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A piece of debris found by a South African family off the Mozambique coast in December 2015, which authorities will examine to see if it is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, is pictured in this handout photo released March 11, 2016.[Photo/Agencies] |
CANBERRA -- A further two pieces of aircraft debris that washed up on South Africa and Mauritius have been confirmed as "almost certainly" from missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said on Thursday.
In the latest update of examination of the debris, investigators said the two pieces, found on March 22 and March 30 this year, are the latest thought to be from the missing flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014.
It follows the confirmation last month that two other pieces of debris (called Part No. 1 and Part No. 2) were from the missing airliner, after debris washed up on La Reunion Island last year.
One of the latest parts, labeled Part No. 3, was from a Rolls-Royce engine cowling, the same used by Malaysia Airlines on their Boeing 777 jets and the same type which went missing.
Investigators said the stenciling of the Rolls-Royce logo on the South African-found debris was consistent with the Malaysia Airlines variant.
Despite confirming the piece is from a Boeing 777 and "almost certainly" from MH370, investigators were unable to work out whether the stenciling was from the left or right engine.
Part No. 4, found on Rodrigues Island in Mauritius, was a decorative laminate as part of an interior panel from the main cabin, and was determined to have come off the front, right-hand door of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft.
In the latest update of their debris examination, the ATSB said both parts were from the missing jetliner which carried 239 passengers and crew.
"Part No. 3 was a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 engine cowling segment, almost certainly from the aircraft registered 9M-MRO," the report detailed on Thursday.
"Part No. 4 was a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 panel segment from the main cabin, associated with the Door R1 closet, almost certainly from the aircraft registered 9M-MRO."
MH370 was a scheduled passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.
