The Malaysian government has launched a new operation to search for the missing MH370 Boeing 777 aircraft, which vanished from the sky ten years ago. In a non-standard approach, amateur radio signals will be used to help determine the possible route of the aircraft (source).
A contract has been signed between the Malaysian authorities and the private company Ocean Infinity, specializing in marine robotics. The agreement spans a year and a half, with a reward of $70 million promised to employees if the missing aircraft is found.
The search operation will utilize Weak Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR) technology, where radio amateurs worldwide continuously transmit low-power signals. Distortions in these signals caused by large metal objects, such as an aircraft, help researchers analyze WSPR archival data from the day the flight disappeared to reconstruct the potential route of the Boeing 777.
Professor Simon Maskell, advising Ocean Infinity, suggests that by eliminating certain flight directions, the search can be more focused and effective. The Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it vanished from radars over the Siamese bay.
With 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board, the fate of the flight has remained a mystery, with only a few aircraft fragments discovered on the east coast of Africa over the years. Despite narrowing the search area to 5800 square miles, equivalent to about 15,022 square kilometers, the search remains challenging.
Experts speculate that the Boeing 777 fuselage could have sunk deep into the soft silt of the Southern Indian Ocean over the past decade, complicating detection. However, the Malaysian government remains hopeful that modern marine technologies and WSPR data will aid in uncovering the long-standing mystery (source).