US investigators have concluded that the piece of aircraft debris found Wednesday near a French island in the southern Indian Ocean came from a Boeing 777, raising the odds that it belongs to the mysteriously vanished MH370, US media reported.
The conclusion was based on photos of the object, which was located on a beach of the La Reunion island, reported US daily The New York Times, citing a source familiar with the probe into the 16-month-old MH370 disappearance.
Since no other Boeing 777 is known to be missing, the investigators, who come from Boeing, suggest that the piece is part of the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger plane, according to the report.
US TV network CNN also quoted Boeing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as saying that initial assessment of the photos of the debris has led to findings that suggest that the debris is consistent in appearance with a Boeing 777's flaperon, a wing component unique to the type of aircraft.
Meanwhile, the French aviation safety bureau said in a statement that it is studying the information on the plane part "in coordination with our Malaysian and Australian colleagues and with their judicial authorities."
According to French media, the object, about 9 feet (2.7 meters) long and 3 feet (0.9 meter) wide, was found by people cleaning the nearby beach, and a witness described it as "partly encrusted with shells."
Should the debris turn out to be from MH370, it would mark a major step in the efforts to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, which vanished with 239 people on board in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China.
Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
30/7/15
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Related:
The conclusion was based on photos of the object, which was located on a beach of the La Reunion island, reported US daily The New York Times, citing a source familiar with the probe into the 16-month-old MH370 disappearance.
Since no other Boeing 777 is known to be missing, the investigators, who come from Boeing, suggest that the piece is part of the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger plane, according to the report.
US TV network CNN also quoted Boeing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as saying that initial assessment of the photos of the debris has led to findings that suggest that the debris is consistent in appearance with a Boeing 777's flaperon, a wing component unique to the type of aircraft.
Meanwhile, the French aviation safety bureau said in a statement that it is studying the information on the plane part "in coordination with our Malaysian and Australian colleagues and with their judicial authorities."
According to French media, the object, about 9 feet (2.7 meters) long and 3 feet (0.9 meter) wide, was found by people cleaning the nearby beach, and a witness described it as "partly encrusted with shells."
Should the debris turn out to be from MH370, it would mark a major step in the efforts to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, which vanished with 239 people on board in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, China.
Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
30/7/15
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-
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Debris found on island belongs to same type of aircraft as MH370 plane: U.S. official...
ReplyDeleteAir 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, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
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.
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. A French television network was airing video from its Reunion affiliate of the debris..AP.....The Associated Press