Oil rig worker claims to have seen flight MH370 crash

An ABC journalist tweeted that an oil rig worker working off the south-eastern coast of Vietnam claims to have seen a burning plane in one piece at high altitude. The worker wrote an email to his employer, which Vietnamese officials confirmed they received but reportedly found nothing in the water. "From when I first saw the burning (plane) until the flames went out (still at high altitude) was 10-15 seconds. There was no lateral movement, so it was either coming toward our location, stationary, or going away from our location," the worker wrote.

Read more at: www.firstpost.com...

If it was at high altitude and the worker could see a fireball then there would have been a trail of smoke visible afterwards that lingered I'd imagine

He said it disappeared... My guess would be he just see a reflection of a plane in the sunlight

reply to post by TritonTaranis

He said it disappeared… My guess would be he just see a reflection of a plane in the sunlight.

A "glint" of sunlight off a plane is a lot briefer than "10 or 15 seconds".

His account was intelligible.

intrptr
reply to post by TritonTaranis

 

He said it disappeared… My guess would be he just see a reflection of a plane in the sunlight.

A "glint" of sunlight off a plane is a lot briefer than "10 or 15 seconds".

His account was intelligible.

They can last a lot longer than that. I live in an area of high air traffic. Planes of all altitudes. Sometimes the shine can last well over a minute.

TritonTaranis
If it was at high altitude and the worker could see a fireball then there would have been a trail of smoke visible afterwards that lingered I'd imagine

He said it disappeared... My guess would be he just see a reflection of a plane in the sunlight

Except the plane went down at 130am. No sunlight to reflect.

reply to post by intrptr


Very good report by the worker! I've been hearing people disclaim him, but seriously? We are missing 239 people, and this is an eye witness sighting. This is crucial evidence. It was in the night so flames would be visible, and not a glare from the sun. I always plane watch, have them flying over at 20-14,000ft on their way to JFK here in NEPA, and often imagined what I would be seeing if a plane was on fire, an engine out, or falling from the sky, and he pretty much described what I assumed you would be seeing. It isn't out of the realm of possibility an airliner could crash nearby, and hope I never see it happen. I hope they find this plane so the families can at least have closure, for now.

So he saw a burning plane and didn't report it until he saw the news about MH370? That is pretty suspicious to me, unless it's a common thing for this man to see. I'd say he's looking for publicity.

Apparently he reported it to the authorities but no-one took any notice - so then he went public. His account of the location relative to his position tallies reasonably well with the Chinese satellite images that may show wreckage from MH370.

Hopefully search efforts will now be concentrated on what was always likely to be the right area and away from unverified and improbable radar returns hundreds of miles away.

reply to post by QuantumEffects


Not totally suspicious. He probably didn't know what he was seeing at first and didn't think much of it.
Once the news hit that a plane disappeared over the Sea of China then he must've put two and two together, and decided to call it in.

Had there not been a plane crash in that area he may have just let it go without a word, like anyone else.

reply to post by the owlbear

Sometimes the shine can last well over a minute.

I'd like to see that.

Isn't this in the same general area that the Chinese Govt. has spy satellite pictures of debris in the water? I thought it was Southeast of Vietnam, which is where this oil worker says he is at. Out on a rig you could probably see a very far distance.

SummerLightning
Apparently he reported it to the authorities but no-one took any notice - so then he went public. His account of the location relative to his position tallies reasonably well with the Chinese satellite images that may show wreckage from MH370.

Hopefully search efforts will now be concentrated on what was always likely to be the right area and away from unverified and improbable radar returns hundreds of miles away.

Well, totally missed your post. That is what I was thinking.

reply to post by PhotonEffect


I dont know, I think this guy either mistook something for an airplane or is lying. I don't think this plane is anywhere near that oil rig.

originally posted by: TritonTaranis
If it was at high altitude and the worker could see a fireball then there would have been a trail of smoke visible afterwards that lingered I'd imagine

He said it disappeared... My guess would be he just see a reflection of a plane in the sunlight

Sunlight?

....around 1.30am in the morning?

originally posted by: PhotonEffect
reply to post by QuantumEffects

 

Not totally suspicious. He probably didn't know what he was seeing at first and didn't think much of it.
Once the news hit that a plane disappeared over the Sea of China then he must've put two and two together, and decided to call it in.

Had there not been a plane crash in that area he may have just let it go without a word, like anyone else.

A friend of mine corresponded with him by email after the event and I have read an unpublished email.

His employer was not impressed, in fact he lost his job.

His email went nuts and clogged up the internet bandwith for the oil rig and affected company communications.

a reply to: sy.gunson

I'll add a lol to that.

These type of posts about a subject amaze me. No clue as to the event.

His email went nuts and clogged up the internet bandwith for the oil rig and affected company communications.

No one with any smarts on the rig, it would seem.

originally posted by: QuantumEffects
So he saw a burning plane and didn't report it until he saw the news about MH370? That is pretty suspicious to me, unless it's a common thing for this man to see. I'd say he's looking for publicity.

You need to read the full text of his original email published day 4 of the disappearance. He complained that he had been trying to alert the authorities in Vietnam and Malaysia for days but nobody would reply to him.

originally posted by: TritonTaranis
If it was at high altitude and the worker could see a fireball then there would have been a trail of smoke visible afterwards that lingered I'd imagine

He said it disappeared... My guess would be he just see a reflection of a plane in the sunlight

Please explain how sunlight would glint off an aircraft at 1:30am on a Moonless night?

This is India's PSLV rocket photographed from 150km away