Malaysian Airlines flight MH370: New maps could lead to breakthrough as they pinpoint area completely missed by search

Malaysian Airlines flight MH370: New maps could lead to breakthrough as they pinpoint area completely missed by search

Malaysian Airways MH370 discovery made by fisherman

Holly Bishop

By Holly Bishop


Published: 24/12/2023

- 16:12

Updated: 25/12/2023

- 10:15

The map places the sunken aircraft slightly north of what was previously thought

New maps have been tipped to help searchers locate the wreckage of missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 after analysts highlighted an area previously missed on the initial search.

Richard Godfrey, a key figure in the development of breakthrough tracking technology, has given the co-ordinates of the likely location of the doomed aircraft.


Prior research conducted by the University of Western Australia and Ocean Infinity, respectively, had placed the vessel in the same broad location.

Now, the new data collected by Godfrey and his team has narrowed down a probable location to be in a smaller area, located in between the two regions previously identified by University of Western Australia and Ocean Infinity.

MH370 Search Map

The new data collected by Godfrey and his team, has identified its whereabouts in a smaller area

Richard Godfrey, Hannes Coetzee, and Simon Maskell

The technology Godfrey has helped develop – known as Weak Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR) – has pinpointed the location of the ill-fated plane almost 10 years after it vanished from the face of the earth.

He believes the position of the plane to be to be 1,560km west of Perth, as laid out in a 232-page report published by Godfrey, alongside Dr Hannes Coetzee and Professor Simon Maskell.

The aircraft, which is now believed to be slightly north of what was previously thought, is believed to be resting at a depth of up to 4,000m.

It comes after an Australian fisherman claimed earlier this week that he found part of the plane in his net.

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\u200bThe exact location as determined by Godfrey and his team

The exact location (in blue) as determined by Godfrey and his team

Richard Godfrey, Hannes Coetzee, and Simon Maskell

Kit Olver, 77, has claimed that he pulled up a wing off the southeast coast of Australia in September or October 2014.

The fisherman said he told officials at the time, but they insisted that it was a shipping container instead.

The MH370 flight crashed months earlier in March 2014. The ill-fated plane carried 227 and 12 crew on board when it disappeared from the skies almost a decade ago.

Since it vanished, no wreckage has ever been discovered despite extensive searches.

Pieces of debris found in Madagascar, believed to be from flight MH370 were shown to media members before handing over to Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke in Putrajaya on November 30, 2018.

Pieces of debris found in Madagascar, believed to be from flight MH370 were shown to media members before handing over to Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke in Putrajaya on November 30, 2018

Getty

A boy waits for his family members to arrived at the KLIA on March,13, 2014

MH370 went missing in March 2014

Getty

Many believe that the aircraft came down in the southern Indian Ocean.

Almost 10 years later, Olver has come forward to reveal that his deep-sea-trawler pulled up part of the missing plane 55km off the south-east coast of South Australia.

The 77-year-old said he was certain it was a wing because he held a pilot’s license. He was also sure it came from a commercial jet, due to its size.

“It was a bloody great wing of a big jet airliner,” said Olver to the Sydney Morning Herald.

“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.

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