“Based on early reports, there is a possibility of the piece originating from an inlet cowling of an aircraft engine,” but a further examination and analysis are needed to verify whether it belongs to Flight MH370, said Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai. A team will be dispatched to retrieve the debris, Liow said in a statement.
On South Africa’s southern coast, Neels Kruger was walking along a lagoon on Monday afternoon, near the town of Mossel Bay when he spotted something that did not seem to suit the natural surroundings.
“Being an archaeologist I’m always looking for things with my nose to the ground,” said the 35-year-old. He recognized the brown honeycomb structure from photos of other pieces of debris believed to part of the missing aircraft.
“When I flipped it around, I didn’t know immediately what it was but just thought, ‘Oh my word!'” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. On the other side, Kruger said he recognized what remains of the black Rolls Royce logo, the manufacturer of aircraft engines. The piece is about 70 centimeters by 70 centimeters (27.56 inches by 27.56 inches) “with chunks gone from the side,” said Kruger.
The white surface, with the partial logo, has peeled away to reveal a dark metallic grey covering, a photograph showed. Kruger took photos and sent it to a friend who is a pilot, who in turn passed it on to other pilots, who all quickly became convinced that this was part of an airplane engine. Kruger alerted the South African Civil Aviation Authority who told him to sit tight until further instruction.
