Malaysia, Australia and China call off search for MH370

A ‘Ministerial Tripartite’ announcement from Australia, Malaysia and China states the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been “suspended”.

The news drew a strong negative response from Voice370, a group representing relatives and friends of the 239 passengers and crew lost when the B777 disappeared in May 2014, with the wreckage believed to be somewhere in the Indian ocean west of Australia.

The official communique said despite every effort using the best science available, cutting edge technology, as well as modelling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft.

Accordingly, the underwater search for MH370 has been suspended.

The decision to suspend the underwater search has not been taken lightly nor without sadness, it said, but it is consistent with “decisions made by our three countries in the July 2016 Ministerial Tripartite meeting in Putrajaya Malaysia.

“Whilst combined scientific studies have continued to refine areas of probability, to date no new information has been discovered to determine the specific location of the aircraft.

“We remain hopeful that new information will come to light and that at some point in the future the aircraft will be located.”

There was an almost immediate response from Voice370, a group representing passengers’ next of kin, which accused the governments of being ‘closed to the possibility of extending the search’ .


“Expecting to determine ‘the precise location of the aircraft’ before continuing the search was at best an erroneous expectation and at worst a clever formulation to bury the search. Why would you need to search if you already knew the precise location of the aircraft?” Voice370 said in a statement.

“In our view, extending the search to the new area defined by the experts is an inescapable duty owed to the flying public in the interest of aviation safety. Commercial planes cannot just be allowed to disappear without a trace.”

The decision not to extend the search to the smaller area pinpointed by the ATSB suggested to Voice370 that officials had lost confidence in the data used to determine the search area.

Its statement ended with an appeal to the governments to reconsider their decision.

Malaysia, Australia and China call off search for MH370

A ‘Ministerial Tripartite’ announcement from Australia, Malaysia and China states the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been “suspended”.

The news drew a strong negative response from Voice370, a group representing relatives and friends of the 239 passengers and crew lost when the B777 disappeared in May 2014, with the wreckage believed to be somewhere in the Indian ocean west of Australia.

The official communique said despite every effort using the best science available, cutting edge technology, as well as modelling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft.

Accordingly, the underwater search for MH370 has been suspended.

The decision to suspend the underwater search has not been taken lightly nor without sadness, it said, but it is consistent with “decisions made by our three countries in the July 2016 Ministerial Tripartite meeting in Putrajaya Malaysia.

“Whilst combined scientific studies have continued to refine areas of probability, to date no new information has been discovered to determine the specific location of the aircraft.

“We remain hopeful that new information will come to light and that at some point in the future the aircraft will be located.”

There was an almost immediate response from Voice370, a group representing passengers’ next of kin, which accused the governments of being ‘closed to the possibility of extending the search’ .


“Expecting to determine ‘the precise location of the aircraft’ before continuing the search was at best an erroneous expectation and at worst a clever formulation to bury the search. Why would you need to search if you already knew the precise location of the aircraft?” Voice370 said in a statement.

“In our view, extending the search to the new area defined by the experts is an inescapable duty owed to the flying public in the interest of aviation safety. Commercial planes cannot just be allowed to disappear without a trace.”

The decision not to extend the search to the smaller area pinpointed by the ATSB suggested to Voice370 that officials had lost confidence in the data used to determine the search area.

Its statement ended with an appeal to the governments to reconsider their decision.