Experts are downplaying speculations that a piece of wreckage found in Thailand is connected to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The large piece of curved metal was found by locals off the coast of southern Thailand on Saturday and was reported to authorities with suspicions that it might belong to an aircraft.
The wreckage is believed to measure around two metres wide and three metres long.
While media was quick to link the item to the Malaysia Airlines aircraft, authorities and experts have stepped in to stress that any connection is purely “speculation right now” as the piece is still being examined.
Currently, the piece is with Thai’s Air Force, who will determine whether it belongs to an aircraft. If so, they’ll then attempt to find an identification serial number to link it to its origin.
A similar method of identification was used last year on an object found off the coast of Reunion Island, which turned out to be a wing flaperon belonging to Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 777 aircraft.
Until a review of the object is complete, Malaysia’s Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, is urging the public to stop sharing unverified news because it “causes more pain to the victims’ family members”.
Aviation experts concurred, adding that it’s unlikely the object belongs to MH370 because of where it was located.
Greg Waldron from Flightglobal said that while the markings on the piece suggest it is aerospace related, its location is “inconsistent with the drift models” of last year’s flaperon find.
“The markings, engineering, and tooling apparent in this debris strongly suggest that it is aerospace related.”
Greg Waldron, Flightglobal Asia Managing Editor
“It will need to be carefully examined, however, to determine it’s exact origin.”
On the other side, Australian expert, Geoffrey Thomas, said the object doesn’t resemble aircraft fuselage and he doesn’t believe “there’s any connection whatsoever”.
If it is connected to Malaysia Airlines’ missing aircraft, it would be the second piece of the plane found in the two years since it disappeared on 8 March 2014.
Earlier this month, Australian authorities in the search party for MH370 officially ruled out pilot suicide as a theory for its disappearance. Read on
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