Divers Discover Twisted Metal Beside MH370 Wreckage… But It’s Not From a Boeing ✈️
An underwater drone recently captured images of wreckage linked to MH370 — yet right beside it lies debris from a completely different aircraft. Could MH370 have been drawn to a “graveyard of planes” hidden in the abyss?

Divers Discover Twisted Metal Beside MH370 Wreckage… But It’s Not From a Boeing

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 8, 2014, remains one of aviation’s most enduring enigmas. The Boeing 777, carrying 239 passengers and crew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, vanished after deviating from its flight path, with satellite data suggesting it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. Despite extensive searches, the main wreckage has eluded discovery, with only scattered debris washing ashore on distant islands. In 2025, a breakthrough came when Ocean Infinity’s underwater drones captured images of what appears to be MH370’s wreckage near the Seventh Arc, at coordinates close to 33.02°S, 100.27°E, in the Penang Longitude Deep Hole. But the discovery took a bizarre turn: alongside the suspected Boeing 777 debris lies twisted metal from an entirely different aircraft, not manufactured by Boeing. This finding has sparked speculation that MH370 may have been drawn to an underwater “graveyard of planes,” a hidden abyss where multiple aircraft wrecks converge.

The Underwater Discovery

Ocean Infinity, a Texas-based marine robotics firm, resumed its search for MH370 in February 2025 under a “no-find, no-fee” contract with the Malaysian government. Using advanced autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with multibeam sonar and high-resolution cameras, the team scanned a 15,000-square-kilometer area near the Seventh Arc, guided by new evidence from AI-analyzed acoustic pings and a leaked maintenance logbook. In July 2025, the AUVs detected a significant debris field at a depth of 6,000 meters in the rugged Broken Ridge region, a geologically complex area of steep escarpments and deep trenches.

The images revealed twisted fuselage sections, wing fragments, and what appeared to be an engine cowling consistent with a Boeing 777. Malaysian authorities tentatively identified these as MH370’s remains, citing similarities to the flaperon found on Reunion Island in 2015, which bore the serial number 9M-MRO. However, adjacent to this wreckage was an unexpected anomaly: mangled metal wreckage that did not match Boeing’s manufacturing specifications. Analysis by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) confirmed the debris was from an older aircraft, possibly a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar or Douglas DC-8, based on its rivet patterns and alloy composition. This non-Boeing wreckage, encrusted with barnacles and showing signs of long-term submersion, was not linked to any known crash in the region.

The “Graveyard of Planes” Theory

The discovery of a second aircraft’s wreckage beside MH370’s has led to speculation about an oceanic “graveyard of planes,” a phenomenon where underwater currents or geological features concentrate wrecks in a single location. The Broken Ridge, with its deep craters and strong currents, could act as a natural trap for debris carried by the Indian Ocean’s westward-flowing gyres. Oceanographic data from the CSIRO indicates that the search area, between 30°S and 36°S, lies in an “intermediate” zone where currents shift unpredictably, potentially funneling wreckage from distant crashes into deep trenches like the Penang Longitude Deep Hole.

Historical records offer possible candidates for the non-Boeing debris. One theory points to Varig Flight 967, a Boeing 707 (not manufactured by Lockheed or Douglas, but potentially misidentified in early analysis) that vanished over the Pacific Ocean in 1979, though its last known position was thousands of miles away. Another possibility is a Cold War-era military aircraft, such as a Lockheed L-1011 used for reconnaissance, which could have crashed covertly in the Indian Ocean. The 2016 discovery of a 19th-century shipwreck, possibly the S.V. Inca, during MH370’s initial search suggests the region has a history of preserving wrecks, lending credence to the graveyard hypothesis.

However, the non-Boeing debris raises questions about its proximity to MH370. Was it carried to the site by currents, or does it indicate a previously unknown aviation incident in the same area? The absence of human remains or identifiable serial numbers in the non-Boeing wreckage complicates identification, as does the extreme depth, which limits diver access and preserves debris in a cold, low-oxygen environment.

Implications for MH370’s Fate

The presence of foreign wreckage has deepened the mystery surrounding MH370. The primary debris field aligns with theories from researchers like Dr. Vincent Lyne, who proposed the Penang Longitude Deep Hole as a “perfect hiding place” for a controlled ditching by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah. A recently recovered flight simulator file from Zaharie’s home computer, showing a similar route, supports this idea, suggesting he may have intentionally guided the plane to this remote location. The non-Boeing debris, however, introduces alternative scenarios. Could MH370 have collided with another aircraft mid-air, dragging both to the ocean floor? This theory is unlikely, as no radar or satellite data from 2014 indicates a second aircraft in the vicinity.

Another possibility is that the non-Boeing wreckage predates MH370 and was already part of the underwater landscape. The Cardiff University study of hydroacoustic signals, which identified a structured ping from 2014, supports the idea that MH370’s impact created a detectable signature, but it offers no insight into the older debris. The logbook’s fuel discrepancy, indicating MH370 carried enough fuel to fly beyond the Seventh Arc, further complicates the narrative, suggesting the plane could have reached a different destination before crashing or landing.

Challenges and Skepticism

The non-Boeing wreckage has drawn skepticism, given past misidentifications. In 2023, images of a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar sunk off Jordan’s Red Sea coast as a diving site were falsely labeled as MH370, highlighting the risk of conflating unrelated wrecks. The ATSB has cautioned that the non-Boeing debris may belong to an unrecorded fishing vessel or military aircraft, as the Indian Ocean has been a dumping ground for derelict equipment. Without unique identifiers, such as serial numbers or manufacturer markings, confirming its origin remains difficult.

The graveyard theory also faces challenges. Ocean currents, while capable of moving small debris like the Reunion flaperon, are less likely to transport large fuselage sections over vast distances. The CSIRO’s drift analysis suggests MH370’s debris followed westward currents, but the non-Boeing wreckage appears older, with heavier biofouling, indicating it has been submerged for decades. This discrepancy suggests the two wrecks may be unrelated, their proximity a coincidence driven by the ocean’s chaotic dynamics.

The Ongoing Search

Ocean Infinity’s search, set to continue until late 2026, has been expanded to include a 50-kilometer radius around the debris field, guided by WSPR signal analysis from Richard Godfrey and barnacle geochemistry studies. The firm’s AUVs, capable of 100-hour missions at extreme depths, are mapping the site in unprecedented detail, but the rugged terrain of Broken Ridge poses significant challenges. Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke has emphasized the need to locate MH370’s black boxes, which could reveal whether the plane was deliberately diverted or suffered a mechanical failure. The non-Boeing wreckage, while intriguing, risks diverting resources from this primary goal.

A Haunting Enigma

The discovery of non-Boeing debris beside MH370’s suspected wreckage has transformed the narrative, suggesting the Indian Ocean hides more secrets than previously imagined. Is the Broken Ridge a graveyard of lost aircraft, or is this a coincidental convergence of unrelated tragedies? The answers lie in the abyss, where the ocean’s depths guard their secrets fiercely. For the families of MH370’s 239 passengers and crew, the new find offers hope of closure but also deepens the mystery, as the twisted metal from an unknown aircraft hints at a story yet to be told.