By Tim Binnall
Researchers trying to solve the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 say that newly recovered debris from the lost aircraft suggests that there may have been "criminal intent" behind the plane's peculiar disappearance. The intriguing assertion was reportedly put forward by engineer Richard Godfrey and investigator Blaine Gibson, who collect wreckage from the Boeing 777 that infamously went missing back in February of 2014. Last month, the pair acquired a particularly compelling piece of the airliner's landing gear that, previously unbeknownst to them, had been found by a fisherman in Madagascar five years ago and, upon examining the debris, the duo believe that it provides a critical clue regarding MH370's final moments.
Detailing their findings in a new report, they indicate that the object is a relatively small metal flap, known as a trunnion door, which is opened when an airliner is in the process of landing. This piece, they observe, features a significant "level of damage with fractures on all sides" that were inflicted with "extreme force." The nature of the markings found on the flap led the pair to conclude that "the landing gear was highly likely extended on impact." Chillingly, the duo theorize that whoever was in control of the plane at the time intentionally did this with a particularly nefarious outcome in mind.
The pair propose that the "high-speed impact" of the plane while the landing gear had been extended served to both obliterate the aircraft as well as cause it to sink "as fast as possible." Proposing that this "supports the conclusion that there was an active pilot until the end of the flight," the duo posit that the violent nature of the event was done "to hide the evidence of the crash." While the researchers conceded that it remains a mystery as to "who was flying the aircraft or why," they postulated that the landing gear door constitutes "the first item of physical evidence that indicates a possible criminal intent behind the demise of MH370."