Saint-André, France: Plane wreckage washed up on a tiny Indian Ocean island will be sent to France for investigation, as hopes mounted yesterday the mysterious object could unlock the riddle of missing flight MH370.
Several experts were convinced the debris was a flaperon from the wing of a Boeing 777, which if proven meant it almost certainly belonged to the Malaysia Airlines plane whose disappearance 16 months ago sparked one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.
The six-foot long piece of wreckage washed up on a rocky beach on the French island of La Reunion, some 4,000km from the area where flight MH370 was thought to have gone down in March last year with 239 people on board.
Aviation expert Xavier Tytelman said he and other specialists had compared the debris to hundreds of photos and plane blueprints, and found only one possible match: The flaperon which is a mobile part on the edge of the wing of a Boeing 777.
Scientists say there are several plausible scenarios in which ocean currents could have carried a piece of debris from the plane to the island.
As Malaysian investigators rushed to the scene, authorities prepared to send the object to France for further examination.
Meanwhile, a French military helicopter slowly circled the area above the island where the debris washed up on a rocky beach.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the wreckage found on the French island of La Reunion was “very likely” from a Boeing 777, but it remained to be seen if it indeed came from MH370.
The recovered object is expected to be flown out of Reunion island to France today for analysis. It is likely to be sent to a testing site near Toulouse tomorrow, a second source close to the inquiry said.
However as expectations mounted over the find, authorities warned against jumping to conclusions. For relatives of those aboard, torn between wanting closure and believing their loved ones were still somehow alive, the discovery was yet another painful turn on an emotional rollercoaster. AFP
