Malaysian Airlines Flight 370: Australian Officials Say Missing Plane Is Not In Southern Indian Ocean

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 is still missing and investigators have now said that the Boeing 777 is not in the southern Indian Ocean, as previously speculated. According to CBS News, officials have confirmed that the plane is not located anywhere near where from which the satellite pings were thought to have originated.

“The Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) said Thursday the U.S. Navy’s Bluefin 21 had finished its final underwater mission in the southern Indian Ocean on Wednesday after scouring 330 square miles looking for [the missing plane].”

This information has left many people baffled, and family members of the missing passengers are completely devastated. It seems as though the investigation is back at square one without anyone really knowing where this plane might have ended up.

The search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 will be “suspended for a couple months,” according to ABC News. Officials say that they are waiting for “more powerful sonar equipment” to help them search a much wider area. Those involved in the investigation are being very particular about what they say and what is released to the media. At this point, no one is saying where the next potential search area is/will be; the agency said that this information “will be made public in due course.”

It is hard for family members to have hope that their loved ones are alive at this point. The aircraft has been missing since March 8, and even if it landed safely somewhere (perhaps on the surface of the ocean), the chances of anyone being alive at this point are slim.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, many people have thoughts about what might have happened to Malaysia Airlines flight 370 other than some sort of engine malfunction. Some believe that the plane was hijacked by terrorists and others believe that the pilot was up to no good. There have also been rumors about the plane landing on some remote island (namely Diego Garcia Island) and that it is being dismantled as part of some government-run operation.

Regardless of what kind of theory you believe, many hope that the families of those who were on board are soon able to find closure. There is a chance that the plane will never be found or it could take years to locate the wreckage, a very real possibility from the beginning.

What do you think happened to the missing plane? Do you think the wreckage will ever be found?

[Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]