MH370: The plane debris photos that everyone's looking at

A U.S. official says air safety investigators have a "high degree of confidence" that photos of aircraft debris found in the Indian Ocean is of a wing component unique to the Boeing 777, the same model as the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared last year.

The official says investigators — including a Boeing air safety investigator — have identified the component as a "flaperon" from the trailing edge of a 777 wing. A French official close to the investigation 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.

The U.S. and French officials spoke on condition that they not be named because they aren't authorized to speak publicly.

See photos of the debris

A policeman and a gendarme stand next to a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. Credit: YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images

The two-metre-long debris, which appears to be a piece of a wing, was found by employees of an association cleaning the area and handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie (BGTA), who have opened an investigation. Credit: YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images

[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Plane-Debris-1.jpg" caption="Air safety investigators have a "high degree of confidence" that a photo of aircraft debris found in the Indian Ocean is of a wing component unique to the Boeing 777, the same model as the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared last year, according to a U.S. official said Wednesday." credit="YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images" alt="Plane Debris"]

[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Plane-Debris-5.jpg" caption="At the United Nations, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters that he has sent a team to verify the identity of the plane wreckage. "Whatever wreckage found needs to be further verified before we can ever confirm that it is belonged to MH370," he said." credit="YANNICK PITOU/AFP/Getty Images" alt="Plane Debris"]

Air plane debris discover in Reunion island this morning ? MH 370 ? Or others ? pic.twitter.com/oBtPULeeMv— JR.RAMSAMY974 (@JRRAMSAMY) July 29, 2015