KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — The mystery of MH370 continues as Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai confirmed today a piece of metal found on a beach in southern Thailand does not match any part of a Boeing jumbo jet.
Liow said the part assembly number, wire bundle number and bolts part number on the metal piece did not match those of a passenger plane, citing from a detailed report from Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation.
“The part numbers which were found on the recovered debris are not listed in the MAS B777 Illustrated Parts Catalogue manual.
“Based on these identifying details, the team has confirmed that the debris does not belong to a B777 9M-MRO aircraft (MH370),” Liow said in a statement.
Liow thanked the Thai authorities for their swift action and support in facilitating the identification process.
“Our thoughts continue to be with the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew of MH370.
“We will continue to keep the next of kin and public updated on any latest developments of MH370 (and will) remained committed on the ongoing search in the Southern Indian Ocean,” he said.
A large piece of curved metal measuring 3m-by-2m washed ashore in Nakhon Si Thammarat province last Saturday, prompting speculation that the debris could belong to the infamous Malaysia Airlines flight which disappeared with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
An Australian-led team continues to scour the southern Indian Ocean seabed in hope of finding the final resting place of the missing plane.
In July last year, a 2m-long flaperon wing part washed up on the French island of Reunion off east Africa and was subsequently confirmed to be from MH370, marking the first concrete evidence that it met a tragic end.
Nothing has been found since then, despite more than 80,000sq km of the Indian Ocean seafloor being searched.
Investigators believe MH370 deviated from its flight trajectory, ran out of fuel and crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, sparking one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history.
Speculation on the cause of the plane’s disappearance has focused primarily on a possible mechanical or structural failure, a hijacking or terror plot, or rogue pilot action.
Despite the satellite evidence pointing to the plane going down, many Chinese relatives of those on board remain sceptical, and are convinced their loved ones are alive, perhaps being held at an unknown location.
Analysts have said that only by locating the crash site and recovering the black box will authorities be able to solve the mystery of why the plane went down.
