Has the Mysterious MH370 wreckage finally been FOUND? Boeing 777 wing discovered on Indian Ocean island

The two-metre-long debris appears to be a piece of a wing

MISSING Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could finally have been located after investigators found part of a wing that could belong to the stricken jet.

Two-metre long debris discovered on a beach on the island of Reunion, close to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, is thought to be from a Boeing 777 – the same model of plane that disappeared without trace last year.

The debris could have been submerged under water for over a year

It was stumbled upon by workers who were cleaning the area and has been handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie, who have opened an investigation. 

Aviation experts are hoping the find could be a miraculous breakthrough in an 18-month search that has so-far yielded few results. 

More than 500 days have passed since the plane went missing with 239 passengers and crew on board as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 last year.

Experts believe the debris could match the Boeing 777 that went missing last year

Policemen and gendarmes arrived at the scene to collect the debris

Until now, the international search mission has made little progress in tracking down the whereabouts of the jetliner. 

Map showing the original route of MH370 and the location of Reunion island in the Indian Ocean

The hunt has been concentrated on a huge area off the coast of western Australia in the southern Indian ocean.

But the latest find suggests the plane could have headed in a westerly direction, flying for thousands of miles towards Africa before ditching close to Reunion. 

Pictures released by investigators show parts of what could be a wing being taken away for closer examination.

Investigators will know in a matter of days whether the object is part of the MH370 plane

Incredible

Xavier Tytelman, a specialist in aviation safety, on the similarities with MH370

The metal object is thought to be a flaperon, part of the wing which is used to tilt a plane to the left or right in mid-air - enabling it to turn. 

Xavier Tytelman, a specialist in aviation safety, described similarities between the debris and the wing of a Boeing 777 as “incredible”.

It was handed over to the air transport brigade of the French gendarmerie

Given the intact nature of the wreckage, police on the French-speaking island said it was likely that the item had been submerged underwater for a year before it was found. 

 

Investigators are now frantically checking serial numbers associated with missing MH370 and the debris in a bid to definitively link the two.

They will know in a matter of days whether the metal object is indeed the wing of the missing jet.

But experts also caution against speculation over the exact location of the crash, saying ocean currents could have brought the debris to the island from a remote site in another part of the world – even from as far away as Australia.

 

Volunteer investigate Andre Milne, who has been involved in the search since last year, said the find was likely to be linked to MH370.

He told NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com: "At the point of impact the water would have caused the flap itself to experience massive torsion loads…resulting in the flap to break off and separate from MH 370.

"The flap then drifted with relative oceanic currents in a long northerly curving arc that eventually went south west to where it was located."

 

The search for MH370 is the costliest in aviation history, but experts claim it will forever be shrouded in mystery. 

The disappeared jet has previously been linked to the Maldives, less than 100 miles from Renuion.

Investigators have scaled back the hunt in recent months - with just one boat now said to be scouring the vast search zone.