- "Discovering the Hidden: Researchers Pursue the Whereabouts of MH370"
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished from radar screens while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, carrying 239 individuals aboard. This event marked the start of one of the greatest aviation mysteries ever. Despite numerous attempts by researchers and aviation experts to solve this puzzle, they've been unsuccessful. Recently, an Australian researcher declared he's cracked the case regarding the plane's location.
Vincent Lyne from the University of Tasmania states in his study that he discovered the plane's location - in a 6,000-meter deep ocean trench. He described this area as a "perfect hiding spot" in a recent LinkedIn post.
This trench is situated at the end of the Broken Ridge, an oceanic plateau in the southeastern Indian Ocean, approximately 2,000 kilometers off the west coast of Australia. The marine environment there is "rugged and dangerous," Lyne wrote. This likely explains why the wreckage hasn't been found yet. Lyne's 2021 study was recently accepted and published by the respected journal "Journal of Navigation" following a peer-review process.
Debris discovered on the coasts of the Indian Ocean
Looking back: The Boeing 777 took off without incident from Kuala Lumpur International Airport early in the morning of March 8, 2014. At 1:19 a.m., experienced Captain Zaharie Shah was last heard from the cockpit. Shortly afterward, the transponder was deactivated - a device that broadcasts data to air traffic control on the ground.
About two hours after takeoff, the plane disappeared from the last radar screens. For approximately seven hours, a satellite received so-called "ping" signals from MH370. This would be around the time the fuel tank would run out.
Later, debris was discovered on coasts along the Indian Ocean. However, the main body of the aircraft, passengers, and flight recorder have still not been located. The years-long underwater search concluded without results.
Why did the plane crash? Various theories have arisen since then, including hijacking, the pilot's suicide, or deliberate or accidental military shooting. There's never been any concrete evidence.
Vincent Lyne believes it wasn't fuel exhaustion, as many suspected, but a deliberate water landing ordered by the captain. He cites damage to the wings and flap system, as well as a flap discovered off the coast of La Réunion, east of the African mainland, as evidence.
These resembled the damage after the controlled water landing of Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger on the New York Hudson River in 2009, the scientist wrote. All 155 passengers on board survived the remarkable landing at the time.
Whether the pilot acted due to an emergency or planned to steer the aircraft into the sea and disappear, even the latest research findings couldn't clarify this. According to Lyne, the pilot almost pulled off an incredible perfect disappearance of the aircraft. "It would have worked, if MH370 hadn't flown through a wave with its right wing," he said.
For his study, Lyne combined the longitude of Malaysia's Penang airport's runway with a flight path found on the pilot's home simulator. This was previously dismissed as "irrelevant" by FBI investigators. At the intersection of the two lines, Lyne claims, lays a 6,000-meter deep trench. MH370 had disappeared from radar near Penang at the time.
Lyne urged authorities to prioritize an investigation of the site he's identified. This, he believes, could provide closure for the victims' families who have been dealing with numerous "confusing theories" and "wild speculations" for so long.
Other researchers have criticized Lyne's findings, suggesting that his methodology might not be entirely sound.Despite the controversy, the Indian Ocean continues to be a key area of focus in the ongoing search for MH370.
