Makay the oil rig observer, remember him.
Went to a lot of trouble to get his message out more than once, he gave a detailed observation, he is trained in the use of life rafts and signalling equipment, he knows what a flare looks like.
He saw something significant falling from the sky. His observation was not in any search area at the time, any possible debris field is moving away from the search areas.
I can't imagine what he will be feeling when his tour is over and he gets back to the mainland to discover the world thinks, "he couldn't have or he made the whole thing up"
But American administration was categorical in denying that their satellite picked-up anything.
However, why was MacKay's email dismissed so quickly is a point.