A piece of debris that washed ashore in Madagascar may hold clues to solving the 2014 disappearance of MH370.
Could debris found on a beach in Madagascar hold the key to uncovering the fate of Malaysia Airlines MH370?
After nearly nine years with limited evidence to work on, British engineer Richard Godfrey and US-based MH370 expert Blaine Gibson believe the damage to a recovered piece of the Boeing 777-200ER’s landing gear door indicates a deliberate attempt to down the aircraft.
Recent discovery
The large 32″×28” piece of debris washed up on Antsiraka Peninsula’s South Beach following tropical storm Fernando in March 2017. It was taken home by a local fisherman unaware of the importance of his discovery, who subsequently kept the item in his garden for the next five years.
In November, Gibson and a friend spotted the piece alongside other marine debris, noting its striking resemblance to other confirmed MH370 wreckage that had floated across the Indian Ocean. Though the item has yet to undergo official analysis, it is strongly believed to be the aircraft’s landing gear trunnion door.
Upon further examination, damage to the wreckage appears to portray a quick and violent end for the aircraft and its 239 occupants. Deep slice marks emanating from the interior side are theorized to have been caused by “a significant force” upon impact, leading Godfrey and Gibson to conclude that the aircraft’s landing gear was “highly likely” to have been extended upon impact.
“The combination of high-speed impact and extended landing gear shows a clear intent to hide the evidence of the crash,” explained Godfrey in a blog post.
“The realistic possibility that the landing gear was lowered shows both an active pilot and an attempt to ensure the plane sank as fast as possible after impact.“
Current speculations
The tragic disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 has captured significant attention from many researchers, journalists, and public figures worldwide, hoping to solve the enduring mystery.
In 2016, a confirmed piece of the aircraft’s right wing flap was discovered on Pemba Island, Tanzania. An inquiry by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau indicated that the jet’s flaps were not deployed, as is the usual procedure with a water landing, likely due to an uncontrolled descent.
Godfrey and Gibson’s report supports this theory, aligning with the leading thought that the aircraft was intentionally downed in the Indian Ocean, either by pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah as a pre-mediated act or by another unknown party.
Over two years after the disappearance, a Malaysian police force document published by New York Magazine revealed that Shah had conducted a simulated flight into the southern Indian Ocean several weeks before the disappearance. After the system was handed to the FBI, several pieces of data were restored, with the simulation’s endpoint around 900 miles from the estimated location of the crash. However, investigators assert that the data remains largely inconclusive and is believed to be circumstantial.
The pilot suicide theory was fueled further by ex-Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot, who claimed in a 2020 interview that the “very top levels” of Malaysia’s government had suspected Shah as a culprit since “very, very early on.” Abbot refused to name anyone directly, though he asserted that the nature of MH370’s disappearance was understood to “almost certainly” be a deliberate act.
Shah’s family has consistently refuted the narrative that he was mentally ill or facing significant personal difficulties, instead believing that Shah had been made a “scapegoat” to absolve Boeing and Malaysia Airlines of blame.
Shah’s sister, Sakinab Shah, has taken to the media on several occasions to protest her brother’s innocence, explaining in a 2016 interview with The Seattle Times;
“When the search revealed nothing, they came back to this theory, but it’s only a theory. If you have nothing tangible and nothing by way of evidence, it’s tantamount to predicting he is guilty until proven innocent. This sets us back in the Dark Ages.”
Nine years missing
Since MH370’s disappearance on March 8, 2014, families and friends of the aircraft’s missing passengers have fought for information from Malaysia Airlines and the country’s government.
Many explanations for the disappearance have been floated, from an in-flight fire similar to that of Swissair Flight 111 in 1998 to the bizarre claim that the jet had been flown to a US military base on Diego Garcia, among others.
Despite extensive searches across the Indian Ocean, the jet has yet to be has been found. Austin-based Ocean Infinity took over from government-backed efforts in early 2018, though it was called off just several months later. A new search is expected to begin in “2023 or 2024,” according to Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunket.
Source: Simple Flying
