Australian scientist Vincent Lyne claimed he had discovered the “perfect hiding place” for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared over a decade ago.

The Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew. Satellite data had indicated that the plane veered off course and eventually crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

In a LinkedIn post on August 19, Vincent Lyne, a researcher at the University of Tasmania’s Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, shared details from his research paper titled “The last two messages from MH370 indicate a controlled descent to the east.“ The article was accepted by the Journal of Navigation.

Lyne said the plane’s disappearance was not the result of a crash due to fuel shortages, but was a deliberate act by the pilot who wanted to create a “perfect disappearance” in the southern Indian Ocean.

“This work changes the story of the MH370 disappearance from a case of no fault, a case of fuel starvation on the 7th arc and a high-speed dive, to a case of a mastermind pilot who nearly engineered an incredible perfect disappearance in the South Indian Ocean,” Lyne wrote in his post.

Lyne noted that the plane almost managed to disappear without a trace had MH370’s right wing not hit a wave. “In fact, it would have worked had MH370 not plowed through a wave with its right wing and Inmarsat not detected the regular interrogation satellite communications – a brilliant discovery also announced in the Journal of Navigation,” he added.

Lyne said the damage to the plane’s wings and flaps was similar to that seen in the controlled ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009. He supported the view that MH370 still had fuel and functioning engines in its final moments, agreeing with the analysis of award-winning former Canadian chief air crash investigator Larry Vance.

“This clearly vindicates the original claim made by the distinguished former Canadian air crash investigator Larry Vance, based on brilliant, expert and very careful analysis of the wreckage damage. Vance said that MH370 had fuel and engines running during the masterful ‘controlled ditching’ and did not crash at high speed due to fuel starvation,” he said.

The Australian scientist suspected that MH370 could be located where the longitude of Penang airport intersects the flight path of a pilot in the home simulator. However, officials had previously rejected this assumption.

“This deliberately created, iconic site is home to a very deep, 6000m deep hole at the eastern end of the Broken Ridge in a very rugged and dangerous marine environment known for its wild fishing grounds and new deep-sea species. With narrow, steep sides, surrounded by massive ridges and other deep holes, it is filled with fine sediment – a perfect ‘hiding place’,” he said.