Section of plane wing found off East Africa could be from MH370

WHAT could be the largest part of MH370 found to date has been discovered off the coast of Tanzania, 6000km from the search zone.

Almost certainly from MH370. Analysis of an aircraft part found in Mozambique has determined the code fits with that stencilled on to MH370 by Malaysia Airlines. Source: ATSB

PART of an aircraft wing found on an island off Tanzania in East Africa could be the largest piece of MH370 recovered to date — if it is confirmed as coming from the missing Boeing 777.

Federal Transport Minister Darren Chester issued a statement about the debris found by locals on Pemba Island, more than 6000 kilometres from the current search zone.

Pictures posted by Jamii Forums on Twitter show the part is indeed larger than anything else found to date that has been determined to “almost certainly” come from MH370.

Tanzania: Flight debris found in Pemba Island- Suspected to be from missing flight #MH370 | https://t.co/GnnriL7NNy pic.twitter.com/8N4el9ZOhm

— Jamii Forums (@JamiiForums) June 23, 2016

Mr Chester said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was seeking further information on the debris to ascertain whether it was part of the Malaysia Airlines’ aircraft.

If it is confirmed as being from MH370, it will be the furtherest north debris has been found to date.

Other items have been discovered on Reunion Island, Mauritius, Mozambique and South Africa. Debris found in Madagascar this month is still awaiting retrieval by Malaysia for examination.

Drift modelling undertaken by University of Western Australia oceanographer Charitha Pattiaratchi shows it is possible debris from MH370 could have been carried as far as Pemba Island.

Drift modelling by Professor Charitha Pattiaratchi from the University of WA shows the likelihood of MH370 debris turning up off Tanzania based on the current search site. Picture: Supplied

Professor Pattiaratchi said it was more likely that debris would come up on an island than a beach “because an island collects things”.

He said it was completely plausible that a section of wing from MH370 had now washed up on Pemba Island, from the southern Indian Ocean.

“It’s taken that time to get there,” said Prof Pattiaratchi.

“If people had been looking 12 months ago they wouldn’t have found anything.”

The section could prove the most valuable debris to date in terms of shedding more light on MH370’s final moments.

Confirmed. Analysis of a section of horizontal stabiliser found in Mozambique shows the words No Step were stencilled on by Malaysia Airlines. Source: ATSB

Some experts have suggested the Boeing 777 would have been manually glided into the ocean, to minimise damage to the aircraft while the ATSB has worked on the theory it ditched into the sea after exhausting fuel supplies.

The plane disappeared on March 8, 2014 after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.

There were 239 people on board including six Australians.

An underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean is due to be completed in August and it’s likely the operation will not be expanded further without new evidence.

Mr Chester said officials from Malaysia, Australia and China met this week to discuss “a range of matters related to the search”.

“Discussions were productive and will allow each country to brief their respective Minister ahead of a Ministerial Tripartite Meeting proposed for late July,” he said.