Morkel finds possible jet debris
Cricketer’s Mossel Bay discovery could be part of missing Malaysian plane
ALBIE Morkel is wondering if a piece of debris that he found while playing cricket with his son‚ AJ‚ on the beach in Mossel Bay could help solve the mystery of missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.
The former Proteas all-rounder found the object while on holiday last week and it will be given to experts for analysis.
The aircraft‚ a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board‚ disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 2014.
There is an ongoing official search for the aircraft‚ believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean.
Civilians have found several pieces of debris washed up on beaches that have been described as promising leads.
Morkel said yesterday he had found the debris on December 22 “while playing cricket with my son on the beach in front of the house we were renting in Mossel Bay.
“It looked to me as if it belonged to a plane‚ so I took it home and posted the photo on Facebook.”
He said he could not believe the response generated by his post.
Observers suggested it could be part of a wing fragment.
Mike Exner wrote: “The shape and honeycomb structure are consistent with a trailing edge piece of a large aircraft wing, possibly part of a flap or aileron.
“This new piece found in Mossel Bay may be a piece broken off from the flap segment found in Tanzania.”
Paul Howard posted: “I think contacting SA CAA is the best approach & would only add that a detailed description of the site of the find should be included.”
Morkel said: “I have been in touch with the ATSB [Australian Transport Safety Bureau] and authorities in Malaysia and will hand it over to SACAA [SA Civil Aviation Authority] once I’m back from holiday so that they can do further investigations.”
In May‚ debris from Flight MH370 was recovered on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
It was analysed by officials who said a part number linked it to the missing aircraft.
It was reported earlier this year that other debris had been found‚ including a Rolls-Royce engine cowling found on a South African beach.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said debris found in South Africa and on Rodrigues Island, Mauritius, was almost certainly from MH370.
Debris linked to the missing aircraft include a flaperon‚ or section of wing‚ found on Reunion Island last year, an engine cowling found in Mossel Bay this year, part of the tail section found in Mozambique last year and a panel found in Mozambique and part of a door found in Mauritius this year. – TMG Digital