SYDNEY, Aug 5 ― The origin of a metal wing part suspected of coming from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 may be revealed by Malaysian and French officials as soon as this week, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said.
An examination of the part, known as a flaperon, will begin today in Toulouse, France, by officials from the two countries and an investigator from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Truss said in an e-mailed statement.
The discovery of what may be the first physical fragment of the plane since it disappeared almost 17 months ago is giving fresh momentum to a search of the ocean floor where the plane is thought to have crashed. Studies of ocean currents and wind by Australia’s government science institute CSIRO suggest the item, found washed up on the French island of Reunion near Africa, could have come from the search area 3,800 kilometers (2,360 miles) to the southeast, Truss said.
“Work is being undertaken by the Malaysian and French authorities to establish whether the flaperon originated from MH370,” Truss said. They “may be in a position to make a formal statement about the origin of the flaperon later this week.”
The debris will be inspected in the same lab that scoured fragments of an Air France jet that crashed in the Atlantic in 2009. A suitcase discovered near the debris also will be studied, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
A part number on the flaperon already has enabled investigators to determine that it came from a 777, the same model as the missing plane. Since the number is used for all Boeing 777s, however, it isn’t proof that the flap ruptured from MH370.
Further proof
For a definitive link to the Malaysian plane, investigators would look for other proof on sub-components, including inspection stamps and serial numbers on pieces in the flap assembly, according to John Purvis, who used to lead Boeing’s accident investigations unit.
If the flaperon “is indeed from the aircraft, it will be physical evidence and that will take us a big step forward,” Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, said Monday on Bloomberg TV’s “Trending Business” show. Still, he noted, it’s just a first step.
“The key will be finding the bulk of the wreckage and the black boxes if we’re to piece together what happened in this tragedy,” Herdman said.
No trace
Flight 370 was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur in March 2014 with 239 people on board when it vanished without a trace. By analyzing satellite signals, investigators concluded that the jet turned back over the Indian Ocean and probably plunged into the sea off Australia’s western coast.
Malaysian Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai told reporters Monday that more airplane parts had been found on Reunion, though he said he hadn’t yet been briefed on the details. Hopes were raised Sunday when an object believed to be a plane door was found, but authorities later said the piece was a domestic ladder, not part of an aircraft.
Malaysia has reached out to aviation authorities in territories near Reunion, seeking their aid in analyzing any additional debris. Liow said the U.S., China and Australia are sending teams to Reunion, where a Malaysian team has been mapping and combing the area. ― Bloomberg
