Kiwi oil rig worker who reported spotted 'burning' MH370 sacked by employers

A kiwi oil rig worker, who reported spotting a burning plane, assumed to be the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, off the Vietnam coast, has been sacked from his position.

Mike McKay, who was working on the Songa Mercur oil rig off the Vietnamese coast in March, when the Boeing 777 jet with 239 passengers and crew went missing, sent an email to his employers after he saw what he believed to be a burning plane, Stuff.co.nz reported.

McKay's email, along with his name and place of work was later leaked to the media following which the rig operator, Idemitsu, and McKay's contractor and rig owner, Songa Offshore were being bombarded with inquiries that was obstructing their communications.

McKay sad that this became intolerable for them and he was removed from the rig and was paid up until the end of his work period, but released from the rig five days early.

McKay said that he believed that he saw the Malaysian Airlines plane come down, adding that the timing was right.

In his email he described his exact location on the oil rig, the compass bearing of where the plane was in relation to the rig, the approximate distance of the plane from the rig, the surface current and wind direction, the report said.

McKay said that the plane was off the normal flight path, explaining he knew that because he saw the contrails every day, the report added.