‘Scorched’ MH370 debris found in Mozambique suggest plane may have caught fire in mid-air

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‘Scorched’ MH370 debris found in Mozambique suggest plane may have caught fire in mid-air

1:57 CAT | 13 Sep 2016

(160303) -- MAPUTO, March 3, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A piece of an airplane is displayed during a news conference in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, March 3, 2016. Mozambican aviation authorities on Wednesday night confirmed the finding of a piece of an airplane off the coast of Mozambique, but considered it "premature" to relate it with a Boeing 777 aircraft.
(Xinhua/Li Xiaopeng) (djj)

Xinhua (Fle photo) / Photo taken on March 3, 2016 shows a piece of an airplane during a news conference in Maputo, capital of Mozambique

Wreckage believed to be from the missing MH370 aircraft has been found in Madagascar and appears to contain “scorched black” marks which suggest a sudden fire may have brought down the plane.

The pieces of debris, which resemble panelling that sits under the cockpit floor of a Boeing 777, have been handed to the Australian authority overseeing the search.

Joao de Abreu, president of the Mozambique Civil Aviation Authority, shows one of three pieces of debris thought to have come from missing MH370 — Joao de Abreu, president of the Mozambique Civil Aviation Authority, shows one of three pieces of debris thought to have come from missing flight MH370 (Photo: António Silva / EPA)

Analysts believe the items – if their origin is confirmed – could indicate that a sudden on-board fire destroyed the plane’s systems and left the pilots struggling to control the aircraft. But the burn marks could also have occurred when the plane hit the ocean.

The pieces were found by three locals from Sainte Luce, a coastal town in south-east Madagascar.

Blaine Gibson, a Seattle lawyer who has enlisted the help of locals in his personal quest to find debris across the region, delivered the items to authorities in Australia.

He said the burnt pieces appeared to be from the cargo hold, or the avionics bay, rather than from the main cabin.

“There are two [pieces] that have burned and singe marks on them,” he told ABC News.

“If those are found to be from MH370 and if it is discovered that the fire took place before the crash, then this is a real game changer that could help identify what was the cause of the planes demise.”

The Malaysia Airlines aircraft disappeared in March 2014 during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane was carrying 239 passengers and crew.

An underwater search, due to be completed in December, has completed more than 91 per cent of a targeted 46,000 square mile zone off the west coast of Australia.

Families of several passengers from China, Malaysia and Indonesia have been visiting Australia and met with officials from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the search agency.

The families urged Malaysia, China and Australia, the nations co-ordinating the search, to continue the hunt beyond December and to incorporate drift modelling based on the location of the various debris that has been found.

“We hope that these three nations do more than just hope by fluke people find more debris,” said Grace Nathan, a Malaysian whose mother Anne Daisy was aboard the aircraft.

MH370: The Theories

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What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may never be proven – but that hasn’t stopped conspiracy theorists from speculating:

1. It was shot down…during a joint military exercise between the US and Thailand

2. It was hijacked…for use in a terrorist spectacular on the anniversary of 9/11

3. It was switched…with flight MH17, and it was actually MH370 that was shot down over Ukraine

4. It landed…on Diego Garcia, a British-owned island in the Indian Ocean that is home to a major US military base

5. It was destroyed by a ‘mysterious new weapon’…capable of plucking planes out of the sky without a trace

6. Russia hijacked the plane…under Putin’s orders and flew it to Kazakhstan

7. The reality check: Experts say the truth is almost certainly more mundane – probably a carefully planned suicide and revenge attack

All you need to know | MH370

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Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014 at 00:41 local time
227 passengers and 12 crew were on board
It should have landed at 6.30am in Beijing
But the final contact with air control was at 01:19 when a co-pilot radioed: “Alright, good night”
Soon after, the plane made a sharp left turn off course, from north-east to almost due west
At 01:38, Vietnamese air traffic control become concerned that the pilot hadn’t made a scheduled check-in
At 02:15, MH370’s position was picked up for the final time by Malaysian military radar heading north-west, across the Andaman Sea
At 05:30, a search and rescue operation was launched

Source: The Telegraph