Malaysia’s prime minister confirmed Wednesday that debris found on the Indian Ocean territory of Reunion Island last week is from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, missing for nearly a year and half in what remains one of the biggest mysteries in the history of aviation.
“Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370,” Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. French investigators were more cautious however, saying only that there was a “very high probability” the wreckage came from MH370.
Last week’s discovery of a two metre-long wing part called a ‘flaperon’ on the French Indian Ocean territory was the first major breakthrough in the mystery that has surrounded the aircraft’s disappearance with 239 people aboard.
The wing piece was examined at a military lab outside the French city of Toulouse in the presence of Malaysian and Australian experts, Boeing engineers and representatives from China – the country that lost the most passengers in the disaster.
Calling the development a “major breakthrough,” Malaysia Airlines said in a statement: “We expect and hope that there would be more objects to be found which would be able to help resolve this mystery.”
Technical experts have said that analysis of the paint on the debris can often identify who the aircraft belongs to because the paint’s characteristics are unique to each airline. A more detailed examination of the ‘flaperon’ in the coming days may yield information on the final moments of the aircraft by giving clues as to how it detached itself from the wing, or whether it shows traces of an explosion or fire.
Scientists have also pointed to barnacles attached to the flaperon, saying these could give an idea of how long the piece had been in the water and perhaps where it had been. “If it has cold-water barnacles on it that might tell them it went down further south than they think. Or if it’s got only tropical barnacles, that might tell them it went down further north,” said Shane Ahyong, a crustacean specialist from the Australian Museum, according to an AFP report.
