A piece of debris featuring "scorch marks" and thought to be from THE missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been examined in Canberra and cleared of burn damage, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said on Thursday.
The debris, brought to the ATSB in Canberra by well-known American amateur investigator Blaine Gibson on Sept. 12, was initially thought to display clear scorch marks, but investigators determined the discoloration of the pieces was not the result of a possible on-board fire.
The ATSB's latest Debris Report, published on Thursday, said the Madagascan piece of debris featured an applied resin which had turned the debris a darker grey, giving off the appearance of scorch marks.
Despite the absence of widespread burning, the ATSB did find three small marks which had suffered "localized heating", though the age of such marks are yet to be determined.
The ATSB remains unsure as to whether or not the piece is indeed from MH370, though the location of where the piece was found points to it being from the Boeing 777.
"No manufacturing identifiers, such as a part numbers or serial numbers, were present on either item, which may have provided direct clues as to their origin. At the time of writing, the items had not been identified," Thursday's report said.
"The dark grey coloration on the outer surfaces of the items related to an applied resin and was not the result of exposure to heat or fire."
"Three small marks on the larger item were indicative of localized heating. The age and origin of these marks was not apparent," it said.
The ATSB has said it would undertake further tests to determine whether or not the debris is from the missing jetliner.
MH370 was a scheduled passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. It disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.
