The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines, Boeing 777 in 2014, flight number MH-370, is one of the greatest aviation mysteries to date. As a third search attempt is being prepared to launch in the coming weeks, the airline has been ordered to compensate the families of the passengers and crew members lost, amounting to over $400,000 per family.
Meanwhile, the planned deep-sea search for the aircraft will be the third attempt to locate the aircraft wreckage on the ocean floor. Over a decade later, very little is known about what happened to the flight, leaving the families of passengers and crew without proper answers or closure.
Compensation Ordered By China
After over a decade, since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-370 in March 2014, the airline was asked to compensate some of the families of the people on board the flight. As per AeroTime, earlier in the week, the Beijing court ordered the carrier to pay compensation of over $410,000 (2.9 million yuan) to the families of the people who were on board flight MH-370, who have an active case regarding the disappearance of the flight.
Flight MH-370 was a Boeing 777-200ER service from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and on that fateful flight, there were 239 people on board the aircraft. According to Reuters, the order for the compensation is for eight cases in relation to eight passengers. While 47 cases have either been settled previously or withdrawn, there are still 23 open cases currently undergoing trial. The reason for China’s involvement in this case is the fact that over two-thirds of the passengers onboard MH-370 were Chinese citizens.
The compensation value for the eight families are reported to cover damages, funeral costs, emotional distress compensation, and other expenses and losses. AeroTime reports the following statement issued by a spokesperson from the court to Reuters:
“This judgement recognizes not only the loss of life, but also the profound psychological trauma suffered by the families.”
At Least 19 Aircraft Have Gone Missing In The 21st Century So Far
The list includes the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER, which was operating flight MH370.
Searching The Sea For A Third Time
Earlier this month, Malaysia’s Transport Ministry stated that it will resume the deep-sea search for the aircraft or the wreckage, which will be the third attempt at locating the remnants of the lost aircraft. The search is planned to resume later this month, on December 30.
According to the BBC, this search is planned to run for a duration of 55 days. The search for the wreckage is led by the ocean exploration firm known as Ocean Infinity, which also took part in the previous efforts in 2017 and 2018 to locate the aircraft. Reports indicate that Ocean Infinity will be leading the upcoming search under a “no find, no fee” arrangement with the Malaysian Government. Only if the wreckage is found will the organization receive a fee of $70 million.
Considering the aircraft, on March 8, 2014, took off from 
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) and lost radio contact and disappeared from radar within an hour, the topic of MH-370 is one of the most speculated and debated mysteries within commercial aviation. This is also why, over a decade later, another search has been planned, in hopes of finding the remains of the aircraft, which could potentially answer many questions in the minds of the investigators, while providing closure to the affected families of passengers and crew members lost.
Searching On New Ocean Floors
Ocean Infinity’s proposal for this search was initially made in the summer of 2024 and was only approved about 12 months ago. The organization put forward this proposal, stating that the technology available has significantly improved since the last search in 2018. As such, the organization will now search a new area of the ocean floor with a size of approximately 9,320 square miles (15,000 square km).
This area has been identified by Ocean Infinity after reportedly consulting with various experts to locate a potential crash site. Some of the previous searches include the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, covering around 120,000 square kilometers in 2014, and Ocean Infinity’s own first search in 2018, which covered an area of 112,000 square kilometers.
The key components looking to be recovered are the aircraft’s Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Voice Recorders in the flight deck, which will contain data regarding the aircraft systems and flight crew actions during the critical moments leading up to the disappearance of the aircraft. Only time will tell if this third attempt to locate the wreckage will be successful.
