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| The advanced Armada 7806 from Ocean Infinity will lead the plane wreckage search |
On February 25, 2025, a British marine robotics company, Ocean Infinity, launched a new search effort for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 that vanished over a decade ago, on March 8, 2014. This mission, which many consider the final attempt to unravel one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries, began as the company’s advanced deep-water support vessel, Armada 7806, arrived at a designated search zone in the southern Indian Ocean, approximately 1,200 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia. The disappearance of MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, has perplexed investigators, aviation experts, and families of those onboard, with only small fragments of debris ever recovered, leaving the plane’s final resting place unknown.
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The Armada 7806, a technologically sophisticated vessel built in 2023, reached the search area over the weekend, and within hours, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) were deployed to scan the ocean floor. These AUVs, controlled via satellite link from Ocean Infinity’s headquarters in Southampton, England, are designed to navigate the challenging terrain of the southern Indian Ocean, an area marked by deep trenches, underwater volcanoes, and rugged seabed features. The search is concentrated along an arc identified through analysis of signals exchanged between the aircraft and an Inmarsat communications satellite, a region experts believe holds the key to locating the plane. This latest effort zeroes in on a 15,000-square-kilometer area—significantly smaller than the 120,000 square kilometers searched in previous missions—guided by refined data and new technological capabilities.
Ocean Infinity, which previously searched for MH370 in 2018 without success, has returned with renewed determination and cutting-edge tools. The company’s CEO, Oliver Plunkett, has long expressed a personal commitment to finding the aircraft, describing it as a life’s ambition. In December 2024, Malaysia’s government signaled its willingness to support a new search, agreeing in principle to a “no find, no fee” arrangement that would pay Ocean Infinity $70 million (£55 million) if the wreckage is located. However, with no final contract signed as winter approaches in the Southern Hemisphere, the company has opted to proceed independently, funding the mission itself to seize the current window of opportunity. The search targets several “hotspots” identified by independent researchers, including former Air France pilot Patrick Blelly and retired aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey, whose analyses suggest the plane’s final trajectory aligns with a possible controlled descent, potentially orchestrated by its captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah.
Theories about MH370’s fate have swirled for years, with some pointing to a deliberate act by the pilot, supported by data from a flight simulator found at Shah’s home. Others speculate mechanical failure or hijacking, though no definitive evidence has emerged. Godfrey’s research, leveraging disturbances in weak signal propagation (WSPR) radio transmissions, has pinpointed a possible crash site, offering a “trail of crumbs” that this mission aims to follow. The search’s outcome remains uncertain, with experts noting the ocean’s depth—up to 6,000 meters in places—and its treacherous conditions as formidable obstacles. If successful, the discovery could finally provide answers to the families of the 239 people lost and shed light on a tragedy that has haunted aviation history for over a decade. Should wreckage be found, Malaysian authorities would need to approve any recovery effort, marking the next chapter in this long quest for closure.