A British marine robotics firm, Ocean Infinity, has launched a new deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board.
The search, focused on a 15,000 km² area in the southern Indian Ocean, is based on satellite data, radio signal disruptions, and previous research.
Ocean Infinity’s Armada 7806 vessel, equipped with advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), began scanning the seabed 1,500km off Australia’s coast over the weekend. The AUVs, operating via satellite from the UK, can descend 6km and stay submerged for four days—twice as long as previous models.
The Malaysian government has a “no find, no fee” agreement with Ocean Infinity but has yet to finalise the contract.
This search, expected to last six weeks, may be the final effort to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.
