An independent investigator claims that he is able to gather more information using Google Earth in order to finally explain what happened to the crashed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
In a brand new development regarding the search mission for the missing plane, U.S. statistician Mike Chillit revealed that he is using the global mapping site to further study the area where MH370 was assumed to have spiraled out of control. He chose to take a closer look at the bodies of water around Saint Brandon Island which is 400 kilometers northeast of Mauritius in the immediate six months after the crash happened in March 2014.
Chillit reasoned out that he chose the specific territory by combining the location of tipped wreckage with the ocean's current drift patterns. This resulted in a spot which is far north of the Australian Transport Search Bureau's (ATSB) current search zone, which means that it has yet to be looked into.
"I haven't tried to use Google Earth for this before other than on Reunion where it picked up debris one week before the flaperon was found (in July 2015)," Chillit said to News Corp (via Yahoo News) in light of his new theory. "This does not look like vessel debris but it is hard to know. As far as I know the island has never been examined for debris."
Since Chillit's spot is outside of the 120,000 square kilometer search area, there is no funding to further check on the latest theory. This is the reason why the statistician is trying to raise funding for a private search if ATSB is not willing to delve deeper into his claim.
The official investigation is tipped to be suspended indefinitely once the current area has already been swept. The agreement among ministers from Malaysia, Australia and the People's Republic of China made on July 22, 2016 says, "should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would be suspended upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area."
