Malaysian Authorities Say Flaperon Came From Flight MH370

Malaysian authorities said the maintenance records and paint color matches showed evidence that the flaperon found on Reunion Island came from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Liow Tiong Lai, Transport Minister of Malaysia, said additional debris was recovered by investigators in the island. Among the additional debris collected were an aluminum foil and a plane window. However, it remains uncertain if these were part of the wreckage of the plane that disappeared last year.

The Malaysian government asked the governments of Madagascar and Mauritius to help expand the search area with the discovery of the debris. Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia confirmed earlier that the debris came from the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, which went missing as it made its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In a televised address, the prime minister said an international team of experts confirmed that the debris discovered on the island came from Flight MH370.

The discovery was described by the airline as "a major breakthrough." The discovery of the debris showed that the aircraft crashed into the sea, which answered some questions in one of the biggest mysteries in the history of aviation. However, it remains unclear as to what happened and the announcement of Najib did not provide any closure to the families of the missing passengers and crew.

The flaperon was brought to mainland France after it was discovered last week on a beach in Reunion Island. France revealed that it will increase its efforts in trying to find additional debris close to the island and may deploy police and military aircraft to search the area.

Even with the confirmation from Malaysia, French prosecutors have not declared they were certain that the debris came from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. They only said there was a very strong presumption that it came from the missing aircraft. Paris Deputy Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said the declaration was based on information provided by the airline and the manufacturer. Mackowiak did not give any indications that a serial number or distinctive markings was found on the wreckage.

Malaysia Confirms Debris Came From Flight MH370 - image credit: bbc.com

Boeing representatives said the flaperon was part of a 777 aircraft while documents of the missing jet were provided by Malaysia Airlines. Additional analysis will be conducted on the wreckage, Mackowiak said. French police will also examine luggage fragments found in Reunion Island.

Liow said the Malaysian government appreciates the effort of French investigators and respect their decision in continuing the verification process. But, Malaysian experts were convinced that the debris came from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 since the paint on the flaperon matched the one on the missing plane while a seal found on it matched maintenance records.

A group of Chinese families said Boeing and French investigators should have a definite answer on whether the flaperon came from the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The families said through a microblog that they were not living in denial since they have to be 100 percent certain when they declare their missing loved ones are lost. Malaysian authorities were urged to continue its investigation by the foreign ministry of China, which also highlighted the importance of upholding the rights and interests of the relatives of the missing passengers.

TECOP International, Inc. president Hans Weber said a high-powered microscope will be used by investigators in an aeronautical facility in Toulouse to look for clues in the crystal structure of the flaperon. They will look into how the wing flap was deformed when it crashed. A full “physical examination” will likely be conducted using ultrasonic analysis before opening it up to check for any internal damage.

The entire process may take at least a month and can stretch up to a couple of months. Examining the metal as well as how the brackets holding the flaperon were broken may reveal a good amount of information, according to former US National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia.

Other experts indicated that it was necessary to find additional debris or recover the cockpit and data voice recorders in order to know why the plane went down. Flightglobal Asia managing editor Greg Waldron said debris can only give insights on the last moments of the flight.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 last year and was believed to have gone down somewhere in the Indian Ocean. The transponder of the aircraft may have been deliberately switched off by someone in the plane before it was diverted and intentionally crashed. The search area for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was increased by 60,000 square kilometers from its initial area of 60,000 square kilometers.

Posted by James Fried on Sunday August 09 2015, 3:50 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0