At the request of the Malaysian Government, Australia accepted responsibility for the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. After the conclusion of the surface search, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) led the underwater search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

Each week, from 10 September 2014 to 11 January 2017, an operational update was published, tracking the progress of the search effort and identifying noteworthy developments.

At a meeting of Ministers from Malaysia, Australia and the People’s Republic of China held on 22 July 2016, it was agreed that should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would be suspended upon completion of the current search area.

As such, the search for MH370 was suspended on 17 January 2017.

Below is the final operational update. A link to previous updates is available below.

Joint Agency Coordination Centre

MH370 Operational Search Update

11 January 2017

This operational report has been developed to provide regular updates on the progress of the search effort for MH370. Our work will continue to be thorough and methodical, so sometimes weekly progress may seem slow. Please be assured that work is continuing and is aimed at finding MH370 as quickly as possible.

Key developments this week

Fugro Equator continues to conduct underwater search operations using the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) . In the past week the AUV has completed five missions. Operations have been delayed due to weather conditions impacting the recovery of the AUV after its underwater missions and required maintenance.



Search Status

At a meeting of Ministers from Malaysia, Australia and the People’s Republic of China held on 22 July 2016, it was agreed that should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would be suspended upon completion of the current search area.

Ministers have reiterated that this does not mean the termination of the search. Should credible new information emerge that can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given to determining next steps.

Fugro Equator is completing its final swing and gathering sonar data in areas that haven’t previously been completed. It is expected the search operations currently being undertaken by Fugro Equator may be completed in January 2017.



Click image to enlarge

Weather in the search area is not expected to affect AUV operations to any great extent over the next week.

Previous versions:

MH370 Operational Search Updates