Officials investigating the plane's disappearance have recommended search crews head north to a new area identified in a recent analysis as a possible crash site. Even then, the search zone was enormous and located in one of the most remote patches of water on earth — 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) off Australia's west coast. For years, search crews painstakingly combed the search area in several ships, largely pinning their hopes on towfish, small vessels equipped with sonar that sent information back to the boats in real-time. The search zone shifted multiple times as investigators refined their analysis, all to no avail. The transport ministers praised the efforts of the search crews and said the search had presented an "unprecedented challenge."

Source: New York Times January 17, 2017 06:17 UTC