The aircraft debris found washed up on the island of Réunion that appears to be the first physical evidence from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be transported to mainland France on Friday night for investigators to analyse.
While the Malaysian government has already stated that the wreckage is from a Boeing 777, the first task will be to provide definitive confirmation.
Experts said investigators in Toulouse should be able to quickly confirm that the wing part, a flaperon, came from a 777, and likely also from flight MH370. But after that things could get trickier. The part may not yield many more clues.
Tony Cable, a former UK Air Accident Investigations Bureau engineer and air accident consultant, said: “There are likely to be lots of manufacturer’s part numbers on the various bits, and it’s possible that the whole assembly will have a serial number which would pin it down to MH370. Part numbers would pin it down to a 777 – and no others are lost at sea.”
He said it was “conceivable but unlikely” that investigators could infer any more about MH370 from the part. “There could be subtle marks in the paintwork that show the angle of deflection – there don’t appear to be, but you’d have a good look. You can sometimes get an idea of the rate of descent and the angle of impact from those things, but here the level of the damage is not terribly high. There are two possibilities, it came off in flight or more likely on impact with the surface. But it gives you a clue – and there are no others at the moment.”
Anne Evans, a former AAIB investigator, said: “It really is just confirming that the plane went down.” She said the damage made it unsurprising that a fuller serial number had not been reported, although the part number was apparently clearly visible.
Evans was involved in the Air France flight 447 investigation – the last time a major passenger airliner was lost at sea. She said in that search, “because they found a variety of debris they could extrapolate causes. You need more than one piece of wreckage to make any meaningful conclusion. The only piece of evidence it gives us is most likely that they are looking in the right place.”
She said investigators would examine the general condition for impact, but she said: “As it is at the back of the wing it’s more likely to survive. I’d be going to the oceanographic experts, asking how long it’s been in the water, and where it’s come from.”
