New Search for MH370

 

Ocean Infinity have begun their new search for the missing airliner MH370. The original search during March and April 2014 was the biggest and most expensive maritime salvage operation in history. It covered 3.2 million square miles of ocean. It came up with nothing at all. This new operation will focus on a different part of the seventh arc, more to the southeast then previous searches. Ocean Infinity will use new technology and experience gained from their successful locations of the sunken submarine San Juan and the ore carrier Stellar Daisy. They have made a no-find-no-fee offer to the Malaysian government, that being if they fail again to find MH370 they will not ask them for any money. This deal is not finalized yet, but the ship Armada 7806 has already sailed and reached the search zone. (I can hear Alan Partridge complaining that they've named a single vehicle with a collective noun!) Their ships are brand new and have on board a fleet of AUV's- autonomous underwater vehicles. These are robot submarines a bit like the ROV's- remotely operated vehicles, used to find the wreck of the Titanic; and, more recently, the Titan tourist submarine that sank near her. The difference is that the AUV's do not need remote controls. They can sail into the depths of the ocean being driven by an artificially intelligent control computer. They have special batteries that give them record-breaking submerged endurance. Since the initial search several new theories have emerged about where the sunken aircraft might be. The YouTuber Mentour Pilot has been working with researchers to produce a new documentary about this, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5K9HBiJpuk; also see the background link below. As a result the new search will examine these new "hotspots". This YouTube channel is a good resource because it has some technical explanation videos along with daily progress reports. A regular guest is Richard Godfrey, one of the pioneers of the WSPR technology used to expand the search and pinpoint the hotspots, see: https://www.youtube.com/@geoffreythomas-on-air.

Should this venture be successful it will close the book on one of the most mysterious and bizarre incidents in the history of aviation. That will hopefully bring comfort and closure to the loved ones of the 239 missing souls who were onboard. But how likely is the mission to be successful? Also, and more disturbingly, if results are published should be believe them? Up until now not one single trace of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has ever been found. I know numerous fragments have been discovered, most famously the Reunion flaperon and the pieces picked up by Blaine Gibson; but in my view it is not certain that any of these came from MH370. According to Ashton Forbes, the plane never got past the Nicobar Islands in the coastal region of Indonesia before it was "orbed", for example see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwaC4AXFqRI. Will Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian government create a piece of theatre to pretend they have found MH370 when in reality they haven't? Or would they plant the real airframe on the seabed? Is the evidence Ashton has discovered enough to justify that? If the success of the mission is real then would that prove Ashton wrong? I don't have answers to any of these questions yet. As usual, we will have to wait and see. I'll post updates as soon as they emerge.
See here for background: https://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2024/05/mh370-portal.html.