Key dates in the failed search for MH370

THE MYSTERY OF MH370

March 8, 2014: MH370 disappears from the radar 40 minutes into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board.

April 8, 2014: An Australian ship hears two signals consistent with MH370's flight recorders west of Australia. "I'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft, in the not-too-distant future," search coordinator Angus Houston says.

April 28, 2014: The air search ends after failing to see a single piece of debris in 4.6 million square km of ocean.

Jan 29, 2015: Malaysia formally declares MH370 an accident and says all 239 people on board are presumed dead.

March 8, 2015: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott doubles the area of the underwater search to 120,000 square km.

July 29, 2015: A wing part known as a flaperon found on Reunion Island, east of Madagascar, is the first piece of the plane to be recovered. More than 20 pieces have since been found.

July 28, 2016: Data from flight captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's home simulator shows it was used to plot a course to the southern Indian Ocean, bolstering speculation he stole the plane in a premeditated plot.

Dec 20, 2016: The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says MH370 is unlikely to be in the 120,000 square km search area is more likely in an area immediately to the north.

Jan 17, 2017: Search called off.