Australian officials were quick to shutdown sensational claims by an Australian engineer that he had found the doomed flight MH370.
Peter McMahon, a mechanical engineer said he believed he had found the flight using Google Earth and NASA images and that it was riddled with bullet holes.
A spokesperson for the Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) told Fox News that while Mr McMahon did send them his find, at no point did they imply that it could be the missing flight.
An Australian mechanical engineer claims to have found doomed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 using Google Earth, the first picture (above) shows what looks like a plane
The JACC also said Mr McMahon’s claims were plainly false.
‘[And] must be particularly upsetting for the family and friends of those lost on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,’ the spokesperson said.
Mr McMahon, who has a background in crash investigations, said he used Google Earth to locate the wreckage of the flight which went missing in 2014, The Daily Star reported.
According to Mr McMahon’s claims, the wreckage of the flight is located 16km south of Round Island, which is 22.5km north of Mauritius, in an area of the ocean that has not been searched before.
The second picture shows what looks to be the front end of a plane and the cabin just below the water’s surface
He took his claims one step further by saying he also believed US officials were refusing to search the area.
Four American investigators had been sent to Australia to work on the MH370 case but he believes they are keeping crucial information hidden.
‘They have made sure that all information received has been hidden from the public, even our government, but why,’ he said.
According to Mr McMahon the wreckage of the flight is located 16km south of Round Island (pictured) which is 22.5km North of Mauritius, an area that has not been searched before
‘…(they) do not want it found as it’s full of bullet holes, finding it will only open another inquiry.’
Mr McMahon also made the sensational claim that the wreckage of the plane is full of bullet holes.
In one of the two images what looks to be the outline of an aircraft can be seen just below the water’s surface while the second picture shows what looks to be the front end of a plane.
The prevailing theory on the whereabouts of the plane (pictured) is that it crash landed in the Indian Ocean about six hours after take off
Mr McMahon said he sent the information to the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB) and they where unable to rule out completely that it wasn’t the missing plane.
The prevailing theory on the whereabouts of the plane is that it crash landed in the Indian Ocean about six hours after take off.
Radar imaging at the time showed the flight taking a sharp change in course less than 60 minutes after take off before vanishing form radar completely.
The flight had 239 passengers on board plus the flight crew.