Is it from flight MH370? If not, what aircraft is it from? The Internet is ablaze with questions after plane debris was found in the western Indian Ocean this week.
An aircraft flaperon found off the coast of Reunion Island, with many suspecting it may come from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Malaysia Airlines said it is working with relevant authorities to confirm a connection.
“At the moment, it would be too premature for the airline to speculate the origin of the flaperon.”
Malaysia Airlines
Investigators were called to the French department in the western Indian Ocean to recover the discovered piece, which could potentially come from the Boeing 777.
ABC Online reports that an initial assessment was completed on the aircraft piece, with several photo taken at the scene.
ALERT: Large part of aircraft washed ashore at La Reunión Island. Rumors of possibly #MH370. pic.twitter.com/v2jXuewTyR
— Breaking News Feed (@PzFeed) July 29, 2015
A member of the French air force in Reunion confirmed further examinations are currently underway to trace its origin.
Malaysian Minister of Transportation Liow Tiong Lai confirmed the Malaysian Government has dispatched its own team of investigators to review the debris.
“We have wreckage found that needs to be further verified before we can further confirm if it belongs to MH370.”
Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysian Minister of Transportation
“So we have dispatched a team to investigate on these issues and we hope that we can identify it as soon as possible.”
How will investigators determine its connection to MH370?
Investigators probe plane wreckage for link to missing #MH370 flight http://t.co/mFbOISj4r9 pic.twitter.com/eZiw9EeRcP
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) July 29, 2015
Aircraft have serial numbers on various parts of the plane. These serial numbers not only determine the model of the aircraft, but exactly which aircraft it might, what part of the plane it is and other information.
In the absence of a serial number, investigators will need to try and figure out what kind of plane it came from.
Malaysia Airlines flight 370 had 239 people onboard when it disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March last year.
The plane is believed to have steered off path during the flight, authorities don’t know why since they haven’t been able to locate the cockpit recorder.
