Authorities believe they may have finally found a breakthrough in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared nearly nine years ago.
Retired Australian fisherman Kit Olver, 77, has come forward to reveal that his deep-sea trawler may have pulled up a piece of the ill-fated plane’s wing in the Southern Ocean in September or October of 2014. Mr Olver and his crew were trawling for the prized fish species alfonsino about 55km off the south-east coast of South Australia when they encountered something large and heavy that snagged their net. The fisherman, who holds a pilot’s license, was certain that what they pulled up was a wing from a commercial airplane, which he estimated to be larger than any private plane. Mr Olver says he tried to alert authorities of his find, but they dismissed it as a shipping container that had fallen from a Russian vessel in the area. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has no record of Mr Olver’s call, but he believes it is important to go public with his discovery in hopes of bringing closure to the families of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members who were on board the missing plane.
This revelation comes after the families of those aboard MH370 called on the Malaysian government to allow American seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity to conduct a new search for the plane. Malaysia had previously engaged Ocean Infinity to search for the aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean in 2018, but the operation was unsuccessful. The firm has since made significant progress in understanding the events leading up to the plane’s disappearance and the families of the victims are urging the Malaysian government to accept any proposals from the firm on a conditional fee basis.
Voice370, a group representing the relatives of those on board the missing plane, expressed their belief that this could be the breakthrough they have been waiting for. They stated that Ocean Infinity has greatly improved their chances of conducting a successful search over the past 12 months and that the firm should be given the opportunity to resume the search for MH370.
After years of uncertainty and endless searching, the families of those aboard MH370 may finally get the closure they have been desperately seeking. Kit Olver’s discovery may just be the final clue needed to unravel the mystery of what happened to the ill-fated plane, and the families of the victims are hopeful that the search will resume and bring them the answers they have been searching for.
