Viral photo does not show wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

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A claim that the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 that disappeared nine years ago has been found under an ocean with no human skeleton in it has surfaced online.

A Twitter user, Real MASH (@254_icon) , posted the claim in a tweet on May 2, 2023, alongside a photo of an airplane sunk in an ocean.

It has gained traction with over 36 million views, more than 17,000 retweets and over 143,000 likes as of May 6, 2023.

The tweet reads:

Malaysia Airplane MH370 that disappeared 9 years ago has been found under ocean with no human skeleton. The plane had 239 passengers on board.

 

CLAIM

Malaysian airline that disappeared nine years ago has been found.

Screenshot of the claim as retrieved from Twitter on May 6, 2023.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

The Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 was an international flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared nine years ago on 8th of March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to Beijing Capital International Airport in China.

However, a CNN Travel report published on July 22, 2022 with the same picture as seen in the claim above stated that the plane in the photo is an old Lockheed Martin L1011 Tristar airplane which was sunk into the Red Sea in 2019 with the aim of creating an artificial reef to encourage marine life and was photographed by Brett Hoelzer.

Aerial view of the aircraft in the Red Sea. Source: CNN Travel.

In May 2018, USA Today reported that the search for the Malaysian aircraft had ended. By July 2018, the Malaysian government issued its final report on flight 370’s disappearance.

Further checks show that no credible media platform reported that the aircraft had been found since the time the claim resurfaced online.

Similarly, a fact-check published by India Today in May 2023 also corroborated The FactCheckHub’s findings.

THE VERDICT

The claim that the Malaysian aircraft MH370 has been found is FALSE; the airplane image in the tweeted claim is a Lockheed Martin L1011 Tristar which was sunken for tourist attraction.

Fact-checker at The FactheckHub | [email protected] |  + posts

Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].

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