AVIATION experts say the “no find, no fee” deal in resuming the search for flight MH370 is appropriate.

Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) test pilot Prof Mohd Harridon Mohamed Suffian said the agreement inked between Malaysia and US firm Ocean Infinity Limited to begin a fresh search in the southern Indian ocean would ensure the government a fair deal in terms of monetary payment.

“(There is) no point in paying for services that would produce zero results. Paying after gaining results is an optimum approach to reduce or avoid capital losses,” he said.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai earlier said under the agreement, the search for MH370 would resume in mid-January in which the seabed constructor vessel would cover an area of 25,000 sq km within 90 days.

The ship’s primary mission is to identify the location of the wreckage and/or both flight recorders – the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.

Mohd Harridon said it was a commendable joint effort by the government and private sector to attempt to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Researcher at a local airline Ahmad Maulan Bardai said the deal was related to the legality aspect.

He said there should not be any official search by the government as the official investigation closure had stated that the “aircraft is missing”.

“The government must not commit any further funding to chase the uncertain. This (type of) search and recovery funding has been the practice in the shipping industry,” he said.

Ahmad Maulan said findings of the search will have major impacts on the global aviation industry, adding there were many unanswered questions that could have implications on the design, maintenance, operating procedure and practices of airlines and airports.

“Not to mention the need to resolve the concern of the relatives of the passengers and crew affected,” he said.

Flight MH370 with 239 people on board vanished from radar screens while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Australia, Malaysia and China jointly suspended a two-year underwater search for the aircraft in January last year. No sign of the plane was found in the 120,000 sq km search area in the southern Indian Ocean.

So far, only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on the western Indian Ocean shores, including a 2m wing part known as flaperon. – Bernama, January 12, 2018.