However, authorities said that a large piece of curved metal panelling found on the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand, in January was not from the missing MH370.
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At a commemorative event Sunday in Kuala Lumpur to mark the second anniversary of the jet’s March 8, 2014, disappearance, they released white balloons tagged with the names of everyone aboard the plane and the words: “MH370: Always remembered in our hearts”.
“This is in line with the Montreal Convention, which requires the next-of-kin of victims to file for compensation within two years of the incident”, he said.
Australian, Malaysian and Chinese authorities plan to end the search – projected to cost up to $130 million – at that point if no compelling new leads emerge.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with a total of 239 passengers and crew on board when the midnight flight lost contact with air traffic controllers.
“We can expect, because the calculations of the drift of all debris would be around that area, which means to say any debris found within that area is tentatively, possibly from MH370 and it would be verified later on”, he told reporters when met at Parliament.
Plane operators will have to ensure their flight recorder data is recoverable, while the duration of cockpit voice recordings is being extended from two to 25 hours, ICAO said.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Malaysian team arrived on Saturday and they would be speaking to the Mozambican Civil Aviation Institute director-general on the discovery of a piece of debris, suspected to be related to MH370.
Investigators believe the Boeing 777 may have flown off course before eventually crashing into waters off Australia, but a massive search of the southern Indian Ocean has found no trace of the aircraft.
“The main piece of missing evidence to solve this mystery is the aircraft itself, which is why we’ve focused so much effort on the search and on finding it” , said Dolan.
“The festering wounds of loss and “not knowing” have made the task of initiating even the first steps towards “moving on” practically impossible for family members”, the group said.
“In the two years since the accident, they repeatedly come up with certain news, such as the plane has crashed, then they go on and deny these reports”, she said.
“We remain very hopeful that we will find the aircraft”, he said.
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Gibson said he has funded his search out of his own pocket and has not sought or received any money.
