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MH370: Paper towel washed up on Australian beach could be from missing plane

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A paper towel is being examined by experts after washing up on a beach in Western Australia over concerns it could be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The small, pre-moistened towel has been sent to the Aussie capital city of Canberra to be examined by experts after being found by a couple taking a stroll on the beach. (www.mirror.co.uk) More...

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daveborn
david born 8
Keep in mind this sentence from the article:

"The paper towel was found in July last year, but it has only just emerged that it was discovered."
Jack370
Jack370 2
Actually, I read that as "only emerged in the press" since it was discovered.
The claim is that the couple found the item in July of 2014 and reported it to authorities at that time. Most likely this evidence was never taken seriously since the location lacked any other evidence of debris from MH370.
My take is that it's an old story that was elevated to the media by the people who "found" the evidence and is so far not credible at all.
daveborn
david born 7
Here's the original report:

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/03/10/09/19/malaysia-airlines-handwipes-could-be-first-clue-to-mh370

"However, the JACC has refused to release a photograph of the original find"

In other words, the images prominently posted on the other "news" sites, such as the mirror, are not of the actual paper towel. They're recreations.
But why the the facts get in the way. . .
Jack370
Jack370 1
Thanks for that link, much better reporting. The Mirror version of the video obviously omitted the fact that the item was a recreation and the plastic "evidence" bag increased the illusion.
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 11
Next item to wash up on the beach will be Amelia's scarf...
BaronG58
BaronG58 6
Followed by Fred Noonan's wallet.
tcmarks
Tim Marks 6
And DB Cooper's body.
btweston
btweston 4
Nah he got away with it.
Jack370
Jack370 2
DB Cooper is the 20th century Jesse James that Americans love to admire. Both are believed to have survived to old age :).
TWA55
TWA55 1
lol, good one
Jack370
Jack370 1
They are actually closer to finding Amelia Earhart's plane with the discovery of that small aluminum patch that can be matched to Amelia's aircraft, than they are with finding MH370 so far. Amelia wreckage 1, MH370 wreckage 0.
siriusloon
siriusloon 8
To quote from the wonderful "Yes, Prime Minister" TV series:

Sir Humphrey: "The only way to understand the Press is to remember that they pander to their readers' prejudices."

Jim Hacker: "Don't tell me about the Press. I know *exactly* who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think they run the country. The Guardian is read by people who think they *ought* to run the country. The Times is read by the people who actually *do* run the country. The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country. The Financial Times is read by people who *own* the country. The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by *another* country. The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who think it is."

Sir Humphrey: "Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun?"

Bernard Woolley: "Sun readers don't care *who* runs the country - as long as she's got big tits."
jcazalot
jcazalot 3
Of all the stuff on a plane.... only a towelette washes up in perfect condition? I'm calling hoax. Someone probably dropped it on the beach to start a story
Jack370
Jack370 2
There are no pictures of the actual towelette. I agree that this most likely is a hoax or at least not from MH370 and could be that someone who flew MAS just happened to drop it on the beach. One thing I was wondering is if this type of towelette packet will even float.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 3
I haven't finished reading everyone's comments, but what I find absolutely absurd is the item was found almost a year ago and "experts" are still conducting tests to determine if it's from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. WHAT on God's green Earth could they learn after a year they haven't already on this itty bitty teeny weeny paper towel?

Sarcasm Alert: Can you say "job security"?
FlyEagleOne
FlyEagleOne 3
I think it more likely that some sick individual planted that towel for someone to find. That surely wouldn't have been the only thing to wash up in a year.
ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 2
Consider the source. This is typical Mirror sensationaliam.
dtw757
mike SUT 2
Pretty good condition for having gone through a plane crash, floated in the ocean for who knows how many miles and then spent who knows how long on a hot beach each exposed to the elements. One would think it would at least looked pretty rough.
daveborn
david born 2
There are no pictures of what the couple actually found.

Caption under the image of the paper towel, from original report:
"A recreation of the moment a moist towelette was discovered on a WA beach, perhaps providing a clue to the fate of MH370."


http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/03/10/09/19/malaysia-airlines-handwipes-could-be-first-clue-to-mh370
ArthurNetteler
You mean to tell me that of the 1.5 MILLION parts of that aircraft that are float-able Materials. It is a "Moist Paper Towelette" that made it to the NEWS? As proof that the 800,000 pound aircraft, the size of an APARTMENT BUILDING, crashed into the South Indian Ocean? When more than a 2000 items that floated away from the "Miracle on the Hudson", are to THIS DAY washing up on the Atlantic Shore HUNDREDS of miles away! And that aircraft had one of the ALL TIME BEST water landings of a large jet aircraft. Still 1000's of items floated away from that aircraft, and have been found on shore and at sea. The MH370 aircraft would have in that HORRIBLE rough sea, been torn apart by such a landing!
joelwiley
joel wiley 2
A shred, but evidence?
bimjim
Jim Lynch 1
"Could be from missing plane." And could be from that beach picnic last June. Or from any one of hundreds of cruise ships within 2,000 miles. Or from that river cruise hundreds of people went on to see the sights. Or maybe someone went for a stroll on a beach and pitched the extra one in the sea.

How many HUNDRED MILLION "moist towelettes" are manufactured worldwide every year and shipped to within 2,000 miles of Malaysia and the supposed crash site? Why are we "grasping at straws" - or is it "grasping at towelettes"?

Can we PLEASE have some common sense here and move on to something real? This is NOT news.
gumby6
Dave H 1
Oh brother, another piece of fuel for the conspiracy fanatics is all I see coming out of this, but by some chance of hope it's something the question is still where is it?
Jack370
Jack370 1
That thing with the paper towel and MH370 is not likely. We need at least something more substantial that some retired couple collecting trash on some western Australian beach :)
Jack370
Jack370 1
Still cannot find any tracking data on Solar2. So is this going to be their policy? No public tracking at all?
It is understandable given the vulnerability of this aircraft if it does not have escorts.
Jack370
Jack370 1
Oops sorry, wrong thread. Wishing for more forum editing capabilities :).
AP2099
Lets hope it is, so people can put their love ones to rest. And find were the plane is.
avihais
Aside from being an old news item the photo is a sample. Anything towlette that did wash up after 3 months would be faded and possibly unrecognisable. From the 500 plus page report there is zero located and the wind and wave indications make anything more likely to turn up in Indonesia not Auz
chalet
chalet 1
Guys, please do NOT let the TIGHAR crowd know about this missing airliner for they would start extracting contributions amounting to millions from unsuspecting johns (including former DOS Hillary) for years on end claming that "they KNOW" where MH370 is and fueling ignorant press types to publish reports like those before that they are just hours away from pinpointing where Amelia and Noonan are resting.
FlyEagleOne
FlyEagleOne 1
Oh, the TIGHAR crowd has a whole thread postulating about this. If they found a towlette on Gardner Island, it would have to be Amelia Earharts. Grounds for another fund raiser. Remember, Gillespie says "Amelia's fame is like a faucet he can turn on and off with a press release".
Moviela
Ric Wernicke 1
I hope the plane is found to answer all the questions about what failed. Closure for the families is probably more important.

Who are these "experts" that can examine a moist towelette and tell you more about it than any of the rest of us?
Jack370
Jack370 1
Does anyone know where in WA (Western Australia) they found this? In the video the reporter claims that the search area is "100's of kilometers away..." That's not really that far away from the nearest land of the current search area.

The thing that makes me the most suspicious of this find is this comment:

""We had been saying, 'let's look for stuff from MH370'," Mr Miller said."

This could easily be a hoax perpetrated by someone looking for 15 minutes of fame.
Or it could be real evidence if it was found in the search area or within a few 100 kilometers of the search area. Or it could just be someone who flew on MAS and dropped it on the beach. Disposable towels are things that people often carry around and save for later use.
My opinion is that it's not likely only one paper towel would show up without more debris from MH370 showing up eventually in the same area.
oowmmr
oowmmr 1
Very interesting. Must have been a perfect belly landing like that flight on the Hudson years ago.
bimjim
Jim Lynch 1
Crashed in March, found in July. So there is "paper towel" - of any kind - which survives in restless saline water and waves for four months without disintegrating? Are we plasticising our "paper towels" now to waterproof them? HOAX. JUNK NEWS. PLANTED EVIDENCE. But certainly not from MH370 - let's see if there are any surviving paper towels in Kazakhstan, where the plane probably really is - because from the total lack of debris in an entire YEAR it's obviously NOT in the water. Can we PLEASE move on now?
TWA55
TWA55 -1
We know it crashed, so what will they get from this?
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
Based on currents, I believe they can sometimes determine what direction the article was traveling, hence giving them a clue where better to search for the plane.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
Okay - enlighten me - what is it about my response to Netteler that moved you to down vote it?
ArthurNetteler
How do you KNOW it crashed? Please give ANY information on the crash you have to the Authorities!

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

tcmarks
Tim Marks 7
How does anyone know this packet did not just fall out a tourist's pocket or bag to end up on the beach? Unless there is a numbering system identifier on this 'evidence' that can be linked back to MH370, it is all just speculation.
edgeair
edgeair 1
I think that you said it best. I hope that it is from MH370 but I'm not holding my breath because there is simply no way to prove or disprove its connection to the 777.
aknorris
aknorris 8
Do you actually know that? What is your source? Or is this statement just speculation on your part?
btweston
btweston -2
I think you need to relax.
ArthurNetteler
Do you think the Families and Friends of those on-board that Aircraft are RELAXED?
Jack370
Jack370 1
The chances that this towelette packet is from MH370 has around the same odds as being one of the latest wining tickets from a 500 million USD lottery. There is absolutely no evidence that this thing came from MH370 on it's last flight.

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