On December 30, 2025, Ocean Infinity's Armada 86 began hunting for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard. The Boeing 777 was deliberately turned around and flown for seven hours with communications severed, leaving no black box, no bodies—just 30 debris fragments on distant African beaches.
The Texas firm operates on a bet: find the Boeing 777, get $70 million; find nothing, get nothing. They tried in 2018, scanning 112,000 square kilometers and coming up empty. This time they're targeting a 15,000-square-kilometer zone called Blelly-Marchand, 4,000 meters below the surface, based on the assumption that the aircraft was deliberately ditched rather than crashing at high speed.
It's aviation's most expensive search operation. After a decade of theories ranging from pilot suicide to hijacking, families still have no graves to visit and no definitive answers about what happened in that cockpit.
28 events
Latest: December 30th, 2025 · 5 months ago
Showing 8 of 28
JK to step
Tap a bar to jump to that date
Jump to
December 2025
Deep-Sea Search Resumes
LatestSearch Operations
Armada 86 begins 55-day underwater search of 15,000 km² Blelly-Marchand area.
Armada 86 Departs for Search Zone
Search Operations
Ocean Infinity's robotic vessel leaves Kwinana anchorage for southern Indian Ocean.
April 2025
Minister Confirms Seasonal Pause
Official Statement
Transport Minister Loke announces search paused until year-end, stating 'right now it's not the season' for southern Indian Ocean operations.
March 2025
Search Suspended Due to Extreme Weather
Search Operations
Ocean Infinity suspends search after 22 days due to waves exceeding 10 meters and seasonal weather changes; Armada 78-06 departs for Singapore.
Search Contract Signed
Official Announcement
Malaysia and Ocean Infinity sign no-find-no-fee contract worth up to $70 million.
Ocean Infinity Begins 2025 Search
Search Operations
Armada 78-06 begins active search operations in Blelly-Marchand area, including infilling data in previously searched zones with challenging terrain.
December 2024
Malaysia Approves New Search
Official Announcement
Cabinet agrees in principle to Ocean Infinity's $70 million no-find-no-fee contract.
May 2024
Ocean Infinity Submits New Proposal
Proposal
Company proposes search of Blelly-Marchand area based on latest analysis.
March 2024
10th Anniversary Commemoration
Memorial
Transport Minister Loke pledges continued commitment to search efforts.
February 2020
Australian PM Discloses Pilot Suicide Theory
Statement
Former PM Tony Abbott reveals Malaysian officials believed from start it was pilot murder-suicide.
July 2018
Malaysian Investigation Report Released
Investigation
MIASIT report confirms deliberate diversion but cannot determine who controlled aircraft or why.
June 2018
Ocean Infinity Search Concludes
Search Operations
Private search ends after scanning 112,000 km² in 90 operational days without finding wreckage.
January 2018
Ocean Infinity Begins Private Search
Search Operations
Company starts no-find-no-fee search using vessel Seabed Constructor with autonomous underwater vehicles.
October 2017
ATSB Releases Final Report
Investigation
440-page report details search operations but cannot determine cause without finding aircraft.
January 2017
Underwater Search Suspended
Search Operations
Australia, China, Malaysia suspend search after scanning 120,000 km² over 1,046 days without finding aircraft.
March 2016
FBI Finds Simulator Route Match
Investigation
Captain's home flight simulator showed Indian Ocean route matching MH370's suspected path.
July 2015
First Confirmed Debris Found
Physical Evidence
Right flaperon washes ashore on Réunion Island, later confirmed as from MH370.
March 2014
Malaysia Declares Flight Ended in Ocean
Official Announcement
PM Najib announces flight ended in southern Indian Ocean with no survivors.
Australia Leads Indian Ocean Search
Search Operations
Surface search begins in southern Indian Ocean; continues until April 28.
PM Announces Deliberate Diversion
Investigation
Malaysian PM Najib Razak confirms aircraft remained in contact with satellites for hours, was tracked over Andaman Sea.
Flight 370 Departs Kuala Lumpur
Flight Operations
Boeing 777-200ER takes off for Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew aboard.
Aircraft Reaches Cruising Altitude
Flight Operations
Flight 370 reaches 35,000 feet.
ACARS System Disabled
Critical Event
Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System sends last transmission, then switches off.
Final Radio Contact
Communications
Captain responds 'Good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero' to air traffic control.
Aircraft Vanishes from Radar
Critical Event
Flight 370 disappears from Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control radar screens.
Malaysia Airlines Announces Lost Contact
Public Statement
Airline releases press statement confirming contact lost with Flight 370.
Final Satellite Handshake
Technical Data
Last automated connection between aircraft and Inmarsat satellite, defining 'seventh arc'.
Initial Search Begins
Search Operations
Search-and-rescue launched in South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 3
June 1, 2009 – April 3, 2011
Air France Flight 447 (2009)
An Airbus A330 crashed into the mid-Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio to Paris, killing all 228 aboard. The aircraft vanished from radar in a storm. Despite recovering some surface debris within days, the main wreckage and black boxes lay at 13,000 feet depth. Multiple search efforts using underwater locator beacons failed.
Then
After nearly two years and $40 million, autonomous underwater vehicles located the debris field in April 2011. Black boxes revealed pilot error during an airspeed sensor malfunction caused the crash.
Now
The successful recovery using advanced AUV technology and Bayesian search analysis methods became the template for deep-sea aircraft searches, including MH370. It proved that aircraft could be found years later in extreme depths.
Why this matters now
Ocean Infinity uses the same AUV technology that found AF447. If it took two years and multiple attempts to find a crash with a known general location, MH370's mystery is even harder—the Indian Ocean search area is vastly larger and the crash location remains disputed.
2 of 3
July 2, 1937 – Present
Amelia Earhart Disappearance (1937)
Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean during an attempted round-the-world flight. Despite immediate search efforts covering 250,000 square miles, no confirmed wreckage was ever found. Theories range from crash-and-sink to castaway survival to Japanese capture.
Then
The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard suspended the search after two weeks, declaring Earhart and Noonan lost at sea. She was officially declared dead in January 1939.
Now
Eighty-eight years later, the disappearance remains unsolved despite dozens of expeditions. Advanced sonar and underwater robotics have searched proposed crash sites without definitive results. The case became aviation's most enduring mystery—until MH370.
Why this matters now
MH370 risks becoming the modern Earhart—an unsolved aviation mystery that spawns endless theories but no proof. If Ocean Infinity fails again, the Boeing 777 may join Earhart's Lockheed Electra as aircraft that vanished and were never found despite massive search efforts and advancing technology.
3 of 3
October 31, 1999
EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999)
A Boeing 767 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean 60 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 aboard. The aircraft descended rapidly from cruise altitude. U.S. investigators recovered the flight recorders within weeks from 270-foot depths.
Then
Cockpit voice recorder revealed the relief first officer repeatedly said 'I rely on God' while disconnecting the autopilot and pointing the nose down. NTSB concluded probable pilot suicide.
Now
Egyptian authorities rejected the suicide finding, insisting on mechanical failure. The dispute highlighted how politically sensitive pilot-suicide conclusions become—relevant given Malaysia's reluctance to officially blame Captain Shah despite private beliefs disclosed by Australia's former PM.
Why this matters now
Like MH370, EgyptAir 990 involved suspected pilot suicide that authorities initially resisted acknowledging. The difference: EgyptAir's black boxes were recovered quickly, providing definitive evidence. Without MH370's recorders, the pilot-suicide theory remains circumstantial, allowing Malaysia to avoid the politically explosive conclusion while families demand proof.
