Malaysia confirms Mauritius debris is from 'Missing Flight'

Malaysian officials has said that the debris recovered in Mauritius came from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

After examining the composite debris, experts from Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) concluded that the debris originated from the missing Boeing 777 aircraft, said Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia’s transport minister.

It is another debris confirmed to be from the ill-fated fight, following earlier confirmation of the debris found in La Reunion island last year and the Tanzania debris in September.

According to a part number found on a section of the debris, the piece has been identified as a trailing edge splice strap, incorporated into the rear spar assembly of a Boeing 777 left outboard flap, Liow said in a statement.

It was also consistent with the appearance and construction of the debris, he said.

Meanwhile, the flap manufacturer supplied records indicating that this work order number was incorporated into the outboard flap shipset of Boeing 777 aircraft line number 404, registered as 9M-MRO.

"As such, the experts have concluded that the debris piece originated from the aircraft 9M-MRO, also known as MH370," Liow said.

He said last month that at least 22 pieces of debris had been found so far along coasts off South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius and Tanzania. Among them, several were identified as highly likely from the missing plane.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them being Chinese nationals.

Government of Malaysia, Australia and China announced in July that search for flight MH370 would be suspended if no new evidences emerge upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area in the southern Indian Ocean, where the flight has presumably ended its journey.