Technical experts in France will on Wednesday begin examining a plane part that almost certainly belonged to missing flight MH370, raising hopes that some light may finally be shed on one of aviation’s darkest mysteries, reports The Guardian.
The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared on 8 March last year when it inexplicably veered off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, and a colossal multinational hunt for the aircraft proved fruitless.
Last week’s discovery of a two-metre-long wing part called a flaperon on the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion raised fresh hopes for relatives desperate for answers.
The piece – which has been confirmed as part of a Boeing 777 – has been taken to the southwestern French city of Toulouse, where it will undergo the high-profile examination.
The only missing Boeing 777 in the world is flight MH370. It is also thought to be the only 777 ever to have crashed in the southern hemisphere.
The case containing the wing part will be opened early afternoon Wednesday, said a French source close to the case, in the presence of French and Malaysian experts, Boeing employees and representatives from China – the country that lost the most passengers.
Australia, which is heading the seabed search for the missing aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean, said official word on whether the part is from flight MH370 is expected this week.
“Malaysian and French officials may be in a position to make a formal statement about the origin of the flaperon later this week,” said Australian deputy prime minister Warren Truss.
He added that an expert from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is coordinating the search, would be involved in examining the wing part.