Story highlights Amelia Earhart and Bermuda triangle are other lingering mysteries

It will be difficult for families to get closure if no bodies are found

Billions in insurance claims will likely be paid out

Technology and policies will change as a result of MH370

More than a month and a half into the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the murmurs are growing louder.

What if the Boeing 777 that disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean is never found?

It was a dismissible thought at first. After all, how could a jetliner carrying 239 passengers and crew simply disappear without a trace?

But so much time is passing with no debris, no oil slick and no bodies.

What if?

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Photos: The search for MH370 Photos: The search for MH370 Two years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing, a relative of one of the passengers burns incense in Beijing on March 8, 2016. Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, as it flew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. Hide Caption 1 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On July 29, police carry a piece of debris on Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. A week later, authorities confirmed that the debris was from the missing flight. Hide Caption 2 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Staff members with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examine a piece of aircraft debris at their laboratory in Canberra, Australia, on July 20. The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had said it was highly likely to have come from Flight 370. Experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, confirmed that the part was indeed from the missing aircraft. Hide Caption 3 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 In late February, American tourist Blaine Gibson found a piece of plane debris off Mozambique, a discovery that renewed hope of solving the mystery of the missing flight. The piece measured 35 inches by 22 inches. A U.S. official said it was likely the wreckage came from a Boeing 777, which MH370 was. Hide Caption 4 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of the flight's passengers console each other outside the Malaysia Airlines office in Subang, Malaysia, on February 12, 2015. Protesters had demanded that the airline withdraw the statement that all 239 people aboard the plane were dead. Hide Caption 5 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A police officer watches a couple cry outside the airline's office building in Beijing after officials refused to meet with them on June 11, 2014. The couple's son was on the plane. Hide Caption 6 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the media scramble to speak with Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department, at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 27, 2014. Data from communications between satellites and the missing flight was released the day before, more than two months after relatives of passengers said they requested it be made public. Hide Caption 7 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Operators aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield move Bluefin-21, the U.S. Navy's autonomous underwater vehicle, into position to search for the jet on April 14, 2014. Hide Caption 8 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks out of a window while searching for debris off the coast of western Australia on April 13, 2014. Hide Caption 9 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The HMS Echo, a vessel with the British Roya; Navy, moves through the waters of the southern Indian Ocean on April 12, 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, on a mission to drop sonar buoys to assist in the search, flies past the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 9, 2014. Hide Caption 11 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of a missing passenger cries at a vigil in Beijing on April 8, 2014. Hide Caption 12 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Australian Defense Force divers scan the water for debris in the southern Indian Ocean on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 13 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A towed pinger locator is readied to be deployed off the deck of the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 14 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks at a flare in the Indian Ocean during search operations on April 4, 2014. Hide Caption 15 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 30, 2014, a woman in Kuala Lumpur prepares for an event in honor of those aboard Flight 370. Hide Caption 16 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The sole representative for the families of Flight 370 passengers leaves a conference at a Beijing hotel on March 28, 2014, after other relatives left en masse to protest the Malaysian government's response to their questions. Hide Caption 17 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal Australian Air Force is silhouetted against the southern Indian Ocean during the search for the missing jet on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 18 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Flight Lt. Jayson Nichols looks at a map aboard a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft during a search on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 19 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 People in Kuala Lumpur light candles during a ceremony held for the missing flight's passengers on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 20 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, delivers a statement about the flight on March 24, 2014. Razak's announcement came after the airline sent a text message to relatives saying it "deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH 370 has been lost and that none of those onboard survived." Hide Caption 21 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Grieving relatives of missing passengers leave a hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. Hide Caption 22 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A passenger views a weather map in the departures terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 22, 2014. Hide Caption 23 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Chinese satellite captured this image, released on March 22, 2014, of a floating object in the Indian Ocean, according to China's State Administration of Science. It was a possible lead in the search for the missing plane. Surveillance planes were looking for two objects spotted by satellite imagery in remote, treacherous waters more than 1,400 miles from the west coast of Australia. Hide Caption 24 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Satellite imagery provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on March 20, 2014, showed debris in the southern Indian Ocean that could have been from Flight 370. The announcement by Australian officials raised hopes of a breakthrough in the frustrating search. Hide Caption 25 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Another satellite shot provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority shows possible debris from the flight. Hide Caption 26 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A distraught relative of a missing passenger breaks down while talking to reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 19, 2014. Hide Caption 27 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 18, 2014, a relative of a missing passenger tells reporters in Beijing about a hunger strike to protest authorities' handling of information about the missing jet. Hide Caption 28 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 U.S. Navy crew members assist in search-and-rescue operations in the Indian Ocean on March 16, 2014. Hide Caption 29 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the Chinese navy continue search operations on March 13, 2014. After starting in the sea between Malaysia and Vietnam, the plane's last confirmed location, search efforts expanded west into the Indian Ocean. Hide Caption 30 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese military official looks out an aircraft window during search operations March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 31 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian air force members look for debris near Kuala Lumpur on March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 32 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of missing passengers wait for the latest news at a hotel in Beijing on March 12, 2014. Hide Caption 33 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Vietnamese air force checks a map while searching for the missing plane on March 11, 2014. Hide Caption 34 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese air force plane found traces of oil that authorities had suspected to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the Vietnamese government online newspaper reported on March 8, 2014. However, a sample from the slick showed it was bunker oil, typically used to power large cargo ships, Malaysia's state news agency, Bernama, reported on March 10, 2014. Hide Caption 35 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter lands aboard the USS Pinckney to change crews on March 9, 2014, before returning to search for the missing plane in the Gulf of Thailand. Hide Caption 36 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Buddhist monks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport offer a special prayer for the missing passengers on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 37 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of a Chinese emergency response team board a rescue vessel at the port of Sanya in China's Hainan province on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 38 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The rescue vessel sets out from Sanya in the South China Sea on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 39 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives to meet family members of missing passengers at the reception center at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 40 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of two missing passengers reacts at their home in Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 41 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Chinese police at the Beijing airport stand beside the arrival board showing delayed Flight 370 in red on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 42 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Juahari Yahya, front, speaks during a news conference at a hotel in Sepang on March 8, 2014. "We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts" with the jet, he said. Hide Caption 43 of 43

1. It will go down as one of the world's most enduring mysteries

The disappearance of Flight 370 would rank right up there with Amelia Earhart. This story has intrigued folks for generations.

The swashbuckling aviatrix and pioneering woman embarked on the first around-the-world flight at the Equator in June 1937. After completing about two-thirds of the flight, she and navigator Frederick Noonan disappeared.

A search never found any trace of her, Noonan or their plane. Some believe they ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea -- similar to one theory of what happened to the Malaysia Airlines plane.

Then there's the Bermuda triangle.

Many ships, planes and people have disappeared in this section of the Atlantic Ocean -- a "triangle" marked by the points of Bermuda, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

U.S. officials cite hurricanes, sudden storms, the powerful Gulf Stream and shallow Caribbean waters as reasonable explanations for the lost vessels.

But so far, there's been no explanation for Flight 370's disappearance.

Of course, not all mysteries last forever.

It took two years for search parties to recover the black box from Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, en route to Paris from Rio with 228 people aboard.

Sometimes even when you know just about where something is, it's hard to find.

There was no GPS and sea charts in 1912 when the RMS Titanic went down on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic. It wasn't until 1985 that the British luxury liner was found.

Seventy-three years is a long time to wait, but some answers take time.

2. Families never get the closure a tragedy deserves

If you want to see agony, look into the faces of the relatives of the 153 Chinese nationals who flew aboard the ill-fated flight.

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They're guests of Malaysia Airlines in a Beijing hotel while the search continues. They don't expect miracles, but they do want information.

"As time goes on we know that the odds of my son and the other relatives on the plane having survived becomes smaller and smaller," a grey-haired man named Wen said recently, scarcely keeping his composure.

A Malaysian diplomat listened intently.

"To know that somebody is alive, you need to see them. To know that somebody is dead, you need to see the body. That's all I ask of you," Wen concluded, sobbing uncontrollably into a microphone.

It's been a roller coaster of emotions for the families. A dearth of information from Malaysia officials and repeated delays has provoked outright anger.

"Live up to commitments! No more delays! No more lies!" fist -waving family members said.

Heartbreak compounded by disappointment will do that.

Grieving also gets tougher when there's no body to bury. How do you let go if you can't say goodbye?

Yet, hope still burns in the heart of Prahlad Shirsath, whose wife was on the plane.

"I can not let go of that idea, because still we have hope. And deeply I am really convinced in my heart ... that she will come back," he said. "She has to come back, because so far we have not found any reason to lose that hope."

3. False sightings will raise and dash hopes

Every few months or years, someone will come up with a new theory about how the plane disappeared -- or someone will spot what they think is debris. The fleeting moments of hope will give way to fresh anguish.

Madeleine McCann's parents know this all too well.

The 3-year-old vanished in June 2007 while on a family vacation in the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz. Her disappearance prompted headlines worldwide -- and remains a mystery 7 years later.

There have been unconfirmed sightings of McCann ever since she was abducted. They bring with them varying degrees of promise. But Madeleine remains missing.

"In the beginning, it all consumes you. Everything in your life takes second place, goes on the back burner," Dave Holloway, the father of Natalee Holloway, told CNN last year

The Alabama teen went missing on a trip to Aruba in 2005, and her body's never been found. The Holloway case captivated the country, and even now from time to time, a new lead in the case will make headlines.

"I feel for those families who are totally clueless," Halloway said. "At least we know who is responsible for our daughter's disappearance. They have no idea. At least we know."



4. There will be big insurance payouts

There's no tally yet on just how much Malaysia Airlines will owe the relatives of the flight's victims, but it'll be a substantial figure.

Some attorneys, citing their past work on plane crashes, say the total for each passenger could vary from $400,000 to $10 million.

The industry norm for insurance that airliners carry on their planes totals between $2 billion and $2.5 billion per aircraft, according to aviation attorney Dan Rose of Kreindler & Kreindler.

That breaks down to about $10 million per passenger. There were 239 people on flight. The numbers can add up quickly.

Under an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention, the airline must pay relatives of each deceased passenger an initial sum of around $150,000 to $175,000, but that's just a starting point.

Relatives of victims can also sue for further damages.

The plane's manufacturer, Boeing, could be another target of lawsuits.

But until the jetliner is recovered, families won't have much of a case. It's like trying to prove a murder without a body.

5. There will be changes in policy

Every disaster brings changes in policy. But when you don't even know the cause, where do you begin?

U.S. regulators have already approved a new 90-day standard for pingers attached to flight recorders, so search teams have a better chance of finding them under difficult circumstances.

The two-year hunt to find Air France Flight 447 was the impetus, not MH370.

Locator beacons that transmit for 90 days should greatly increase the odds of finding a lost jetliner even in deep water.

Flight 370 had 30-day batteries in its beacons. They were about out of juice by the time aquatic listening devices picked up their signals for a short time.

Another 60 days would have helped their cause.

By 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration will require all new planes to come with the 90-day capability. All older planes must have it by 2020, the FAA says.

Malaysia has sent its preliminary report on Flight 370 to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. body for global aviation. But it hasn't released it publicly.

"It just adds fuel to the fire -- which is like a furnace now -- of disbelief, particularly in China, as to what is going on," said Geoffrey Thomas, managing director of AirlineRatings.com.

There are so many questions.

Are there better ways to track commercial aircraft? Can planes be followed better by using satellites to track their movements with transmitters that can't be shut down?

Every phone has GPS. Can't we keep closer tabs on aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars?

The U.N. aviation agency did tell CNN about a safety recommendation in the report: Malaysia said the aviation world needs to look at real-time tracking of commercial aircraft.

It's the same recommendation that was made after the Air France disaster. But "nothing seems to have happened," CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest.

For now, though, the focus of determined search crews and anguished families remain on finding the Malaysian jetliner that disappeared without a trace.