Probe of possible MH370 debris to take place in Australia

By P Prem Kumar

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia is to send a team to Australia to investigate whether suspected aircraft debris found on the coast of Mozambique could have come from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told a press conference Thursday that the airline and the Malaysian Civil Aviation Department would participate in the identification process after a combined Australian and Malaysian operation transfers the debris – a piece of metal measuring around 1-meter in length – to Australia.

“We want the investigation to be done speedily and are awaiting the process of bringing the debris to Australia,” he said.

"We cannot tell how long it will take for now. The object will go through the same process like the flaperon which was found in Reunion Island last year."

Liow added that although initial images of the object showed a similarity to those of a Boeing 777-series aircraft, it was still too early to conclude whether they belonged to the plane that vanished with 239 people on-board March 8, 2014.

The minister added that a decision to expand search operations for what remains of the plane toward Mozambique would only be made if the object retrieved was confirmed to be from MH370.

An interim statement on the MH370 investigation, covering details of the search operations and the possible cause leading to the flight’s disappearance, will be issued next Tuesday – the two-year anniversary of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, Australia’s transport minister said Thursday that the location where the metal piece was found is “consistent with drift modeling commissioned by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau".

Darren Chester, however, also told parliament that "it is too early to speculate on the origin of the debris at this stage", news broadcaster ABC reported.

Beijing-bound MH370 vanished an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 passengers and crewmembers, including 152 Chinese citizens.

The search and rescue mission that began immediately involved around 160 ships and aircraft with experts from 25 countries providing advice.

After 10 months of intensive undersea search for the vanished flight, on Jan. 29, 2015 Malaysia declared MH370 lost in an accident, killing all passengers.

On July 29, a piece of aircraft debris was found washed ashore on the French island, east of Madagascar.

The debris believed to be from a Boeing 777, was sent to Toulouse, France, for analysis the following day.

Days after, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the flaperon was from MH370, and that the flight had indeed ended in the Indian Ocean.