Aug. 06--REPORTING FROM KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Calvin Shim had waited 17 months for news about his wife, so he stayed awake well past midnight Thursday to hear the announcement that had come to seem inevitable: The wing flap that washed onto a remote Indian Ocean island belonged to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Shim's wife, Christine Tan, was the lead flight attendant aboard the flight that vanished after taking off from Kuala Lumpur last March. She had worked for the airline for more than two decades.
In the morning, Shim told their 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter the news. They took it "OK," he said. Since the wing part was found last week, he had let them watch the news, figuring it was best they learn about it at home instead of at school.
"My eldest was sad and wished the aircraft part was found way sooner," Shim said. "He asked if his mother would still be alive now. I posed the question right back to him to let him understand the chances of that."
First hint of closure
The predawn announcement by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak offered the first hint of closure to many family members of the 239 passengers and crew members who have spent more than 500 days pleading for answers about the jet, which disappeared en route to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Yet U.S., French, Chinese and other investigators probing the incident did not immediately confirm Malaysia's finding, deepening the anger and confusion for many family members of the missing. French prosecutor Serge Mackowiak would say only that there was "a very strong presumption" that the flaperon -- the wing part found last week, which is being examined at a defense laboratory in southern France -- was from the Malaysian plane.
The discrepancy was a painful rerun of the initial days following the plane's disappearance, when Malaysian authorities were widely criticized for a clumsy and disorganized response.
Some relatives questioned how the Boeing 777 part could have ended up on Reunion, a flyspeck French territory in the southern Indian Ocean, 3,800 miles from the plane's last known location.
"Some still believe the conspiracy theories," said Shim, a businessman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. "Some were numb, sad, angry. Some just don't know what to feel. A lot has happened in our lives as we try to deal with the tragedy."
A Malaysian recovery team on Reunion collected an aircraft window and several other plane parts on Thursday, Transportation Minister Liow Tiong Lai said, although there was no confirmation as to whether they belonged to Flight 370. Liow said the new debris was sent to the French authorities who are leading the investigation.
Questions remain
Even with the first sign of the plane, investigators are a long way from learning what caused it to go missing and where it may have crashed. Those findings may only come from locating the jet's fuselage in a massive search area that has grown even wider with the recent discovery.
Lokman Mustafa, whose sister Suhaili was aboard the flight, said his family was saddened by the announcement but would not be satisfied until the fuselage is recovered.
"I have always believed that the aircraft ended in the sea," Mustafa said. "I just hope that more parts of the aircraft are found soon, not more bottles of mineral water or torn luggage."
Following Razak's announcement, Malaysia Airlines said it had spoken with family members of the passengers and crew of Flight 370.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected," the airline said in a statement. "This is indeed a major breakthrough for us in resolving the disappearance of MH370."
In China, about a dozen relatives of Chinese passengers protested outside the Malaysia Airlines offices in Beijing, complaining about the way Malaysian authorities handled the announcement and holding signs with messages such as "Malaysia hides the truth." After several hours, the group was invited into a closed-door talk with airline officials.
Later, around 2 p.m., a group of about 20 family members came to the offices of Boeing in Beijing and demanded the company give them a technical briefing on the debris found recently.
Writing on the Chinese social media site Weibo, families of Flight 370 passengers and crew said the announcement did not resolve their questions.
Families demand answers
"Families are prepared for any eventuality," read one post. "But ... the French and Boeing must say it is from MH370 without a doubt. We are not living in denial ... but we owe it to our [loved] ones not to declare them lost without 100% certainty!"
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: "We request that the Malaysian side earnestly implement its relevant commitments, continue to investigate the cause of the plane crash...and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the families of the passengers."
All but a handful of families refused Malaysia Airlines' advance offer of $50,000 in compensation last year. Lawyers have said many families are unwilling to pursue compensation claims because the investigation is ongoing and they have not received the bodies of their loved ones.
Intan Maizura Othaman, whose husband, Hazrin Hasnan, was a crew member on board, said she was "numb" at the news.
"I have accepted that my husband will never return, but I believe that Malaysia Airlines and the government still owe us explanation on what really happened," Othaman said.
"I just cannot believe that with all the high-tech gadgets and vessels that were deployed, they still failed to trace the aircraft. And now after more than a year, suddenly a part ... ended up on a small island thousands of miles away from the search area."
Lokman Mustafa said his questions persisted.
"MH370 is not just an issue that affects the families of the people on board," he said. "It is the biggest mystery in the aviation industry. ... I think everyone wants to know what really happened to the aircraft. I want to know."
Mustafa is a special correspondent. Staff writer Julie Makinen contributed to this report from Beijing.
MORE ON MH370:
A piece of MH370 has been found, but the plane's disappearance remains a mystery
Reunion Island wing debris is from Flight 370, Malaysia prime minister says
Plane window, other debris found on Reunion Island, Malaysia transport minister says
