Newly-discovered wreckage thought to be from flight MH370 suggests the passenger jet crashed into the sea in an uncontrolled high-speed dive, experts have claimed.
Part of a wing spoiler was found in Jeffreys Bay, on the southern coast of South Africa, in August last year, triggering calls for a new search and fresh hopes the mystery will be solved.
Independent experts analysed the piece of wreckage and said damage indicated it was torn off the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 during an uncontrolled dive.
Monday marked the seventh anniversary of the disappearance of the plane, which was turned around while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
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Part of a wing spoiler, thought to be from MH370, was found in South Africa (
Independent Group)
It is presumed the jet broke into pieces when it crashed into the Southern Indian Ocean hours later, possibly after running out of fuel.
Experts suspect more wreckage could be found at the bottom of the ocean, 1,200 miles off Australia.
No official explanation for the plane’s disappearance has been given despite an official investigation by Malaysia’s government, and it remains one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
One of the leading theories was mass murder-suicide by the pilot.
The new wreckage suggests the plane crashed into the sea in an uncontrolled dive, say experts (
Independent Group)
This image shows what a wing spoiler (numbered) from a Boeing 777 looks like (
Independent Group)
Michael Exner, an expert who analysed photos of the debris found in South Africa, told the devastated families of the missing that the wing spoiler was “almost certainly” from MH370.
Speaking during a virtual remembrance event on Sunday, he said the spoiler’s damage is consistent with “separation during descent”.
It appears to debunk an alternative theory of a ditching, or water landing, by a rogue pilot.
Grace Nathan, whose mother Anne Daisy Nathan was on board the plane, said the families became aware of the new find last month.
The discovery has renewed calls for a third search of the ocean floor after the two previous results failed to find anything.
Peter Foley, who led the Australian government’s search, told the Times he agreed with new research suggesting the wreckage is on the ocean floor, 1,200 miles off Cape Leeuwin, Australia.
MH370 Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah has been accused of a murder-suicide plot
Independent experts have identified a new potential crash site
The remote area is known for deep canyons and underwater mountains.
The belief that the plane could be there is based on ocean drift analysis and a new potential flight path calculated last year.
Mr Foley said a new search should focus on the sea floor 70 nautical miles either side of a potential crash site that has been identified.
He added: “Large tracts (of the sea floor) haven’t been searched fully.”
A Boeing 777 similar to the one that disappeared on March 8, 2014 (
Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The wing spoiler was found in Jeffreys Bay on the southern coast of South Africa (
Independent Group)
