Brandolini notwithstanding, the suggested history of this item is that it was found in 2017, and has spent time since then in a Fishermans home as a table, until it became known it was possibly from MH-370. Without going into the forensic analysis that is used to support it's provenance, it certainly is consistent with the left hand aft LNG door, which had the markings of the steering limit line, at the rear, and "MO" at the mid forward side of the full panel. If it is from 370, then it appears to be the section between the hinges, and forward of the actuating tie rod that opens and closes this door mechanically by the motion of the nose gear strut.
The fracturing is from a substantial compression force, would imagine that would occur in this area from either a controlled ditching or an uncontrolled impact at high speed. The size favours lower speeds. The fracturing is consistent with similar CFRP/honeycomb structures that I have observed that have failed from torsion/compression events (at the other end of the plane) and doesn't look like it has been emulated. The lack of biologic growth supports the time line that the background story gives, and the handling that occurred thereafter. It is unlikely that when used as a table the barnacles and other growth would have been left in place.
Would think this is what it is purported to be, but that is not going to increase the imperative to restart the search, the datum is still somewhere in the eastern part of the IO, probably within 120nm of the last ping, and I would lay odds on it being around 290M from the last ping, at around the 100-120nm location, r=25. The Boeing determination of the open loop descent, with an asymmetric exhaustion of the engines makes sense for that exact case, but the wreckage recovered has IMHO never supported an uncontrolled spiral descent open loop control. If this was a deliberate act, and the intent was to remove as much evidence as possible, a closed loop, low speed ditching would be a fairly high candidate for the descent. IIRC, the RH flaperon condition was indicative of being in the cruise configuration, which only indicates that the TE flaps were not extended, and that would still be consistent with a glide, controlled or otherwise.
The Inmarsat information was a revelation, and was not something that was generally known as a characteristic of the satcom system by operators. Finding the aircraft now is unlikely to materially alter the knowledge on the cause of the event. What is quite clear is that an aircraft operating from KLIA to ZBAA is hardly going to go to the KL/HCM FIR boundary, turn around, overfly WMKP, turn right, drive up the straits, hang a left at WITT and track south again. That is not something that is covered in the QRH or AFM.
