The debris found on a beach in West Australia’s South West may not have been from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 but ocean experts say it is likely that debris from the plane could wash up on the WA coast if it went down in the area searchers are currently looking.
Busselton underwater observatory manager Sophie Teede said the Leeuwin Current that originates off the coast of Indonesia is able to transport material all the way along the WA coast.
“Depending on the conditions and what time of year, it can run all the way to Tasmania,” she said.
The warm water current is created as a result of differences in temperature between the water and the atmosphere.
“If you put an object in at the start of it, within a few weeks it’d be in the South West,” she said.
Ms Teede said it made sense that the discovery of the item in Augusta was seriously considered as potentially being significant to the MH370 search.
She said depending on conditions, the current would usually be running directly through the current area being searched about 1600 kilometres North West of Perth.
“If it did go down somewhere there, debris could wash up anywhere along the WA coast,” Ms Teede said.
She said a number of large items often washed up along the West Australian coast.
Despite the ATSB saying the debris found in Augusta was not believed to be linked to MH370, local police are staying tight lipped about the item and are not releasing photos.
