Search for MH370 Set to Be Suspended

Malaysia and several countries involved in the search of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will continue to find the best method to search in the remaining 10,000 square kilometre areas.

“If there is any credible new evidence, we will continue to work together to analyze that evidence”, said Malaysian Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai at a news conference.

The search that ensued and is ongoing, at the present time, concentrated on a wide area of 120,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian ocean, where the last signals of satellite communication between the plane and the ground station had taken place.

Liow also said cost was not a factor in deciding to suspend the search. The announcement follows a meeting between ministers from China, Malaysia and Australia in Kuala Lumpur.

“While acknowledging the significance of the debris, ministers noted that to date, none of it had provided information that positively identified the precise location of the aircraft”, the ministers said.

If the theory that someone glided the plane down onto the surface of the ocean is true, it could more than double the size of the search area.

The appeal by an global group of MH370 next-of-kin, Voice 370, called on “Malaysia, Australia and China not to abandon the search” if the current zone being trawled for the wreckage is found to be empty, a statement by the group said.

Due to weather delays, the search is expected to be completed in December, officials said.

Representatives from Voice 370, a group representing family members of the plane’s passengers and crew, met with Australian officials in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and urged the governments to suspend the search until new funds can be raised.

Western Australia University oceanographer Charitha Pattiaratchi, who has done extensive drift modeling, has said the plane could have crashed slightly north of the current search area.

Close to $135 million has been spent since on a massive underwater search, spanning 120,000 square kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean, since the plane disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people onboard en route from Malaysia to China. However, few pieces of debris, which was confirmed to be from a Boeing 777 have washed up on beaches of Madagascar and Mozambique, thousands of miles away from the location of the search.

“At the moment, we do not have evidence to confirm that it was a controlled ditching”, he replied.

“It is in a very big volume, so it will take some time”, he said.