When Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared into thin air on March 8, 2014, en-route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, crash investigators were left at a complete loss. They had no idea what had happened to the aircraft which was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
Without a crash site, there can be no investigation, and that’s why the disappearance of this fated flight sparked hundreds of conspiracy theories around the world. But a video producer and a tech expert now claim to have found parts of the missing plane using Google Maps.
Flight MH370
After the plane went missing, it was commonly referred to as “MH370”, “Flight 370”, or “Flight MH370.” But no matter what it was called, hundreds of families were desperate to know what happened to their loved ones; 227 passengers and 12 crew members were all presumed dead. After the crew lost radio contact with air traffic control just 38 minutes after takeoff somewhere over the South China Sea, people on the ground were left stunned and confused.
Deadliest Incident
Missing flight 370 was the deadliest incident involving a Boeing 777 and the deadliest incident in Malaysia Airlines’ history. When they lost another plane 17 months later, the combined financial loss caused the Malaysian government to re-nationalize the company at the end of 2014. But no one knew what had happened to flight 370 or where the remains of the aircraft and the people on board were.
Making History
The search for the missing plane was the most costly in aviation history. Initially focused in the South China and Andaman seas, the search later moved to the southern Indian Ocean due to the aircraft’s automated communications with an Inmarsat satellite. But a severe lack of information from those in the know had the Chinese people in uproar at the time.
Some Debris
While some pieces of marine debris from the aircraft washed up in the western Indian Ocean, a three-year search across a massive 120,000 square kilometer area yielded nothing. Meantime, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre heading the operation suspended their activities in January 2017. A private contractor called Ocean Infinity launched a search in 2018 but to no avail.
Biggest Mystery
The fated 370 flight is one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time, relying almost solely on satellite information. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said at first that a “hypoxia event” was the most likely explanation for the crash. Some claimed the plane was hijacked by terrorists while the Malaysian Ministry of Transport’s official report noted that the cause of the crash was “inconclusive.”
New Measures
As a result of the crash, in the absence of a definitive cause, numerous new safety recommendations and regulations within the air transport industry were introduced. They include increased battery life on underwater locator beacons as well as the lengthening of recording times on flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders. But two men claim to have found parts of the missing plane using Google Earth.
In Cambodia
When Ian Wilson, a video producer, claimed to have seen parts of the plane from flight MH370 in Cambodia, he vowed to travel there to see for himself. Wilson claims to have seen an engine among the wreckage from a Google Earth image of the area but another man, Daniel Boyer, a tech expert, also claims to have found the cockpit and tail of the aircraft.
Perfect Match
Boyer, who took Wilson’s lead told The Daily Star that the measurements of the image match perfectly with the engine size of the missing aircraft, being 4.3m wide and 2.7m in length. The other potentially encouraging fact is that Boyer’s “crash site” is just 10 miles from Wilson’s.
White Objects
The Google images certainly show something, although more investigation is needed to ascertain exactly what. Several white objects on the forest floor to the north-west of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, can be seen. To Boyer and Wilson, they are part of flight MH370.
Boyer’s Findings
In the interview, Boyer told the publication that he had measured one piece, at 17.8ft, which he thinks is close enough to the size of a Boeing 777’s cockpit, which left him “convinced” that he had found the front of the aircraft. He also insisted that he could see the red outline of the Malaysia Airways logo, which he claimed must be the tail.
Some Hope
Boyer said in the interview: “I couldn’t believe it when I made the sighting,” adding, “First the cockpit can be seen, and now this. The debris definitely needs to be investigated,” he said. And while the images from Google Maps did appear to show the outline of a plane in a remote part of Cambodia, it could have been any aircraft lying there.
Copyright Date
One issue that has hampered any further investigation of the site is the disparity between Google Earth’s copyright date and imagery date for the pictures. The images have had different years and months attributed to them, and this has led to speculation that the area has been photographed several times over the past few years.
Unlawful Interference
For their part, investigators of missing Malaysian flight MH370 claim they cannot exclude the possibility of “unlawful interference by a third party” following their release of the report by the Malaysian government agency. Wilson also believes that the plane parts in Cambodia are from MH370 and he plans to travel there as soon as possible to prove it. But there’s a good reason for that.
Finder’s Fee
Neither Wilson nor Boyer are working for charity. They are both interested in the $55 million finder’s fee for whoever manages to successfully locate the missing aircraft. Wilson and his brother were even making plans to go to Cambodia to search the place they saw on Google Maps.
Hiring Guides
Wilson and his brother feel confident enough that they booked flights to Cambodia. He told the Star: “After much discussion last night, we’re just organizing final vaccinations and the hiring of guides.” For Wilson, the potential finder’s fee makes the trip worth it even if it doesn’t turn out to be the missing Malaysian flight.
Plane Visible
To Wilson’s mind, the trip to Cambodia is well worth it. According to a report in The Express, “Whether it has been updated at all is questionable, regardless of the data Google gives it,” he said. “And if the plane was visible in 2014 as well and updates have been applied, then the plane must be there,” Wilson concluded. He also spoke about his plan to locate the plane once in Cambodia.
The Plan
Wilson told reporters: “The plan is still for me and my brother Jackie to go inside in the next few weeks.” Once they arrive, the brothers will go with tour guides, deep into the Cambodian forest to look for the aircraft. However, some aviation experts feel that the dates listed on the Google images don’t necessarily mean the image was captured on those dates.
Explanations Needed
Dr. Yu, an Open University academic, said it’s high time that Google gives some much-needed explanations. “It does require Google to comment on this,” he said. “If they cached the image since 2014, it is either the satellite they use never updated the datasets for four years, or there is a system glitch.” He suggests that a drone is flown over the area to confirm Wilson’s claims.
Gut Instinct
Either Wilson is correct with his gut feeling that the plane he saw on Google Maps is flight MH370 or he is being blinded by the reward on offer. He told reporters, “I feel like I know the plane is there and I just want to see it through to the end.” He added, “I want to go there and see the plane or stand there and go ‘oh, it’s definitely not here’ and then stop thinking about it.”
Needing Closure
Despite the finder’s fee and all the conflicting theories, so many families just want closure so they can move on with their lives. There are a thousand bereaved family members who want to know how their loved ones perished. Whether it was a technical fault, human error or a terrorist attack, these people deserve to know the truth. And the truth can only be investigated once the debris from flight MH370 is located.
