More than two years later, investigating teams continue to be clueless about the fate of the ill-fated flight MH370. While debris and pieces of wreckage have been found across the Indian Ocean, a sense of uncertainty is in the air.
When the Boeing 777 plane went missing in March 2014, Malaysia and China have hooked up with Australia in the search mission.
Canberra's transportation bureau has outlined a 120,000-square kilometer sea floor to find possible pieces of information. So far, the teams have scaled around 110,000 of the area. The mission is on track to finish by December.
In the course of the investigation, bits of debris have been sighted by amateur searchers and civilians in South Africa and Mozambique. An engine part and an interior piece have also been found.
A flaperon has also turned up in Reunion Island where investigators have said with certainty that it was a part of MH370. The latest wreckage to be discovered is the one retrieved by Blaine Gibson from three locals in the eastern coast of Madagascar.
According to reports, the piece resembles some of the paneling used in the plane's avionics bay which is situated behind the cockpit under the main cabin floor. The texture of this debris has provided an insight into what possibly happened to the missing flight.
Gibson has told Channel 7 Perth that the top layer of paint has been scorched black which could point out that a fire may have caused the crash.
The investigation has been further shrouded in mystery as conspiracy theories surfaced. The media, at one point, announces that the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, purposely plunged the plane into the sea due to depression or in order to accomplish a suicide mission. Even personal information about Shah's recent acquaintance prior to the crash has been leaked out. Fatimah Pardi, a mother of two and a fellow volunteer during the Malaysian elections, has been exchanging WhatsApp message with the pilot although the former said that there was no affair to speak about.
The process of the search has remained unchanged. The towfish, or vehicles equipped with side scan sonar or synthetic aperture sonar and multibeam echo sounders search large swathes of the ocean floor.
The sonar data are fed directly to sea-borne search vessels which review and analyze the information about the missing aircraft. An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is also used to search areas where the geology is difficult. Sonar contacts of interest are further investigated through a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).
