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Title: The Case of the MH370 Wing Segment Keeps Getting Weirder
Source:
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URL Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-case-of-the- ... eeps-getting-weirde-1727429146
Published: Aug 29, 2015
Author: Maddie Stone
Post Date: 2015-08-29 18:38:19 by Justified
Keywords: None
Views: 618
Comments: 4
When a wing section of a Boeing 777 washed up on the Indian Ocean island of La Réunion last month, the Malaysian government quickly ascribed the part to missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. But an ongoing investigation has failed to verify this claim, and the story just keeps getting weirder. Shortly after the flaperon washed up, Boeing engineers confirmed that the wing segment belongs to a 777. And MH370, which went missing in March of 2014, is the only 777 unaccounted for. So case closed, right? Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak decided it was, and on August 5th, he released a statement announcing as much to the world. But minutes later, French investigator Serge Mackowiak countered the prime minister’s remarks, saying that more tests were needed to conclusively determine the wing segment’s origin. Those test results were supposed to come within a day. Then a few days. Now it’s been several weeks. What’s the hangup? According to New York Magazine, the ID plate that should have been attached to the inboard edge of the flaperon is missing. This plate, affixed to all 777 flaperons, ought to contain a serial number linking the part to MH370. Its absence has not only stymied the investigation, it’s causing other strange facets of the wing segment to come under scrutiny. For instance, the flaperon was covered in barnacles, sessile marine organisms that survive underwater by affixing themselves to floating objects. Barnacles, New York Magazine reports, seem to suggest the wing segment spent the last several months suspended beneath the surface of the ocean. Which is curious, to say the least: While it’s easy to imagine a submarine or a scuba diver hovering peacefully 10 or 20 feet under the surface of the water, this is not something that inanimate objects are capable of doing on their own: Either they are more buoyant than water, in which case they float, or they are less buoyant, in which case they sink. So, how could a six-foot-long chunk of airplane remain suspended beneath the ocean surface for a long period of time? At this point, there aren’t any simple, common-sense answers; the range of possible explanations at this point runs from as-yet-unidentified natural processes to purposeful intervention by conspirators. There’s certainly a logical explanation for all of this, and we’ll get there eventually — perhaps we’ll even learn a thing or two about barnacle ecology in the process! In the meanwhile, the sleuths of the internet are sure to come up with all sorts of outlandish origin stories for the untagged flaperon. And the fate of flight MH370 remains as mysterious as ever. 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 3.
#1. To: All (#0)
Sounds odd to me. How many 777 wing parts can there me floating around, period?
I'll suggest that the part is extreamly buoyant. It was connected to the sinkable portion of the plane. It stayed connected underwater for quite some time... then, for some reason, it broke loose from the plane wreckage.... floated to the top... drifted to shore.
Makes as much sense as anything else I have read.
#4. To: Stoner, GrandIsland (#3)
I agree. However, here's another theory I feel is just as likely... Due to the relatively light weight to size ratio and aerodynamic shape, it may have been susceptible to being easily flipped over on a regular basis; thereby, exposing all or almost all surfaces to barnacles during its months long stay in the ocean.
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#2. To: Justified (#1)
#3. To: GrandIsland (#2)
" I'll suggest that the part is extreamly buoyant. It was connected to the sinkable portion of the plane. It stayed connected underwater for quite some time... then, for some reason, it broke loose from the plane wreckage.... floated to the top... drifted to shore. "
Replies to Comment # 3. Makes as much sense as anything else I have read.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 3.
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