KUALA LUMPUR: Any resumption of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 should focus on the area where experts believed the plane may have gone down.
According to the information on the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's website, at the time MH370 reached the Seventh Arc in the southern Indian Ocean, the aircraft was considered to have exhausted its fuel and to have been descending.
As a result, it was determined that the aircraft was unlikely to be more than 27.5 nautical miles (51km) to the west or 25NM (46km) to the east of the arc.
Former Department of Civil Aviation (now known as the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia) director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abd Rahman said while the indicated search area was not entirely new, it still retained some significance.
This follows the "no cure, no fee" proposal presented by the MH370 next of kin at the 10th remembrance day event on Sunday where Azharuddin was present.
At the event, V.P.R. Nathan, organising member and husband of MH370 passenger Anne-Daisy, shared a brief on the proposal by Ocean Infinity, which highlighted the search area in the southern Indian Ocean.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke then announced the possible restart of the search operations and called for further discussions.
Azharuddin said the previous search operations (together with Ocean Infinity) explored the middle part of the Seventh Arc in early 2018 and experts had even suggested expanding the search area beyond.
Pinpointing the search area, he said, was necessary in a search mission because in a complex case like MH370, involving the interests of multiple nations, "it's not something that you are free to go wherever you like".
Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said there were additional factors to consider apart from the search area, such as changes in the ocean topography due to the passage of time.
He said the task would be quite formidable and after 10 years, the exact condition of the plane's resting place remained unknown.
"If there is explicit data from military long-range radar systems (primarily used for tracking ballistic missiles) that Ocean Infinity has access to during the period where MH370 was flying, then there is a chance."
Azizan said relying solely on satellite pings, as was done in previous search efforts, resulted in significant margins for error.
However, Azharuddin said many experts from diverse fields contributed to identifying the latitudes and longitudes where the end of the flight likely occurred.
"There was a comprehensive effort where the Special Search Working Group was formed.
"Expertise from various fields were gathered with significant contributions from the French, who located Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, and Australian oceanographers."
He said the previously suspended search, coordinated by Australia due to its proximity to the area of interest, also involved Boeing and Rolls Royce, providing technical support and expertise.
Satellite data, particularly from Inmarsat satellites used by Mal-aysia Airlines, he said, had been crucial in tracing the aircraft's movements and potential last known location.
"Despite challenges, such as irregular data downloads and complex mathematical calculations, experts have narrowed down search areas based on drift analysis of discovered debris."