New suspected MH370 debris could indicate fire onboard plane

Newly discovered debris potentially from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people onboard, may be the first piece of evidence supporting the theory that there was a fire onboard the plane, according to Australian media reports.

Five pieces of debris were handed to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) in Canberra on Monday morning by American amateur sleuth Blaine Gibson, ABC broadcaster reported.

Gibson, who has previously brought 13 of the 27 suspected and confirmed pieces of wreckage from the flight to MH370 investigators, said two of the pieces were burned and singe marks on them.

“If those are found to be from Malaysia 370 and if it is discovered that the fire took place before the crash, then this is a real game changer that could help identify what was the cause of the plane’s demise,” he told ABC.

The debris, which was found on the coast of island nation Madagascar, located off the southeast coast of Africa and where the majority of the suspected debris had already been discovered.

The pieces resemble some of the paneling used in Boeing 777 planes and have the honeycomb pattern of Boeing’s composite materials, and the burn marks could support the theory that the plane was downed by a fire.

Flight MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with available data indicating that the plane flew into the sea in the southern Indian Ocean.

More than 110,000 square kilometers of the seafloor have been searched so far.