Malaysia’s government-run newsagency has published a new theory that suggests Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370 may have been in one piece when it sunk into the Indian Ocean.
The report in Bernama quotes Malaysia satellite expert, Zaaim Redha Abdul Rahman, who said he believes the plane may have glided onto the water ‘floated for a while’ before sinking.
It raises the possibility that one or more of the 239 passengers on the plane may have still been alive and inside the Boeing 777 for hours before it went under, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The new report comes a week after investigators confirmed an object found on the remote Reunion Island belonged to the missing aircraft.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed the connection, saying “we now have physical evidence that… flight MH370 tragically ended in the southern Indian Ocean”.
Zaaim Redha, who helped a British satellite company analyse data, said based on the condition of the object, he believes the plane softly landed on the water.
“It was only slightly damaged and was just encrusted with barnacles.”
Zaaim Redha Abdul Rahman
“Its appearance indicated that it was not violently torn from the aircraft’s main body… it does seem that it got detached pretty nicely at its edges.”
He continued, saying that if the plane had crashed, the impact would have been ‘really hard’ and broken the plane into small pieces of debris.
Zaaim Redha said it’s possible that the aircraft may have submerged deep into the ocean and had been under for some time before the flaperon detached.
“Similarly, other parts would have become detached and float with the help of the strong water current before being washed upon the shores of islands like Reunion,” he explained.
