Australian authorities, who have led the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, are working to determine if debris washed up on an isolated Indian Ocean island is from the missing plane.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was notified by French officials on Reunion Island late on Wednesday (AEST) of the discovery of what appears to be part of a wing.
The ATSB is working with the plane’s manufacturer, Boeing, to identify if it is from MH370.
“We’ve received some pictures of the item and we are having them assessed by the manufacturers as to what they may be,” ATSB spokesman Joe Hattley told AAP.
The 2m-long piece was found by people on Reunion who were cleaning up a beach.
The Boeing 777 aircraft went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Reunion is located east of Madagascar, thousands of kilometres from off the west coast of Australia where the search for MH370 was concentrated.
“The French authorities have it secured,” Hattley said of the debris.
“We’ll work with the French.
“First we need to determine what the item is and whether it is part of a Boeing 777 and then if it is part of MH370.”
Key to the investigation will be serial numbers on the wreckage.
“There’s two numbers you’d be looking for,” he said.
“One is a part number.
“Similar parts on different planes would have a number.
“And you’d have a serial number, a specific number to that particular component.
“If we can locate a serial number we might be able to match it to a specific air frame.”
Malaysia Airlines aircraft on the tarmac in Kuala Lumpur. EPA photo
A Boeing spokesman said the company was working with investigators.
“We are continuing to share our technical expertise and analysis,” a Boeing spokesperson said.
“Our goal, along with the entire global aviation industry, continues to be not only finding the airplane, but is determined to figure out what happened and why.”
If the debris is from MH370, it could complicate the search for other pieces of the plane as it has been 16 months since it disappeared and several thousands of kilometres from where the NTSB believes it entered the water.
“It probably won’t help us narrow the search at all,” Hattley said.
