Hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight back on

The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 March 31, 2014. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 had no time limit, despite the failure of an international operation to find any sign of the plane in three weeks of fruitless searching. A total of 20 aircraft and ships were again scouring a massive area in the Indian Ocean some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) west of Perth, where investigators believe the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people came down.     REUTERS/Rob Griffith/Pool   (AUSTRALIA - Tags: MILITARY TRANSPORT DISASTER) - RTR3JD6D
Photo credit: Reuters

After nearly four years, the hunt for a missing Malaysia Airlines flight is back on. 

Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing in March 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board.

Despite extensive searches at a cost of nearly NZ$152 million, the main body of the airplane was never located. 

Now, a new 90-day search is due to launch, with Australian air accident investigators, London-based global satellite network Boeing, and an American exploration company credited with leasing the world's most advanced civilian ocean-survey ship joining forces to recover the missing aircraft. 

The three-month search is courtesy of the southern Indian Ocean's notorious bad weather easing up enough for ships to remain at sea for longer periods.

The survey ship has a large helicopter landing pad, a recovery crane equipped to lift 250 tonnes, a fleet of underwater drones and an array of spherical antennae.

It reportedly left Durban, South Africa for the Indian Ocean on Tuesday.

The search for the aircraft is expected to start in 10 days' time.

Newshub.