On March 8th, 2014, the eyes of the world turned to Malaysia. A Malaysia Airlines aircraft, from the infamous MH370 flight, disappeared from radar. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, carried 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
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For four years, intensive research was conducted in the southern Indian Ocean, from where the aircraft sent its last signal. Intensive but unsuccessful research that the authorities decided to stop in 2018, after over £89 million were spent on the most expensive investigation in aviation history.
A team of scientists from the University of Miami has never given up hope. Oceanographers have just published a report, identifying the area where the plane probably crashed. Watch the video for more.
The role of the monsoon
To determine this, the scientists relied on a model created with the trajectory of the aircraft's debris. During these four years of research, the remains of the Boeing 777 washed up on the coasts of Reunion Island, Mauritius, Madagascar and along the African continent. The researchers then weighted these trajectories with other data, such as ocean currents and weather conditions.
‘The monsoon plays an important role in the dynamics of the Indian Ocean,’ says the main author of the study, Philippe Miron. ‘It is a decisive piece of the puzzle, if we want to locate the most probable site of the crash, since its influence on the dispersion of floating debris is very significant.’
For the time being, it is not known whether the Malaysian authorities will start new research in this area determined by the scientists. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, remains to this day one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
