An American adventurer said today that it would be a "very lucky discovery" if the piece of aircraft he found on a sandbank off the coast of Mozambique is confirmed to be from the Malaysia Airlines jet that vanished two years ago.
Blaine Gibson, who said he's been searching for Flight 370 over the last year, flew to Malaysia to attend a commemorative ceremony to be held tomorrow by families of the 239 people who were on board the plane to mark the second anniversary of its disappearance.
Speaking to The Associated Press upon his arrival at the airport outside of Kuala Lumpur, Gibson said that he had wanted no publicity about his February 27 discovery until after the piece was assessed by investigators, but that news of the finding leaked.
The 58-year-old lawyer from Seattle said he was cautious about the possibility that the part is from the missing Boeing 777 because three large jets had crashed in the area before.
"I'd say it was a very lucky discovery if it turns out to be from Malaysia 370," said Gibson, who was wearing a black T- shirt that read "MH370 Search On."
Even if the piece does not turn out to be from the jet that disappeared on March 8, 2014, Gibson said his discovery could still be useful, perhaps providing clues to another air disaster or raising the public's awareness that the mystery of Flight 370 still has not been solved.
Gibson said he hopes his finding will encourage more people in the area to comb beaches for clues and to hand over any items they think could be passenger belongings or plane debris to authorities to be assessed.
An ongoing search in the southern Indian Ocean has found no trace of the missing plane, though a wing part from the jet washed ashore on Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean in July.
The new piece of debris is now in the hands of Mozambique civil aviation authorities and is expected to be sent to Australia this coming week to be examined. Australia is leading the search for the jet.
Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai has said there is a "high" probability that the part is from a Boeing 777. Flight 370 is the only missing 777.
