A piece of aircraft debris that washed up on an Indian Ocean island is believed to be a flaperon, possibly from a Boeing 777, though authorities say it is too early to know whether the part comes from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The discovery of debris off the coast of Reunion Island is “a very significant development” in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, but it’s too soon to say whether it’s part of the missing aircraft, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said Thursday.
Flaperons are control surfaces on the wing of an aircraft that help to stabilize the plane during low-speed flying during take-off and landing.
Malaysia Airlines released a statement saying, “With regards to the reports of the discovery of an aircraft flaperon at Reunion Island, Malaysia Airlines is working with the relevant authorities to confirm the matter. At the moment, it would be too premature for the airline to speculate the origin of the flaperon.”
Let’s refresh our memories. Residents of the remote Maldives island of Kuda Huvadhoo in Dhaal Atoll have reported seeing a “low flying jumbo jet” on the morning of the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Eyewitnesses from the Kuda Huvadhoo concurred that the airplane was travelling North to South-East, towards the Southern tip of the Maldives – Addu at around 6:15am on March 8. They also noted the incredibly loud noise that the flight made when it flew over the island.
While there were such claims, search teams looked thousands of kilometers away. Many extraordinary footage has emerged of the ocean floor and even a shipwreck is discovered on the seafloor in the waters off western Australia.
