CANBERRA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- A large piece of airline debris found off the coast of Tanzania and examined in Australia has been determined to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, authorities have confirmed.
A statement from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) confirmed the piece, found on June 20 this year, was part of an outboard flap from the Boeing 777 jet.
"It was confirmed (the part) was the inboard section of a Boeing 777 right, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO," a statement released late on Thursday said.
"The part was preliminarily identified from photographs as an inboard section of a Boeing 777 outboard flap."
"On arrival at the ATSB, several part numbers were immediately located on the debris that confirmed the preliminary identification. This was consistent with the physical appearance, dimensions and construction of the part."
"A date stamp associated with one of the part numbers indicated manufacture on 23 January 2002, which was consistent with the 31 May 2002 delivery date for 9M-MRO."
The ATSB said now the part is confirmed to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, work can begin to determine if the flap holds any clues as to how and where MH370 was brought down.
The Australian-led ocean search for MH370 is due to wrap up by the end of the year, as more than 110,000 square kilometers of a 120,000 square kilometer zone has been searched. Australian, Chinese and Malaysian authorities agreed that if no trace of the jet was found in the zone, the search would be suspended indefinitely.
MH370 was a scheduled passenger service from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Related:
Debris found off Tanzania part of missing MH370 plane
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The piece of debris discovered on an island off Tanzania in June this year has been confirmed to belong to the Boeing 777 plane of Malaysia Airlines MH370, Malaysia's transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement on Thursday.
Several part numbers, along with physical appearance, dimensions, and construction have been confirmed to be an inboard section of a Boeing 777 outboard flap, while a date stamp of Jan. 23, 2002 on one of the part numbers was consistent with the delivery date for MH370, said Liow. Full story
Scorched debris thought to be from MH370 brought to Australia
CANBERRA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- A piece of airplane debris featuring scorch marks, which is thought to be from missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370, has arrived in Australia for examination, local media reported on Monday.
Amateur investigator Blaine Gibson, who has found 13 of the 27 pieces of debris from the missing Boeing 777 jet, arrived in Canberra on Monday with the piece of debris which he believes could be the most significant find in the search for the missing airliner. Full story
Australian-led ocean search for MH370 expected to conclude in December: authorities
CANBERRA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Australian-led search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is expected to wrap up in December, a statement from the Joint Agency Co-ordination Center (JACC) said on Wednesday.
Initially expected to conclude in August, the search for the missing Boeing 777 jet was hampered by bad weather and unexpected search vessel maintenance, but the latest release from the JACC in conjunction with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) reaffirmed that the hunt would be suspended indefinitely if no new evidence is found once the search concludes in December. According to the latest statement, more than 110,000 square kilometers of the 120,000 kilometer search zone has been thoroughly explored. Full story
Australian MH370 search agency secretly removes "death dive" theory from website
CANBERRA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government agency in charge of the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 has reportedly secretly retracted a published theory that the plane slammed into the sea after a "death dive."
Earlier this week, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it was unlikely the plane's captain glided the plane into the sea, and instead said engine failure due to lack of fuel had sparked a sudden "death dive" into the southern Indian Ocean. Full story
MH370 fell out of sky after engine failure: Australian analysis
CANBERRA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Australian defence scientists who analysed signals from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have revealed the Boeing 777 fell very fast before crashing into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia.
The Australian media reported on Tuesday that data analysis and manufacturer simulations showed it was likely the aircraft lost engine power before falling out of the sky at a rate of up to 20,000 feet per minute on March 8, 2014. Full story
