Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370,^[a] a scheduled international passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport on 8 March 2014, prompted a large, multinational search in Asia and the southern Indian Ocean that became the most expensive search in aviation history.^[2] Analysis of communications between the aircraft and Inmarsat by multiple agencies has concluded that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

An analysis of possible flight paths was conducted, identifying a 60,000 km² (23,000 sq mi) primary search-area, approximately 2,000 km (1,200 mi) west of Perth, Western Australia, which takes six days for vessels to reach from Fremantle Harbour, near Perth.^[3] The underwater search of this area began on 5 October 2014 at a cost of A$60 million (approximately US$56 million or €41 million).^[4][5] With no significant delays, the search of the priority search-area was to be completed around May 2015.^[6] On 29 July 2015, a piece of marine debris, later confirmed to be a flaperon from Flight 370, was found on Réunion Island.^{[7][8][9][10]} On 20 December 2016, it was announced that an unsearched area of around 25,000 square kilometres (9,700 sq mi), and approximately centred on location 34°S 93°E / 34°S 93°E / -34; 93, was the most likely impact location for flight MH370.^[11] The search was suspended on 17 January 2017.^[12] In October 2017, the final drift study believed the most likely impact location to be at around 35°36′S 92°48′E / 35.6°S 92.8°E / -35.6; 92.8 (CSIRO crash area). The search based on these coordinates was resumed in January 2018 by Ocean Infinity, a private company; it ended in June 2018 without success.

In March 2022, Ocean Infinity committed to resuming its search in 2023 or 2024, pending approval by the Malaysian government.^[13]

Ships and aircraft from Malaysia, China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and the United States were involved in the search of the southern Indian Ocean. Satellite imagery was also made available by Tomnod to the general public so they could help with the search through crowdsourcing efforts.

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