Debris summary and analysis Currently, more than 20 items of debris have been brought to the attention of and are of interest to the investigation team. The items have been located along the east and south coast of Africa, the east coast of Madagascar and the Islands of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. A list of items recovered was published by the Malaysian investigation team and can be found at . The right flaperon has been examined by the French Judiciary and confirmed to have originated from 9M-MRO. Six further items of debris have previously been examined by the ATSB, comprising a: section of the right outboard flap fairing panel section from the right horizontal stabiliser piece of engine cowling closet panel section from the closet adjacent to door R1 inboard section of the right outboard flap trailing edge section of the left outboard flap. Both flap sections had unique identification numbers that were able to be linked, through manufacturing records, to 9M-MRO. The remaining examined items were confirmed as Boeing 777 parts and had identifying features linking them to a Malaysian Airlines origin, however there were no unique identifiers to link the parts directly to 9M-MRO. The parts were therefore determined to have almost certainly originated from 9M-MRO, given that the likelihood of originating from another source is very remote. The ATSB debris examination reports are available at . Outboard flap failure analysis The recovered right, outboard wing flap section (Figures 12, 13 and 14) was examined for any evidence of interaction with mechanisms, supports and surrounding components that may indicate the state of flap operation at the time of fracture and separation from the wing. The purpose of the examination was to inform the end-of-flight scenarios being considered by the search team. The most significant items of evidence in relation to this are documented below. Figure 12: Location of recovered outboard flap section Source: DST Group (Modified by ATSB) Figure 13: Inboard section of outboard flap Source: ATSB Figure 14: Inboard section of outboard flap (inverted) Source: ATSB Flap position The trailing edge outboard wing flaps form part of the high-lift control system and are aircraft’s deployed to alter the shape of the aircraft wing, improving lift at lower aircraft speeds during takeoff, approach and landing. The outboard wing flaps have defined stages of flap deployment between / cruise position) and 30-units of extension (landing position). ‘up’ (retracted
Debris summary and analysis Currently, more than 20 items of debris have been brought to the attention of and are of interest to the investigation team. The items have been located along the east and south coast of Africa, the east coast of Madagascar and the Islands of Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. A list of items recovered was published by the Malaysian investigation team and can be found at . The right flaperon has been examined by the French Judiciary and confirmed to have originated from 9M-MRO. Six further items of debris have previously been examined by the ATSB, comprising a: section of the right outboard flap fairing panel section from the right horizontal stabiliser piece of engine cowling closet panel section from the closet adjacent to door R1 inboard section of the right outboard flap trailing edge section of the left outboard flap. Both flap sections had unique identification numbers that were able to be linked, through manufacturing records, to 9M-MRO. The remaining examined items were confirmed as Boeing 777 parts and had identifying features linking them to a Malaysian Airlines origin, however there were no unique identifiers to link the parts directly to 9M-MRO. The parts were therefore determined to have almost certainly originated from 9M-MRO, given that the likelihood of originating from another source is very remote. The ATSB debris examination reports are available at . Outboard flap failure analysis The recovered right, outboard wing flap section (Figures 12, 13 and 14) was examined for any evidence of interaction with mechanisms, supports and surrounding components that may indicate the state of flap operation at the time of fracture and separation from the wing. The purpose of the examination was to inform the end-of-flight scenarios being considered by the search team. The most significant items of evidence in relation to this are documented below. Figure 12: Location of recovered outboard flap section Source: DST Group (Modified by ATSB) Figure 13: Inboard section of outboard flap Source: ATSB Figure 14: Inboard section of outboard flap (inverted) Source: ATSB Flap position The trailing edge outboard wing flaps form part of the aircraft’s high-lift control system and are deployed to alter the shape of the aircraft wing, improving lift at lower aircraft speeds during takeoff, approach and landing. The outboard wing flaps have defined stages of flap deployment between ‘up’ (retracted / cruise position) and 30-units of extension (landing position).
ae-2014-054_debris-update_2nov2016.docx