Could this wreckage be from doomed MH370 plane?
AIRCRAFT wreckage washed up on a remote Indian Ocean island could belong to doomed Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, it was claimed last night.
The two-metre piece of debris is said to bear ‘incredible similarities’ to section of the wing of a Boeing 777 – the type of passenger jet that vanished in March last year.
It was found covered in sea shells by cleaners on a beach in La Reunion, which lies near the holiday island of Mauritius some 3,500 miles from the jet’s last known location.
Police say it has been adrift for ‘around a year’. One witness said: ‘It was covered in shells, so one would say it had been in the water a long time’.
Experts claim a code found on the wreckage – BB670 – could help rapidly identify the debris as belonging to the doomed flight, which vanished with 239 people on board 17 months ago.
Xavier Tytelman, an expert in aviation security, said the code is not the jet’s registration number or serial number but would still allow a ‘definitive’ identification within days.
He added: ‘I’ve been studying hundreds of photos and speaking to colleagues. And we all think it is likely that the wing is that of a Boeing 777 – the same plane as MH370. We can’t say for certain, but we do think there is a chance that this is it.’ He added that photos of the wreckage had also sparked interest on the AvGeek website – a forum for pilots. Boeing said it remained ‘committed to supporting the MH370 investigation’, which remains one of aviation’s great mysteries as no wreckage has yet been found.
The jet disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing last year in one of two tragedies to hit Malaysia’s national carrier. After the MH370 incident, another flight – MH17 – was shot down over Ukraine last July, killing 298 on board.