New twist in hunt for MH370 after fisherman ‘finds part of missing plane’
A fisherman’s broken net could be the final clue which helps solve the mystery of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The plane, which disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board, has never been found despite officials conducting the most extensive search at sea in world history.
But retired Australian fisherman Kit Olver, 77, has said his deep-sea trawler has pulled up what appears to be part of the wing of the commercial airlines.
He made the discovery around 55km off the south-east coast of South Australia in 2014.
Mr Olver, who has held a pilot’s licence, said his net snagged on something large, which it struggled to bring to the surface.
He told the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘It was a bloody great wing of a big jet airliner.
‘I’ve questioned myself; I’ve looked for a way out of this. I wish to Christ I’d never seen the thing … but there it is. It was a jet’s wing.’
Crew member George Currie said: ‘It was incredibly heavy and awkward. It stretched out the net and ripped it. It was too big to get up on the deck.
‘As soon as I saw it I knew what it was. It was obviously a wing, or a big part of it, from a commercial plane. It was white, and obviously not from a military jet or a little plane.’
The crew struggled all day to free the object, leaving Mr Olver to cut the net free and let it drift back into the more shallow depths of the Southern Ocean.
But he said he can easily locate the spot he made the discovery and even shared its GPS coordinates.
He phoned the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, but an official told him it was likely a Russian shipping container.
The authority said they have no record of Mr Olver’s call.
He has now gone public with his find in the hope the families of those aboard the flight can receive some closure.
‘It was from years ago, it was on my conscience and I’ve cleared it now and told my story. So whether it’s believed or acted on is out of my hands,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
Debris of the plane has been discovered as far as away as Madagascar, with 41 pieces recovered in total.
On the evening of the crash, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah responded to Malaysia air traffic control, stating: ‘…contact Ho Chi Minh (…) good night.’
The plane then went ‘dark’ before diverting back over Malaysia – the opposite direction of the intended flight path.
It continued to travel for about 7.5 hours, before running out of fuel and crashing into the ocean.
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