Forgotten MH370 witness 'saw exactly what happened' to missing plane

A decade after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished, a new account from an oil rig worker, Mike McKay of New Zealand, has resurfaced, claiming he witnessed the Boeing 777 engulfed in flames before its disappearance. This testimony reignites the enduring mystery surrounding aviation's greatest unsolved puzzle, which saw 239 people disappear without a trace on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

McKay, then working on the Songa Mercur oil rig off the coast of Vietnam, reported seeing what he believed was an aircraft on fire at high altitude. His confidential email to employers detailed observing the plane burning for 10-15 seconds at a compass bearing of 265 to 275 degrees from his location. He noted the aircraft appeared to be in one piece, with no lateral movement, suggesting it was either falling or moving directly towards or away from his position, perpendicular to the normal flight path.

Despite his report prompting search efforts by Vietnamese authorities, McKay's sighting was later deemed unlikely to be MH370 given the officially accepted flight path after contact was lost. McKay, who subsequently lost his job, continues to question aspects of the official narrative, including delays in primary radar data release and the focus of search operations. Recent efforts by marine robotics company Ocean Infinity were halted in April, with Malaysia's Transport Minister, Anthony Loke, indicating a resumption of the search at the end of the year, leaving the fate of MH370 and its passengers an open question.