Malaysia doubles down on missing plane search

Malaysian officials said Thursday that they are planning to double the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which has been missing for more than year, The Associated Press reports.

The Boeing 777 has been missing since March 8, 2014 when it lost contact with air traffic controllers about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.

Officials have been conducting a multinational search for the missing jet, which was carrying 239 passengers at the time of its disappearance, but they have been unsuccessful thus far.

{mosads}Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Thursday that officials have searched most of a 23,000-square-mile search area to no avail. He said they would double the zone in May if the remaining area turns up no leads, according to the report.  

“If the aircraft is not found within the 60,000 square kilometers, we have collectively decided to extend the search to another 60,000 square kilometers within the highest probability area,” he said. 

The disappearance of Malaysia Air’s Flight 370 has baffled aviation officials and lawmakers for more than a year.  

Officials from multiple nations have conducted a prolonged search for the plane, focusing first on the Gulf of Thailand and later on the southern Indian Ocean. 

Satellite images of potential debris in the water that officials believed could have been related to the missing plane raised officials’ hopes briefly last spring, but thus far, no parts of the plane have been found. 

Malaysian officials have said they are not sure if the missing plane will ever be found, even as they have vowed to continue searching for it.