Debris likely to have come from MH370

Debris likely to have come from MH370

A WING part found on the shores of Tanzania in East Africa has been determined as “highly likely” to have come from MH370, and could provide further clues as to how the plane entered the water.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau Chief Commissioner Greg Hood said after examination by experts, it was clear the wing part was definitely from a Boeing 777.

Federal transport minister Darren Chester said analysis would continue to assess what other information could be gleaned from the debris.

It is the sixth piece of debris declared as either certain or almost certain to have come from the missing Malaysia Airlines’ flight.

The wing part is also the largest piece of debris found to date.

Commissioner Hood said he was hopeful further analysis of the wing part could reveal whether it had been deployed for landing or was retracted when it separated from the plane.

He said that information could shed more light on how the plane entered the southern Indian Ocean.

The ATSB has long worked on a theory the Boeing 777 ran out of fuel and then plunged into the sea — but other experts have claimed it could have been manually glided into the ocean to minimise damage and make it harder to find.

“We’ve got no evidence either way to say there was somebody at the controls (when it hit the water),” Commissioner Hood said.

Barnacles from the wing part would also be examined to try to determine how long it had been in the water.

Oceanographers have said the discovery of the item in Tanzania was a further indication the plane’s most likely final resting place was north of the current search zone.

Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi of the University of Western Australia said based purely on oceanography, the crash site seemed more likely to be between 28 and 33 degrees south of the Equator.

The current search zone is between 32 and 35 degrees south.

Mr Chester said the underwater search for MH370 was expected to be finalised by December.

“We remain hopeful that the aircraft will be located in the remaining search area,” Mr Chester said.

“As agreed by Ministers from Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China and Australia at the tripartite meeting on 22 July 2016, in the event that the aircraft is not located in the current area, the search for MH370 will be suspended on the completion of the 120,000 square kilometre high priority search area unless credible new evidence about the specific location of the aircraft emerges.”