Flight MH370 Search Update: New Debris Found On Madagascar Beach

An American man searching for parts from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, has found new debris supposedly from the missing aircraft in Madagascar. Blaine Gibson, who has already found possible wreckage from the plane in Mozambique, found the latest debris on Riake beach in Nosy Boraha, an island in northeastern Madagascar, according to the BBC.

The Malaysian Airlines jet was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 people in March 2014 when it disappeared. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean when it went off course.

Gibson had taken photos of his earlier find to send to investigators at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Malaysian authorities. The Seattle-based lawyer is reportedly self-funding his search for debris from the missing plane in East Africa.

British engineer Don Thompson, who is part of an informal international group investigating the MH370 mystery, told the BBC that one of the pieces found in Madagascar was from the back of a seat and another could be part of a cover panel on a plane wing.

“The seat part I am 99.9 per cent sure on,” he said, “It's the right color of fabric for Malaysian Airlines. It shows the seat had to have disintegrated to have come away.”

Australia has been leading the search, along with Malaysia and China, using underwater drones and sonar equipment. The search, delayed by bad weather conditions, has so far covered more than 40,540 square miles of the total 46,332 square miles.

Possible wreckage from the flight has been found on Reunion Island, Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa and Mauritius. But the countries have agreed that if no more credible information is found in two months, the search will be called off.

A spokeswoman for ATSB told the Telegraph, “It may take until around August to complete the 120,000 square kilometers [46,000 square miles], but this will be influenced by weather conditions over the coming months, which may worsen.”