A fisherman in Australia claims to have discovered a large piece of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370, but authorities dismissed his claim. Kit Olver spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald about the shocking discovery made more than nine years after the plane went missing. MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, vanished on March 8, 2014, and its wreckage was never found despite an extensive search. Mr Olver told the outlet that his trawling net snagged what he thought was the commercial plane’s wing just six months after it vanished.
He hasn’t said anything about it in years. But now, at the age of 77, he wants the world to hear his story.
“It was a bloody great wing of a big jet airliner,” said Mr Olver.
“I’ve questioned myself; I’ve looked for a way out of this. I wish to Christ I’d never seen the thing… but there it is. It was a jet’s wing,” he added.
According to the fisherman, the wing was larger than a private plane.
Trawler crew discovers plane wing off Australian coast
As Mr Olver attempted to bring the part of the plane to the surface, the note of his trawler’s engine deepened and its exhaust temperature rose.
The only other surviving member of Mr Olver’s crew present on the day of the discovery, George Currie, stated that pulling out the wing was a thrilling experience.
“It was incredibly heavy and awkward. It stretched out the net and ripped it. And it was too big to get up on the deck,” Mr Currie, now 69, told Sydney Morning Herald.
“As soon as I saw it I knew what it was. It was obviously a wing, or a big part of it, from a commercial plane. It was white, and obviously not from a military jet or a little plane,” he added.
The trawler’s crew was forced to cut the $20,000 net after they were unable to load the plane piece onto their vessel.
Mr. Over stated that he could still provide authorities with the coordinates of the wing’s discovery. He stated that the plane’s component came to rest at a relatively shallow depth on the sea floor.
He said the area is about 55 kilometers west of the South Australian town of Robe, describing the area as his secret trawling area for fish.