American to keep looking for MH370 clues

KUALA LUMPUR: Blaine Gibson (pic), the man who found a piece of debris believed to be from a Boeing 777 along the coast of Mozambique, said he will not give up in his search for the missing MH370.

The American who began his own search for clues one year ago, said he did it because the families of those on board the plane needed answers.

“This is about all the 239 people who disappeared and their families and loved ones who need answers. We should never give up in trying to find the plane,” he said when met at an MH370 remembrance event here yesterday.

He was inspired to look for the plane after attending the one-year MH370 anniversary event last year.

Gibson, 59, who claims that he is “not obsessed” with MH370, had travelled to Australia, Myan­mar, the Maldives, Mauritius and Reunion Island to find clues about the aircraft.

“I have the spare time and the spare money. And it’s for a great cause,” said Gibson, who used to practise law.

So far, the only debris confirmed to be from MH370 was found on Reunion Island in September last year.

After that discovery, Gibson went there to look for more debris and speak to the person who found it.

He has also interviewed residents in Maldives who reported seeing a plane fly low past them two years ago on March 8.

Blaine was propelled into the limelight last week when he found the wreckage be­­lieved to be from a Boeing 777 while on holiday in Mozambique.

He decided to take a day to scour along the beach and that the discovery was “totally by luck”.

“We don’t know if it is a part from MH370. My feeling was that it was from a smaller plane as it was very light. Several crashes have occurred in that area before,” he said, adding that the item was first spotted by the owner of the boat that he had hired.