'Definite Evidence' MH370 Was Crashed on Purpose: Expert

Canadian air-crash ace says photos of wing section support 'rogue pilot' theory
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 1, 2016 7:47 AM CDT
'Definite Evidence' MH370 Was Crashed on Purpose: Expert
A curved piece of debris that may be part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, in Wartburg, South Africa, March 7, 2016.   (Candace Lotter via AP)

Last week, Australian officials said someone had plotted an Indian Ocean course on the flight simulator belonging to the pilot of missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. This week, a renowned air-crash expert adds onto that, saying he believes the jet was deliberately brought down into the water, the BBC reports. Larry Vance, who once headed up Canada's Transportation Safety Board, appeared on the Aussie program 60 Minutes and said that "definite evidence" suggests a controlled landing, not an autopilot crash that would've left plenty of floating debris, per the Guardian. "Somebody was flying the airplane into the water," he said on the program. "There is no other alternate theory that you can follow." He also thinks "the fuselage is intact for the most part, and is on the bottom of the Indian Ocean," per the Telegraph.

Among the evidence Vance cites are photos of one of the plane's recovered wing flaperons. The jaggedness of the wing section—suggesting it had eroded off as it dragged across the water, rather than enduring a clean break if it had haphazardly crashed—as well as the fact that the flaperon had been deployed at all indicate someone likely guided the plane into the water, Vance said. "The force of the water is really the only thing that could make that jagged edge that we see," he noted. Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigator Peter Foley agrees with the "rogue pilot" theory, noting that a closer look at the crash by French officials indicates the jet was in a "deployed state," meaning the plane may have landed outside of the current search area. The ATSB hopes a second wing part discovered on the Tanzania coast may offer further clues about the plane's final moments, News.com.au reports. (More MH370 stories.)

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