MH370 is still considered aviation’s biggest unsolved puzzle – but one individual asserts to have witnessed the lost Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 ablaze. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
One person purports they saw the infamous Boeing 777, with 239 individuals on board, on fire.
The decade-long riddle commenced on March 8, 2014, when Malaysia Airlines flight 370 vanished while in transit from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It continues to be aviation history’s most notable and devastating enigma.
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Back in 2014, an oil rig employee from New Zealand was let go from his position after declaring he had seen what he thought was MH370 in flames.
Mike McKay was on a cigarette break while stationed at the Songa Mercur oil rig off the coast of Vietnam on that pivotal night, as per CNN.
McKay, aged 57, maintained he observed a burning aircraft at a high altitude. He emailed his superiors regarding it, mentioning he “observed the plane burning at high altitude at a compass bearing of 265 to 275 degrees from our surface location.”
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The email started: “Gentlemen. I am of the belief that I witnessed the Malaysian Airlines flight crash. The timing corresponds. I made attempts to contact Malaysian and Vietnamese authorities several days ago. But I am unsure if the message was received.”, reports the Mirror.
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He continued: “While I observed (the plane) it seemed to be structurally intact. From my initial sighting of the burning (plane? ) until the flames dissipated (at high altitude) was about 10-15 seconds. No sideways movement was detected, implying it was either approaching our position motionless (falling) or moving away from our spot. The observation’s approximate location was perpendicular/south-west of the conventional flight path, and at a reduced height compared to the usual flight routes.”
The email was revealed, making the name of the workplace public.
McKay commented: “Undeniably, I appeared foolish in the end. However, my experience is inconsequential given the loss suffered by those who lost family members on the flight. I submitted a confidential observation in the hope it would assist in locating the relatives of the families.
“This was divulged to the media. I did see something; however, the distances from the last recognized spot render my sighting of the plane improbable, considering the commonly accepted route the plane took following loss of communication. I have various questions. How did the flight retrace its path across the Malay Peninsula and fly over the F16 base at Butterworth and the Penang Airport largely unnoticed?”.
“This diverted the search away from the South China Sea. Why was the primary radar data released only after six days? What investigations were carried out regarding the two sonar locators in the Indian Ocean? Where are the metal fatigue assessments of the component discovered on Reunion Island? This would determine how the plane disintegrated. The pilot likely tried to circle, staying away from the flight paths of other aircraft until daylight. The [seventh] arc on which the plane disappeared (if the data is reliable) could position the disintegration either in the South China Sea or just south of Sumatra, rather than off the western coast of Australia.”
Vietnamese authorities dispatched aircraft to seek the plane in light of McKay’s report, as stated by NZer. Recent endeavors by the marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity were abruptly suspended in April, with Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke informing AFP: “Currently, it is not the appropriate season.” The search has yet to be restarted.
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Loke stated: “They have suspended the operation in the meantime; they intend to recommence the search toward the end of the current year.”
However, Ismail Hammad, Chief Engineer at Egyptair, posits he possesses the answer to save everyone “money and time” and successfully locate the missing plane MH380. Ismail questioned the images of the plane’s wreckage surfacing from the ocean, arguing “the state of the plane’s paint is inconsistent with what would be expected after prolonged submersion in saltwater.”