Story highlights
- It is the third piece of debris confirmed as coming from the missing airline
- Malaysia Airlines MH370 went missing more than two-and-a-half years ago
(CNN)A fragment of plane wing discovered in Mauritius in May has been confirmed as coming from missing plane Malaysia Airlines MH370, Australia's Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in a statement on Friday.
It is the third piece of debris to be definitively linked to MH370, Australia's transport minister Darren Chester said Friday.
"It does not, however, provide information that can be used to determine a specific location of the aircraft," Chester said.
Left outboard flap trailing edge section confirmed as MH370 debris.
The plane wing fragment was discovered in Mauritius on 10 May 2016, and was delivered to the ATSB for investigation.
An "'OL' part identifier" was legible on the plane piece, the ATSB said, which allowed investigators to definitively identify the wreckage.
Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on a flight towards Beijing with 239 people on board. The investigation into its disappearance is ongoing.
MH370 debris found in Tanzania, Reunion Island
Two previous pieces of airplane wreckage have been confirmed as coming from MH370 -- a flaperon discovered on Reunion Island in July 2015 and an outboard wing flap found in Tanzania in June 2016.
The Reunion Island wreckage was the first piece of MH370 debris discovered.
Photos: MH370 debris
Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappeared on March 8, 2014. As of October 2016, authorities have definitively linked three pieces of debris to the plane, while four other pieces are believed to "almost certainly" come from the missing aircraft. A flaperon from a Boeing 777 was found on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean in July 2015. Authorities later confirmed the debris came from MH370.
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Photos: MH370 debris
Two pieces of debris were found in Mozambique, in December 2015 and February 2016. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said both pieces "almost certainly" came from the missing plane.
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Photos: MH370 debris
An examination of stenciling and other identifiable features were used to link the debris to MH370.
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Photos: MH370 debris
Two more pieces of debris, found in March 2016, were also deemed to have "almost certainly" come from MH370, according to the ATSB.
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Photos: MH370 debris
One piece is believed to be from the plane's Rolls Royce engine, while the other matched a Boeing 777 interior closet panel.
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Photos: MH370 debris
A piece of aircraft debris found in Tanzania in June 2016 and transported to Australia. The country's Infrastructure and Transport minister said it was confirmed as coming from MH370 in September 2016.
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Photos: MH370 debris
A left outboard flap trailing edge section found on the island of Mauritius in May 2016. In October, it was confirmed as coming from MH370.
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Since July 2015, about six pieces of wreckage have been confirmed as likely coming from the missing plane, although not all pieces could be completely verified.
This includes two items of debris found on the Mozambique coast in December 2015 and February 2016, each considered "almost certainly" from MH370.
A seventh piece of debris found in Madagascar, covered in burn marks, may also come from the missing plane but has yet to be verified.
