MH370 crash – Fresh hopes of finding missing plane as debris is found washed up on Australian beach
PLANE debris has been spotted on a beach in Australia, sparking fresh hopes of solving the mystery of MH370.
The wreckage was found washed up on a beach near Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland.
Local man Mick Elcoate, who found the debris, said he initially thought it was a boat's rudder.
He then spotted a "wing-like structure" in the sand.
It is not clear where the debris originated from.
The discovery sparked speculation that it could be from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
"If it is indeed an aircraft component it is more likely to be a piece of Air Niugini flight 73 that landed short of the runway at Chuuk International airport back in September 2018."
MH370 became one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries when it vanished without a trace back in March 2014.
The flight took off from Kuala Lumpur and was heading to Beijing with 239 people on board - it never reached its destination.
Passengers included Chinese calligraphers, a couple on their way home to their young sons after a long-delayed honeymoon and a construction worker who hadn't been home in a year.
But at 12.14am on March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines lost contact with MH370 close to Phuket island in the Strait of Malacca.
Before that, Malaysian authorities believe the last words heard from the plane, from either the pilot or co-pilot, was "Good night Malaysian three seven zero".
Since its disappearance, many theories have been suggested to explain why the plane went missing.