The man who found the piece of Boeing 777 wreckage off the Mozambique coast has been traveling around the Indian Ocean for one year in a quest to solve the mystery of missing Malaysia flight MH370.
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FILE – In this March 8, 2015 file photo, relatives of passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that went missing on March 8, 2014, wearing T-shirts carrying a message for the missing flight as they leave Yonghegong Lama Temple after a gathering of family members of the missing passengers, in Beijing.
Authorities have predicted that plane debris would eventually be carried by currents to the east coast of Africa.
“Most experts and the official search authorities believe the plane flew south rather than north”, Gibson writes in his blog.
Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester reiterated that opinion Thursday, saying the location of the debris in Mozambique matches investigators’ drift modeling and would therefore confirm that search crews are looking in the right part of the Indian Ocean for the main underwater wreckage.
From the pictures shown, it’s high probability that the plane debris is from Boeing 777, Liow told reporters.
Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said late Wednesday that initial information indicated a “high possibility” it came from a Boeing 777, the same model as MH370.
According to media reports, a team of experts comprising representatives from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), MAS personnel as well as investigators will be heading to Mozambique. Many theories have been proposed as to what may have happened to the plane – including some that cast doubt on the possibility of ever finding it. Martin Dolan, head of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading the hunt for the plane, said there is “a possibility” the search “will not succeed”.
Australia’s Joint Agency Cooperation Center reportedly said it was aware of the discovery and preparing to examine the finding. “We’re working with officials in Mozambique and Malaysia to investigate”.
He added that they would wait to analyse the debris before drawing any conclusions.
It comes after authorities found a piece of the plane’s wing on the shore of Reunion island in the Indian Ocean previous year.
“I’ve been very involved in the search for Malaysia 370, just out of personal interest and in a private group – not in a for-profit way or journalistic way”, said Gibson.
The discovered debris also has a fastener that was described as a standard part by an official at LISI Aerospace, a fastener company. However, investigations into it found it to be unrelated to the Malaysian flight disappearance.
No crash site has been found. But no trace of the passengers, their luggage or even things created to float, such as life jackets, has been discovered.
MH370’s disappearance remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. The debris will be sent to Australia for further examination.
Liow said it is premature to say whether the search could be expanded beyond June.
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“Also on March 8, an interim statement on the probe into the missing of MH370 will be issued”.
