Investigators cast doubt on Flight 370 'fire catastrophe' theory

Accident investigators have cast doubt on the possibility that blackened debris found on Madagascar is evidence of a catastrophic fire aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 jet.

Wreckage hunter Blaine Gibson hand-delivered five pieces of debris last week to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau which is are searching for the Boeing 777 that is thought to have plunged into the Indian Ocean south west of Australia in 2014, killing 239 people.

The bureau said investigators had yet to determine whether the pieces were from the plane.

But a preliminary examination found that two fibre glass honeycomb pieces were not burned, but had been discoloured by a reaction in resin that had not been caused by exposure to fire or heat.