Mystery philanthropist to lead hunt for vanished MH370 plane – as expert claims some ‘don’t want wreckage found’

JUST seconds after the words “Good Night Malaysian three seven zero” were eerily uttered from the cockpit of a packed passenger plane, MH370 vanished off radars. In the 12 years since, searches for the plane have proved futile, leaving the desperate families of the 239 people onboard questioning what happened. Now, a mystery philanthropist is preparing to take over the hunt for the missing plane, an investigator leading the search has exclusively revealed to the Sun. MH370 vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board (CGI reconstruction) Credit: National Geographic The families of the passengers and crew have waited more than a decade for answers Credit: AP:Associated Press The wreckage of a Pan Am plane crash that killed 52 people has finally been found 2,000ft underwater Credit: AP It plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the northern coast of Puerto Rico on April 11, 1952 Credit: AP It comes as the wreck of the Pan Am plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in 1952 was discovered, offering fresh hope for the families of those onboard the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight. The Pan Am aircraft was found at the bottom of the sea off the northern coast of Puerto Rico, more than 74 years after it plunged into the sea. Yet the search for MH370, which vanished from radar on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board, appears to have stalled. The families of those onboard have been left enduring an agonising wait for answers. Richard Godfrey is an independent plane crash investigator and retired British aerospace engineer who pioneered the use of amateur radio waves to track the missing aircraft. He tells The Sun some parts of the Malaysian government don’t want MH370’s wreck to be found – but that he has a “philanthropist friend” who is gearing up to take over the search as soon as possible. Godfrey is keeping the philanthropist’s identity firmly under wraps but says “he’s a nice guy. And he certainly has the capability.” “Malaysian authorities are divided,” he says. “There’s one group that wants to find the aircraft, to bring closure to the families. Since 2014, only a few pieces of confirmed debris from the jet have ever been found The first piece of debris from MH370 was found in 2015 on La Reunion Island Retired British aerospace engineer Richard Godfrey revealed that he has a ‘philanthropist friend’ who is gearing up to take over the search Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, was at the controls when MH370 vanished in March 2014Credit: Refer to Source “But there are another group who don’t want the aircraft found, don’t want any claims of compensation running into millions from all of the families of the victims.” Malaysian authorities have already been ordered to pay £307,571 to each family – although no bodies have been found, all passengers and crew have been declared legally dead. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, appears to have carried out a meticulously planned murder/suicide plot. Shah’s at-home flight simulator revealed he repeatedly practised the route, crashing the simulated flight into the Indian Ocean. He is thought to have cut communication with the ground before intentionally depressurising the cabin and climbing to a height of 40,000ft so passengers would lose consciousness and die. And flight docs revealed that extra fuel and oxygen were added to the doomed jet before it “headed to oblivion”. But Godfrey says evidence in the wreck itself could lead to much higher compensation claims if it proves the pilot intentionally ditched the aircraft. He says: “If that proves that the airline is culpable, then of course, it’s going to bring claims from all the victims’ families. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing Godfrey has used data from radios to map MH370’s route, including the holding pattern “That could run into several hundred million dollars of compensation.” The retired aerospace engineer said official search authorities have refused to take into account his investigations, which point to the plane being in a relatively small area with a radius of 18 miles. The Malaysian government has announced a contract extension with Ocean Infinity, whose second search for the plane ended in January this year without success. Godfrey is suspicious that Ocean Infinity has made no public statement about continuing the search. He worries that the Malaysian government isn’t letting Ocean Infinity consider new evidence, which is why, he thinks, there has been no announcement of a new search. Ocean Infinity did not respond to a request for comment from The Sun. Godfrey thinks previous searches have failed because authorities relied on an assumption that MH370 became a “ghost flight” with the pilot losing consciousness. The plane’s technical log shows that extra oxygen was also added at the last minute but only to the cockpit Credit: SUPPLIED Families have waited more than a decade to find out what happened to their loved ones Credit: AFP Godfrey explains: “Everyone assumed it was a ghost flight. That it was just on autopilot. It went in a straight line. “And when it ran out of fuel, it crashed. That is wrong. There was an active pilot right until the end.” He said an active pilot could completely change the search area because “once the fuel’s run out, they could glide a Boeing 777 for about 110 nautical miles from 40,000 feet”. “So that changes everything. The assumption up until now, well, it’s relatively close to the so-called seventh arc, and it flew in a straight line, apart from maybe winds causing a bit of variation.” Searches can only be carried out safely from November through January, due to the weather conditions in Malaysia – and only if the seas are calm enough. Godfrey fears this window could be missed if an agreement can’t be reached for the company to search. The aviation expert says: “That’s part of the game being played. In my view, it’s running the clock down.” He has worked every day for more than a decade to investigate the crash, and is confident people will not give up on finding the wreck that holds so many answers and their loved ones’ remains. Godfrey thinks previous searches have failed because authorities relied on an assumption that MH370 became a ‘ghost flight’ Credit: EPA He says: “The Pan American [discovery] proves that 74 years later, people are still interested. “I hope we don’t have to wait 74 years. But at some point, MH370 will be found.” Advances in technology make it certain the plane will be found, Godfrey insists, but says the question is whether it is found in time to bring answers to the families of those onboard. He says: “The double tragedy for the families is that some of them are dying. “The parents of people who were lost on MH370. So they may never get to see that in their lifetime.” And there’s a legal loophole that could get the plane found faster without approval from the Malaysian government. Searchers need a licence to salvage the aircraft – but they could look for it without needing any official permission. This could help Godfrey’s mystery philanthropist get started on his hunt for the missing aircraft quickly. But the new search won’t start until Ocean Infinity have stepped back. The investigator says: “My philanthropist friend is fully committed to go search. But he will only go and search if Ocean Infinity clearly says, ‘we’re no longer looking’.” But he added that “there’s an unspoken rule in that business that when one company is searching, the others step back”. The mysterious philanthropist has the means and the equipment to find MH370, Godfrey said, adding: “My philanthropist friend runs a company; they’re building AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) for $100,000 a piece. “It can parachute them out of an aircraft. They don’t even bother to collect them.” Any company that can find the plane will be able to claim an enormous victory in undersea exploration, he said, revealing that others are also chomping at the bit to join the hunt. He believes that Ocean Infinity truly wants to find the wreck, but desperately needs the cooperation of the Malaysian government. Godfrey says: “Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunkett says, ‘It’s one of my life ambitions to find MH370’.” Only time will tell whether a new search is launched this year – and if it turns anything up. Godfrey won’t believe a new search is happening until it’s announced, adding: “I’m keeping an open mind because quite frankly, until Ocean Infinity makes some kind of statement… I don’t believe it. “It could be a PR stunt by the Malaysian authorities, to put it bluntly.” Even if no search launches this summer, he will not give up. He says: “There are still a lot of people interested in finding MH370. “Both people like myself who are independent investigators, aircraft crash investigators, and people with the capability to go and search, like my philanthropist friend.” When Ocean Infinity announced the end of last year’s search, its CEO Oliver Plunkett says: “It was important for us to take advantage of every piece of information and data available and go back, but despite all that effort, we haven’t been able to find it. “The scale of the challenge, both geographically and technologically, is almost impossible to comprehend. We’re proud to have brought our expertise and the most advanced technology we’ve ever deployed. “Although this phase of the search has concluded, our commitment has not. We’re continuing to work with the Malaysian Government in the hope of being able to return when circumstances allow.” The Sun contacted Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian Ministry for Transport for comment.