UK 'Tech Expert' Believes MH370 Crashed in Cambodian Jungle

The plane believed by some to be MH 370. (Image credit: Google Earth)

UK tech expert Ian Wilson told the Daily Star September 3rd that he had found what he believed to be the wreckage of missing flight MH370 in a high-altitude Cambodian jungle while searching on Google Earth.

Wilson measured the plane at 70 meters, a little longer than the MH370's Boeing 777 length of 63 meters, but thinks this could be explained by the seeming gap between the tail and body of the aircraft--if this is a downed airplane, then the tail might have separated from the body during impact.

"The Boeing 777-200 is 63.7m in length. Measuring the Google sighting you're looking at around 69 metres, but there looks to be a gap between the tail and the back of the plane," he said. "It's just slightly bigger, but there's a gap that would probably account for that."

Those skeptical of Wilson claimed that the image could represent a plane flying over the jungle, although Wilson refuted that theory by pointing out that Google Earth offers the option to "escape ground view" when close to the jet in the app.

July's 'final report' from the Malaysian government left the investigation into MH370's disappearance open-ended, and French authorities as well as independent investigators are still examining the mystery.

So despite the fact that the Malaysian report said that MH370 crashed into the ocean west of Australia, there is room for doubt as to its final destination.

"They know the transponder was turned off for that flight, it could have gone anywhere," Wilson said. "It's assumed it turned south. But just north from there is Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The route fits as well. It got to just where Malaysia switches to Vietnamese airspace. They know the plane went left after that, but after that everything else is conjecture."

Added Wilson, "I'd love to search for it. I'm confident. It's something I'd like to do."

The Bureau of Aircraft Investigations Archives was not able to rule out the image, which is dated from 2018, as being MH370; although the Aviation Safety Network believes it is merely an aircraft caught by Google in flight.