Plane debris found off the coast of Reunion, an island located about 500 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is under investigation for possible ties to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014.
A French Air Force official was quick to play down the discovery, saying it's too soon to know if the debris is from the aircraft that was carrying 239 people when it vanished. Reunion is approximately 3,500 miles from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from where MH370 took off before it disappeared over the South China Sea.
Air safety investigators — one of them a Boeing investigator —have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a 777 wing, the U.S. official said. But they didn't comment on whether the debris might have come from the missing plane.
A French official close to an investigation of the debris confirmed Wednesday that French law enforcement is on site to examine a piece of airplane wing found on the French island of Reunion, in the western Indian Ocean.
BREAKING: US official: Debris in photo belongs to same type of aircraft as the missing Malaysia plane.— The Associated Press (@AP) July 29, 2015
Sources confirm that Boeing investigators have looked at the photos and believe it's from a 777. Likely #MH370— Tom Costello (@tomcostellonbc) July 29, 2015
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said a team was being sent from Malaysia to Reunion to examine the debris in an attempt to determine whether or not it came from MH370: "I have sent a team to verify the wreckage ... we hope that it can identify (the wreckage) as soon as possible."
Early on Thursday, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss issued the following statement.
Full statement from Deputy PM Warren Truss: re #MH370 and unconfirmed debris off Le Reunion Island. pic.twitter.com/WpLGGu3Mzx— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) July 30, 2015
Malaysian Airlines also released a short statement.
Media Statement from @MAS with regards to discovery at Reunion Island. @501Awani pic.twitter.com/c2ZjKw3qXk— Rizal Zulkapli AWANI (@rizalzulkapli) July 30, 2015
Photos of the debris were also sent to aviation expert Xavier Tytelman, who said the materials looked like they came from a Boeing 777, according to The Telegraph. CNN correspondent Richard Quest brought up a few other airplane crashes in the area that could also account for the debris, including the 1996 crash of a Nigerian Airlines plane off the island of Grande Comore.
[Avances] Posible ruinas del #MH370 " Malaysia Airlines! en Isla Reunión pic.twitter.com/S0yiGSmjfj— La Estrella | Panamá (@EstrellaOnline) July 29, 2015
Similitudes btw the wreckage found this morning and a #B777 flaperon. Pictures @Lustucrew and @OlivierRimmel. #MH370 pic.twitter.com/YUTctREjtk— Xavier Tytelman (@PeurAvion) July 29, 2015
Shortly after MH370's disappearance, officials deduced that the plane turned around and headed west. Search teams have been combing wide areas of the Indian Ocean for more than a year.
Debris found near Madagascar being examined to see if it is from missing #MH370, French military spokesman says. http://t.co/BF8s9oPV2r— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) July 29, 2015
Ocean currents between Australia and Reunion Island, where the debris was found, are highly variable. In general, the water flows from east-to-west, making it possible that the debris would be from the plane had it gone down off the west coast of Australia.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.