black box or any piece of debris.

22 pieces of debris found by civilians

Debris found so far according to the summary by the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370:

• July 2015 – A piece of a right flaperon was found in Saint-Denis, La Réunion. It was confirmed to be from MH370.
• December 2015 – A right wing flap found in Mozambique is concluded to be ‘almost certainly’ from MH370.
• February 2016 – A right horizontal stabilizer panel was found in Mozambique and is ‘almost certainly’ from MH370.
• March 2016 – An engine nose cowl was recovered in Moseel Bay, South Africa, also ‘almost certainly’ from MH370.
• May 2016 – An outboard aft flap section found in Mauritius was confirmed to be part of the missing aircraft.
• 12 June 2016 – A cable interior panel found in Madagascar is was is declared to be yet another piece that is ‘almost certainly’ from MH370.
• 20 June 2016 – A right outboard flap found in Tanzania is confirmed to be from MH370.

14 other pieces of debris have been found in various locations, all within the same area as the the ones mentioned above – seven from Madagascar, two from South Africa, four in Mozambique, and one in Mauritius.

All the debris recovered so far have been spotted by civilians, not the expert search teams.