Three years of combing the ocean floor has yielded no new clues as to the cause of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s mysterious crash. Authorities have finally decided to suspend the search for wreckage following a two-year, multi-nation, $160 million effort that spanned 46,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean.
In a joint statement with China and Malaysia’s transport chiefs, Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Center said, “Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting-edge technology, as well as modelling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft.”
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was a Boeing 777 flying from Kuala Lumpar to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The flight, which had 239 people on board, was carrying 152 Chinese citizens, 50 Malaysian nationals, and passengers from numerous other countries including Australia, New Zealand, France, India, and the United States.
In July 2015, the flaperon portion of Flight 370’s wing was found after washing onto Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, and a tail section ended up in Mozambique. Unfortunately, search teams have been unable to pinpoint the location of the bulk of the wreckage, which took place in a mostly uncharted area.
Families of the crash victims have been critical of the search efforts, and ask that Australia, China, and Malaysia continue the search.
Until the flight’s black box is discovered, what exactly happened in Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s final minutes will remain a mystery.
