ATSB: Flap section found in Tanzania is from MH370

ATSB: Flap section found in Tanzania is from MH370

aTP-  Arab tourism portal News- The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has confirmed that a large piece of aircraft debris, found just off the coast of Tanzania in June, is from the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed in 2014 while operating as MH370.

“[The part] was the inboard section of a Boeing 777 right, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysia Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO,” the ATSB said in a Sept. 15 update.

The flap section was found by locals on Pemba Island, just off the coast of Tanzania, Africa on June 20, 2016. It was initially identified from photos as an inboard section of a Boeing 777 outboard flap and, on arrival at the ATSB, that preliminary identification was confirmed.

“A date stamp associated with one of the part numbers indicated manufacture on Jan. 23, 2002, which was consistent with the May 31, 2002 delivery date for 9M-MRO,” the ATSB said. “The Italian part manufacturer recovered build records for the numbers located on the part and confirmed that all of the numbers related to the same serial number outboard flap that was shipped to Boeing as line number 404. Aircraft line number 404 was delivered to Malaysia Airlines and registered as 9M-MRO.”

The ATSB will now study the part to see whether it can draw any conclusions about the state of the flap when it separated from the wing. “This information may contribute to an increased understanding of end-of-flight scenarios,” it said.

This is the fifth item (formally named Part Number 5) that the ATSB has confirmed as being from—or almost certainly from—the ill-fated flight, which went missing on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The four other items comprise a flap track fairing segment, a horizontal stabilizer panel segment, an engine cowling segment and a panel segment from the main cabin associated with the Door R1 closet, which the ATSB concluded were “almost certainly” from the Malaysia Airlines 777. Part number 5 is the first item that the ATSB has definitively identified as being from MH370.

French air accident investigation agency BEA has also positively confirmed that a flaperon, found on Reunion Island on July 29, 2015, was from MH370.

In a Sept. 14 update on the underwater search for MH370, the ATSB said more than 110,000 sq km of the southern Indian Ocean seafloor has been searched so far. The entire 120,000 sq km search area will be completed by around December 2016.

“Ministers went to great lengths to explain that this does not mean the termination of the search. Should credible new information emerge that can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given to determining next steps,” it said.

Source : http://atwonline.com/