What might be the key piece of evidence has finally been recovered (on the ground in Batam); hopefully the rest of it will also be found.

''The recovery of that disc could be crucial to a full understanding of the nature of the engine failure, and may have implications for the prevention of future similar occurrences,'' the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.

The bureau was flying more of its inspectors to Britain with the recovered disc fragment for Rolls-Royce and other expert parties to examine under its supervision.