Charlotte Varcoe and Tyler Redway
THE Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has denied claims they ignored reports that a fisherman had found the wing of a missing plane off the shore of Robe.
Recent reports in national and international media claim a fisherman at Robe has alleged he found a portion of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) aircraft in 2014.
The aircraft went missing without a trace in 2014 on a flight between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur with more than $200 million invested into the search for information.
According to media reports, the fisherman found the alleged wing of the aircraft about 55km off the shore of Robe six months after it disappeared, and reported it to authorities.
However AMSA said they were not contacted by the fisherman.
“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has no record of being contacted by, or corresponding with, the person in this article,” an AMSA spokesperson said.
“AMSA takes reports of debris or environmental pollution seriously and aims to respond to reports made to the agency.”
The AMSA initially led the search within Australia’s search and rescue area, in the first two weeks following the disappearance of MH370.
On March 31, 2014, coordination responsibility for the search was then transferred from AMSA to the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), coordinating all Australian Government support for the search of the aircraft.
From May 5, 2014 until January 17, 2017, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) led the underwater search with support of the Malaysian government.
in 2017, the governments of Malaysia, Australia and the People’s Republic of China jointly announced the suspension of the search until further credible evidence became available which could identify the specific location of the aircraft.
On October 3, 2017, the ATSB published a report detailing the history of the search since which time the Australian government has not had a formal role in search efforts.
Ongoing enquiries in relation to the disappearance of MH370 should be referred to Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia.
The ATSB has been contacted for comment.
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