He continued: “You get right down to it, with the exception of that piece of flap that they found in the water, I would say that it landed on land some place.”

However, Ryan admits the discovery of three pieces of debris investigators say is from the plane does “poke a pretty big hole” in his theory.

They are the flaperon and two other wing fragments that washed up in the Indian Ocean.

But he said his claim should not be ruled out because the plane wasn’t found during a four-year search.

After suggesting the plane may still be intact, he continued: “But, remember, they have found a part of the wing flap from that plane in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar.”

He said: “So far what little debris that has been found was all found on the westerly route I am suggesting it was flown.

“Yes, I know it sounds sinister and they did find a part of the wing that was damaged when, or if, it hit the water but remember where it was found (east of Madagascar).

“Again along the route I believe it was flown, and not to the southwest of Australia where they spent so much time searching.”