PETALING JAYA: As Ocean Infinity gets ready for another round of scouring the ocean floor for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 aircraft, aviation experts say the complex mission comes with various factors to consider, including previous data, the technology used, cost and human emotions.
Oliver Plunkett, the chief executive officer of the Texan-based marine robotics company, said his team is finalising details of the project and more will be revealed next month.
“After a long wait, the Transport Minister’s statement is great news. We look forward to sharing further updates in the new year once we’ve finalised the details and the team gets ready to go,” he said briefly when contacted.
On Dec 20, Anthony Loke announced that the Cabinet has agreed in principle to resume the search operation for the ill-fated MH370, more than six years since the last effort was suspended.
Assoc Prof Major Dr Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian said that evidence gathered so far must be thoroughly validated to ensure the search effort is credible and worthwhile.
“An independent review of the data is crucial to offer practical perspectives and validate the methods to be used,” said the aviation search and rescue head of Universiti Kuala Lumpur’s Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology.
He urged Ocean Infinity to consider using methods such as Swarm Technology, which deploys multiple underwater vehicles simultaneously.
“This method could optimise the search by reducing time and cost while increasing the reliability of the data,” he explained.
Acknowledging the complexity of the venture, Major Mohd Harridon said incomplete data requires intelligent simulations and mathematical models to predict where the wreckage might be.
“The Mathematical Model of Probability is often used to estimate the likelihood of success in various sections of the Indian Ocean,” he added.
The aviation expert also highlighted the need to manage costs effectively.
“The search for MH370 is a national agenda, and every effort must be made to ensure it is conducted efficiently, transparently and with the best possible chance of success,” he said.
Factoring in the next of kin’s emotions and well-being, Major Mohd Harridon also stressed the need for a careful approach that manages their expectations.
“The emotional toll on the next of kin is significant, and raising false hopes could lead to frustrations and disappointment,” he said.Former Royal Malaysian Air Force officer Kapt (Rtd) Abdul Rahmat Omar Mohd Haniff said Ocean Infinity’s willingness to conduct the search serves as humanity’s effort to find answers to one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history.
He noted that the firm has had successes in finding underwater objects in deep waters.
However, all the objects that they had managed to locate were far larger than the Boeing 777 of MH370 and in much shallower waters, he said.
“The largest object, the wreck of the battleship Nevada, was more than 100m longer than the missing plane and found in waters 2km shallower,” he said.
Abdul Rahmat Omar also urged the US firm to review the data of their past searches.
“The pings from the Inmarsat satellites of the aircraft’s navigation system remain the only pointers available and most reliable to us. Unfortunately, in this case, X does not mark the spot. And it is a very huge X,” he said.
On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777-200ER went missing en route to Beijing after departing from KLIA, with 239 people including a 12-member crew on board.
Following the government’s announcement last week, the families of those missing said they have been waiting for a long time for a new search, calling it a “glimmer of hope on the horizon again”.
Grace Subathirai Nathan, spokesperson for the group of next of kin Voice370, said she hoped the efforts will proceed smoothly.
“We hope this is the last search to be conducted, as we want MH370 to be finally found – not just for our closure, but for the public to know what happened so that we can prevent this from happening again,” she said.
Ocean Infinity had previously conducted searches for the missing plane in the Indian Ocean.
Before that operation, an expansive joint effort by Malaysia, China and Australia explored a 120,000sq km area in the same ocean, but concluded in 2017 without results.
At the outset of the tragedy, a multinational search was also conducted in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea.
