CHRONOLOGY · AVIATION · MH370
A source-backed chronology of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the shift to the southern Indian Ocean, the world's largest aviation search, the Ocean Infinity missions and the remaining search area now carried into 2027.
A source-backed chronology of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the shift to the southern Indian Ocean, the world's largest aviation search, the Ocean Infinity missions and the remaining search area now carried into 2027.
The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. No position transmissions were received after the first 38 minutes, although later radar and satellite analysis showed the aircraft continued flying for hours.
As of 5 October 2026, the government has extended Ocean Infinity's agreement through 30 June 2027. The remaining defined area is 7,428.54 km², with the next deployment window expected between November 2026 and April 2027.
Each step is dated and sourced. Statements, allegations, decisions and confirmed actions stay labelled separately so the timeline does not turn one side's claim into an established fact.
The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. No position transmissions were received after the first 38 minutes, although later radar and satellite analysis showed the aircraft continued flying for hours.
Malaysia asked Australia to take responsibility for search operations in the southern Indian Ocean after analysis indicated the aircraft had not continued north and had instead flown south.
After the initial surface search found no aircraft debris field or locator-beacon signal, Australia took the lead on the underwater search with Malaysia and China.
Debris discoveries on Indian Ocean islands and the east African coastline were examined and used in drift modelling to refine thinking about where MH370 may have ended its flight.
PulseKita avoids treating every reported debris item as confirmed MH370 debris; the official investigation archive contains the individual examination reports.
The ATSB-led search had covered more than 120,000 square kilometres of high-resolution sonar search area without locating the aircraft. The three governments suspended the search pending credible new evidence identifying a more specific location.
The privately led search focused immediately north of the earlier search area and ended on 29 May 2018 without finding MH370. The combined seafloor searched by then was close to 200,000 square kilometres.
Without the main wreckage, flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, the investigation said it could not draw definitive conclusions about what happened to MH370.
The agreement again uses a no-find, no-fee model and targets a new area in the southern Indian Ocean assessed to have a higher probability of locating the aircraft.
MOT says 28 operational search days were completed after the agreement was signed, surveying about 7,571 square kilometres of the defined area. The second phase ended on 23 January 2026 with no clue confirming the wreckage location.
The Cabinet extended the search agreement from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 while keeping the no-find, no-fee principle. The extension is intended to cover the remaining 7,428.54 square kilometres.
The government said the main operational assets would be rescheduled for a deployment window between November 2026 and April 2027, when sea conditions are generally more suitable.
It followed a surface search spanning several million square kilometres and a bathymetric mapping effort covering about 710,000 square kilometres of Indian Ocean seabed.
Satellite communication metadata, aircraft-performance modelling, end-of-flight simulations and debris-drift analysis all shaped successive search zones. A search area is therefore an evidence-based probability estimate, not a confirmed flight endpoint.
PulseKita distinguishes confirmed facts from search hypotheses. The aircraft's main wreckage and recorders have not been recovered, so the cause of the disappearance remains unresolved.
As of 5 October 2026, the government has extended Ocean Infinity's agreement through 30 June 2027. The remaining defined area is 7,428.54 km², with the next deployment window expected between November 2026 and April 2027.
01Will the remaining 7,428.54 km² contain the main wreckage?
02Can future drift, satellite or seabed analysis identify a better search area if the current zone produces no result?
03What happened inside the aircraft after normal communications ceased?
04Why did the aircraft change course and continue flying for hours?
05Will the flight recorders still yield usable evidence if the wreckage is eventually recovered?
01Ocean Infinity's next deployment in the November 2026–April 2027 window.
02Any MOT update on the amount of remaining seabed searched.
03Discovery of wreckage or debris that can narrow the endpoint.
04Any extension or redesign of the search after June 2027.
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