A definitive answer could come this week on whether a
barnacle-encrusted plane part that washed up on an Indian Ocean island
is part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
A piece of debris found on a French beach is indeed part of missing
Malaysian Flight 370, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said.
If the part, known as a flaperon, is confirmed to be from Flight 370,
it would be the first piece of physical evidence recovered from the
Malaysian jetliner since it disappeared nearly 17 months ago with 239
people on board, CNN reports.
Expert analysis of the Boeing 777 wing component, which was found last
week on the French island of Reunion, is due to begin Wednesday at a
specialized laboratory in southwestern France. By 9 a.m. eastern
standard time, investigators had arrived in Balma, France, near the
city of Toulouse and were meeting before their work was set to begin.
It’s not yet clear when the results of the forensic examination will
be announced. The deputy prime minister of Australia, the country
leading the underwater search for the remains of MH370, said Wednesday
that he believed an answer could come within days.