Four years have passed since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 and experts have put the investigation to rest after making little progress in that time. However, one aviation expert has urged authorities to reopen the investigation, believing he has the solution. Captain Ross Aimer said the Boeing 777-200 could have burst into flames after lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries exploded on the aircraft.
Mr Aimer, who says he’s flown every Boeing ever built, told the Daily Star: “From the very beginning my gut feeling was a possible onboard fire.
“Looking at a few catastrophic crashes caused by onboard fires, I see some similarities.
“For example, the fiery crash of a UPS 747-400 freighter in Dubai that was destroyed as a result of runaway Lithium batteries, and a few other crashes because of fire.”
The UPS plane caught fire and plummeted nine miles from Dubai International Airport killing two crew members on board after Li-ion batters exploded.
The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said the “investigation concludes with reasonable certainty that the location of the fire was an element of the cargo that contained, among other items, lithium batteries”.
MH370 was carrying 221kg lithium-ion batteries it was carrying in its cargo, and although the chances are slim, with an explosion rate of around one in 10 million, it is not impossible.
As a result, Mr Aimer has called for another investigation into MH370.
He said: “I totally support another search, or even a series of searches. We cannot give up on this biggest disappearance mystery of our time.
“Let’s put some smart minds together and use the technology we have to find this thing.”
On March 8, 2014, a Boeing 777 Malaysian Airlines flight carrying 239 vanished over the Indian Ocean without a trace, leaving the world baffled.
Four years later, experts are no closer to solving the mystery and had officially given up on the search earlier this year.
Chief Investigator Kok Soo Chon said: “We cannot determine with any certainty the reason the plane diverted from its planned route.
“The team is unable to determine the real reason for the disappearance.”