MH370 Update: New Debris to Be Tested, Could Be From Missing Malaysian Airliner
New debris found on the southern coast of Thailand, including a large piece of curved metal, is slated to be tested in hopes of determining if it in any way could be related to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
CNN reports authorities from Thailand and Malaysia are planning to extensively test the material, which was recently discovered by a fisherman on the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat province.
Thailand Civil Aviation Department Deputy Director General Umphawan Wannago later told reporters his investigators will now converge on the scene, where they will be joined by Malaysian aviation specialists.
MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014, while traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China. The 239 passengers aboard have never been fully accounted for.
Just last year, Malaysian and French officials confirmed a piece of debris that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion came from MH370.
Reports are the white, curved metal panel most recently found in Thailand is about the size of a man. Though the panel was covered in algae, mussels and barnacles, reports indicated that matching panel numbers and hinges can be detected.
"From seeing the pictures in local news, this is definitely not a piece from military aircraft, but it looks like a section from a big commercial aircraft in my personal opinion," Chief Marshal Pongsak Semachai told reporters.
Still, the overall consensus has been it's too early to tell where the debris may have come from or if it is in any way related to the missing airliner.
"We cannot confirm whether this debris on recent news is from an aircraft," added Wannago. "And we (won't) know what it is until we have a close inspection at it."
Once fully retrieved, the material is expected to be immediately carted off to Bangkok, Thailand for more elaborate testing.
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