As experts examine debris suspected by many to have come from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, conspiracy theorists are working overtime.
Officials carry part of the debris discovered on the shore of Reunion Island on Wednesday
The origins of the flaperon and and the battered suitcase which washed up on the coast of the French island of Reunion on Wednesday have yet to be officially confirmed, though the discoveries are being described as major and credible leads in the search.
Oceanographers have stated that if the plane did go down off the south west coast of Australia, then the Western Australian currents could have taken the debris north and feasibly have carried it on a 15-18 month journey towards Madagascar.
Reunion Island is 1,469 miles away from Diego Garcia, a British-controlled atoll home to a US military base
Yet this explanation has failed to mute some of the more outlandish suggestions as to what caused one of the most mysterious aviation disasters of all time.
Among the myriad theories which abound, one is rapidly resurfacing thanks to the location of the debris. Namely, its relative proximity to the remote island of Diego Garcia - a distance of just 1,469 miles.
Diego Garcia is a British-controlled atoll in the Indian Ocean which is leased to a US military base.
It is where two rendition flights landed in 2002, despite lengthy attempts by the British government to deny any evidence that it allowed American terror suspects to be interrogated on its territory.
And it has been cited time and time again, as the world seeks answers as to what happened to flight MH370 and the 239 souls on board.
Former Proteus Airlines boss Marc Dugain has for some time suggested the plane was shot down from the US base after being remotely hacked.
Marc Dugain believes the plane was shot down by the USA
Dugain claims that fearing a 9/11-style terror attack, the US took action from the remote island after learning hackers had taken control of the Boeing 777.
He reports speaking to residents of the Maldives who saw "red and blue stripes with a white background" on a plane heading towards Diego Garcia on the day of MH370's disappearance.
In an interview with Paris Match magazine, Dugain also claimed to have seen pictures of an empty Boeing fire extinguisher washed up on a beach on nearby Baarah island.
The former airline boss suggests that Boeing planes are particularly vulnerable to hijacking, and could have been set on fire remotely.
"In 2006, Boeing patented a remote control system using a computer placed inside or outside the aircraft," Dugain told Paris Match.
He told France Inter: "It’s an extremely powerful military base. It’s surprising that the Americans have lost all trace of this aircraft."
Others believe the jet secretly landed on the island, which is believed to be equipped with at least one runway long enough to land a Boeing 777.
Responding to the rumours, a spokesman for the US embassy in the Malaysian capital told The Malaysia Star: “There was no indication that MH370 flew anywhere near the Maldives or Diego Garcia. MH370 did not land in Diego Garcia."
The couple were travelling from Cochin, India to Phuket on board a 40-foot sloop when Tee saw: “… the outline of a plane. It looked longer than planes usually do. There was what appeared to be black smoke streaming from behind it.”
Author John Chuckman backs Dugain's theory that the US shot down the plane and is now trying to cover it up. He noted: "There would be nothing unprecedented in such an act: on at least three occasions, regrettably, America's military has shot down civilian airliners."
"I have no idea what event (a rogue pilot, a hijacker?) led to Flight MH370 turning off its communications, changing course, and flying low, but I do know that the event could not have gone unnoticed by America's military-intelligence eyes and ears."