Australia to test debris found two years after Malaysian jet disappeared

SYDNEY, March 3: A piece of debris found off the southeast African coast that could be from a missing Malaysia Airlines flight is being sent to Australia for testing, officials said on Thursday, two years after the plane carrying 239 people disappeared.
A white, meter-long chunk of metal was found off the coast of Mozambique earlier this week by a U.S. adventurer who has been carrying out an independent search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The debris will be tested by officials in Australia, with help from Malaysian authorities and representatives of manufacturer Boeing Co (BA.N).
“It is too early to speculate on the origin of the debris at this stage,” Australian Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester told parliament.
However, the piece was found in “a location consistent with drift modeling commissioned by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau”, he said.
Chester’s comments added to a fresh sense of optimism after Malaysia’s transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai, said on Wednesday there was a “high possibility” the metal chunk belonged to a 777 jet, the same type of aircraft as MH370.Reuters