Which MH370 debris items were officially catalogued and photographed by the ATSB and Malaysian investigators?
Executive summary
The official record compiled by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Malaysian investigation team documents a set of recovered items that were examined, catalogued and in many cases photographed; among these, a small number were formally "confirmed" as originating from MH370 while a larger group was classified as "almost certainly" or "very likely" from the aircraft (ATSB and Malaysian JIT reports) [1] [2]. This review lists the specific parts that appear in those official examinations and notes where the public record shows firm identification versus high-probability assessment debris-confirmed" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[3] [4].
1. The items officially confirmed and photographed: the core three
Investigators publicly confirmed several items as definitively from MH370 and these were subject to formal examination and documentation: the Boeing 777 flaperon recovered on Réunion Island (the most prominent single confirmation) was examined and tested, with analyses reported by the ATSB and partners [5] [3]; a left outboard flap trailing-edge section recovered in Mauritius/Mozambique bearing a legible part identifier was confirmed and examined by the ATSB [3]; and Australian and Malaysian reporting lists a small set of other pieces that authorities stated were confirmed after part-number and construction matches — these confirmations and images are summarised in ATSB and Malaysian debris reports [3] [1] [2].
2. Parts described as "almost certainly" or "very likely" and catalogued/photographed
Beyond the confirmed items, investigators catalogued and photographed multiple debris pieces that were assessed as "almost certainly" or "very likely" from MH370: an engine cowling segment identified initially by a partial Rolls‑Royce stencil and matching panel thickness/materials, several flap and fairing fragments (including a flap track fairing segment and a section of outboard flap) and interior panels with Malaysia Airlines stencilling such as the panel labelled "676EB" that Malaysian investigators described as "almost certainly" from the aircraft [4] [6] [5] [1]. The official ATSB and Malaysian summaries list and illustrate many of these finds and explain the basis for the assessments [1] [2].
3. Evidence types used in official cataloguing: serials, stencils, materials and forensic tests
The joint Malaysian–international work relied on multiple forensic markers when cataloguing and photographing debris: legible part numbers and serials (which allowed definitive linkage in some cases), airline stencilling and laminate patterns peculiar to Malaysia Airlines cabins, material thickness and construction that matched Boeing 777 drawings, and comparative laboratory tests such as the BEA’s aluminium substrate testing of the flaperon — these methods are explicitly cited in ATSB and Malaysian reports [4] [5] [2] [7].
4. Who produced the catalogues and photos — roles of ATSB, Malaysian JIT and overseas labs
Under Annex 13 the Malaysian government led the formal accident investigation while the ATSB provided examination, analysis and documentation support; recovered items handed to France, Australia and Malaysia were investigated by national laboratories (for example BEA in France for the flaperon) and the ATSB published operational search and debris-examination updates that include photographs and descriptions used by the Malaysian investigation team [1] [2] [5]. The Malaysian Joint Investigation Team also published a list of recovered items and coordinated repatriation and cataloguing, with many items officially recorded on the Malaysian investigation web resources [1].
5. Limits, uncertainties and contested claims in the official record
The official record distinguishes confirmed items from those assessed as probable or almost certain because many fragments lack unique identifiers tying them exclusively to 9M‑MRO; investigators explicitly note when parts match a Boeing 777 type or Malaysia Airlines specifications but carry no unique serial that proves they came from MH370 [8] [1]. Public and independent collections (e.g., private debris hunters and advocacy sites) have compiled longer lists of finds, but the authoritative catalogues and photographs are those released or cited in ATSB and Malaysian investigation reports and associated lab test reports [9] [10] [2].
Conclusion: what the official catalogues show
In sum, the ATSB and the Malaysian investigation team formally examined and photographed a set of debris that includes the flaperon (Réunion), multiple outboard flap and flap‑trailing components (Mauritius, Mozambique and Tanzania entries among them), an engine cowling segment with a Rolls‑Royce stencil, interior/closet panel segments (including 676EB) and various flap/fairing fragments; some of these were confirmed by unique part identifiers while others were judged "almost certainly" or "very likely" based on materials, stencilling and forensic comparison — details and photographic records are presented in the ATSB and Malaysian debris examination reports and the associated BEA/third‑party lab analyses [3] [4] [1] [2].