Unexpected clue may help search for missing MH370 plane

Barnacles found on a piece of plane wreckage could be the key to solving the mystery of MH370 , the Malaysia Airlines flight that went missing in 2014.

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook (center) inspects debris suspected to be from MH370 in Putrajaya, Malaysia, November 30, 2018. Photo: Xinhua

According to a study published in AGU Advances, MH370 may have drifted “far south” of the area that previous models had suggested. The study analyzed barnacles found on a piece of MH370’s wing that washed up on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, Bloomberg reported.

Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on March 8, 2014 with an expected destination of Beijing (China). However, MH370 lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after takeoff, when the plane flew over the East Sea and has never been seen again.

All 227 passengers and 12 crew members are believed to have died.

The search for MH370 lasted four years, using submersibles, drift models and sonar. Although the plane was never found, debris was found across the Indian Ocean.

By studying the way barnacle shells form, researchers can calculate the surface temperature of the ocean where they live, providing vital information in the search for MH370.

“The wing was covered in barnacles and as soon as I saw that, I immediately started emailing investigators because I knew the geochemistry of the barnacle shell could provide clues to the crash site,” said study co-author Dr Gregory Herbert of the University of South Florida.

“Unfortunately, the largest and oldest barnacles have not yet been made available for study. But with this study, we have demonstrated that the method can be applied to barnacles that were attached to debris immediately after the crash to reconstruct a complete drift path from the crash site,” said Dr Herbert.

Barnacles on debris from MH370 may help solve the mystery. Photo: Xinhua

The Malaysian government-led search for the plane ended in 2017. In 2018, a second search was conducted by the private company Ocean Infinity for a year but also stopped because nothing was found.

In 2022, Ocean Infinity said it hoped to begin the search in 2023 or 2024, if approved by the Malaysian government.

Laodong.vn