April 23, 2025

This Week in Amateur Radio

North America's Premiere Amateur Radio News Magazine

MH370

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight One Step Closer To Being Found 10 Years After Vanishing Thanks To Ham Radio Breadcrumbs

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared without a trace over a decade ago. Malaysia’s government announced last week that it will resume its search efforts for the missing airliner. Maritime robotics company Ocean Infinity signed an 18-month deal to lead the effort and will receive $70 million if they can find the aircraft. The search will utilize low-power transmissions to trace potential flight paths MH370 could have taken in 2014.

Ocean Infinity will be using emerging technology reliant on Weak Signal Propagation Reporter or WSPR, pronounced whisper. The methodology uses low-power transmissions, ubiquitous with ham radio, to parse out a flight path like following breadcrumbs. Imagine radio waves radiating out over the ocean like beams of light between their origins and destinations. If a large plane crosses a beam, it creates a disturbance that can be recorded. With enough WSPR data from the day MH370 disappeared, investigators could estimate an approximate flight path.

Read more – MSN: https://bit.ly/4ccnWtB