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Wariness Over Link Between Debris in Réunion and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Finding on Whether Debris Is From Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 May Take a Week
(about 4 hours later)
SYDNEY, Australia — Government officials and families of passengers lost on a Malaysian jet that vanished last year with 239 people aboard responded warily on Thursday to the discovery of possible wreckage from the aircraft, reluctant to fan hopes after more than a year of fruitless searching and false rumors. SYDNEY, Australia — It may be a week or more before investigators determine whether a piece of debris found on the island of Réunion came from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a French official with knowledge of the investigation said on Thursday.
Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss of Australia, whose country has led the search for the jet, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, said that the discovery of an airplane part thousands of miles from the search area was “a very significant development” but cautioned against concluding that it was from the missing aircraft. The object, which appeared to be a wing flap torn from a jetliner, has been crated and sealed for shipment to France, the official said, but it is not expected to reach Paris for two or three days. It would then be forwarded to an aviation laboratory in Toulouse for analysis, which could take several more days.
“It is too early to make that judgment,” Mr. Truss said at a news conference in Sydney. “But clearly we are treating this as a major lead and seeking to get assurance about what has been found and whether it is indeed linked to the disappearance of MH 370.” American investigators have concluded, based on photographs and videos, that the object that washed up on Réunion, a remote French island off the coast of Madagascar, came from a Boeing 777, and Flight 370 is the only Boeing 777 known to be missing.
American investigators have concluded, based on photographs and videos, that the object discovered on Wednesday on Réunion, a remote French island off the coast of Madagascar, is from a Boeing 777, making it likely that it came from Flight 370. No other Boeing 777 is known to be missing, investigators said. Still, government officials and families of passengers lost on the flight, which vanished in March 2014 with 239 people aboard, responded more warily on Thursday to the discovery in Réunion, reluctant to fan hopes after more than a year of fruitless searching and false rumors.
Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia said the debris would be sent to Toulouse, France, the site of the nearest office of the French aviation safety bureau, known as BEA. “A Malaysian team is on the way to Toulouse now,” Mr. Najib said in a statement, adding that a second team was en route to Réunion. Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss of Australia, whose country has led the search for the missing jet, said in Sydney that the discovery of the object thousands of miles from the search area was “a very significant development.” He said investigators were “seeking to get assurance about what has been found and whether it is indeed linked to the disappearance of MH 370.”
“We have had many false alarms before, but for the sake of the families who have lost loved ones, and suffered such heartbreaking uncertainty, I pray that we will find out the truth so that they may have closure and peace,” Mr. Najib said in the statement. “I promise the families of those lost that whatever happens, we will not give up.” But he cautioned, “It is too early to make that judgment.”
The object, which a French official said appeared to be a wing flap about nine feet long and three feet wide, was discovered by workers cleaning a beach on the island, which is thousands of miles from the area off Western Australia where the search for debris from Flight 370 has been underway. Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia said in a statement that his government was sending a team to Réunion and another to Toulouse to see the object and meet with French aviation safety officials.
That search area was determined by analyses of satellite images and signals automatically transmitted from the plane. Australian officials said that the search in that area would continue, and that it was possible for ocean currents and winds to have carried debris to Réunion from there. “We have had many false alarms before, but for the sake of the families who have lost loved ones, and suffered such heartbreaking uncertainty, I pray that we will find out the truth, so that they may have closure and peace,” Mr. Najib said in the statement. “I promise the families of those lost that whatever happens, we will not give up.”
The object, reported to be about 8 feet long and 3 feet wide, was discovered by workers cleaning a beach on the island, which is more than 2,500 miles from the area off Western Australia where the search for debris from Flight 370 has been focused.
Australian officials said that the search in that area would continue, and that it was possible that ocean currents and winds could have carried floating debris to Réunion from there.
The French Justice Ministry and the Réunion authorities said in a joint statement on Thursday that “at this stage, the origin of the debris is not identified.”The French Justice Ministry and the Réunion authorities said in a joint statement on Thursday that “at this stage, the origin of the debris is not identified.”
“No hypothesis can be ruled out, including that it originates from a Boeing 777,” the statement said. Mr. Truss said that a number found on the part, BB670, would help identify it through maintenance records, and that scientists were examining photographs of barnacles on the object to estimate how long it had been in the ocean.
Mr. Truss said that a number found on the part, BB670, was not a serial number or a registration number but could be linked to the maintenance of the aircraft, which would help identify it. He said scientists had been asked to examine photographs of barnacles that were on the object to try to establish how long it had been submerged. If it is authenticated as part of the missing jet, the object’s discovery could substantially change some thinking about the mystery of Flight 370, both because of where and when it was found and because of its condition.
Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. It inexplicably went off course midflight and flew south for hours before running out of fuel and crashing into the southern Indian Ocean, according to investigators. The pilot stopped communicating with air traffic controllers about 40 minutes into the flight. One of the possibilities that haunted the search and rescue operation for Flight 370 in the weeks after it vanished was the chance that the plane might have landed largely intact on the water somewhere, and that passengers might have escaped onto the plane’s life rafts, only to perish because searchers were initially looking in waters thousands of miles away from where experts now believe the aircraft ended up.
Jason Middleton, the head of the aviation school at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said that if the debris was confirmed to be from Flight 370, it could provide some clues to what happened to the plane, but not to the whereabouts of the rest of the wreckage. But Peter Marosszeky, a prominent Australian aircraft engineer and executive who advised Boeing on the development of the 777 jet, said that the severe damage visible on the object pointed to a powerful impact with the ocean.
“Depending on the nature of the damage to that part, they will be able to tell how it separated from the rest of the plane,” Mr. Middleton said. “The twisted structure and the technical aspect of how it separated will give a reasonable indication of how violent the impact was.” “Looking at the part, just the photo, suggests the part separated from the aircraft violently,” Mr. Marosszeky said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “Looking at the part, it’s pretty clear the aircraft didn’t survive, it was completely destroyed.”
Joe Hattley, a spokesman for Australia’s transportation safety bureau, cautioned against raising hopes for family members of those aboard the jet. Mr. Marosszeky also predicted that French officials would be able to identify the component fairly quickly by a stainless steel plate that should be attached to it, providing considerable identifying information. Such plates are “normally attached to a fairly robust part” and are unlikely to dislodge even in a very violent impact, he said.
Joe Hattley, a spokesman for Australia’s transportation safety bureau, cautioned against jumping to any conclusions, for the sake of family members of those aboard the jet.
“We have had lots of debris reported to us,” Mr. Hattley said. “This one is more promising. Any piece of information is good information, but I am mindful of the next of kin and how difficult this could be for them.”“We have had lots of debris reported to us,” Mr. Hattley said. “This one is more promising. Any piece of information is good information, but I am mindful of the next of kin and how difficult this could be for them.”
Jiang Hui, a telecommunications engineer in Beijing whose mother was on Flight 370, said that relatives were treating the development with caution. “We’ve often had these reports that are overstated or incorrect, saying they’ve found something,” he said. Jiang Hui, a telecommunications engineer in Beijing whose mother was on Flight 370, said that relatives were treating the find on Réunion with caution.
“After more than a year of this our hearts are broken, and after last night’s news, a lot of family members were really agitated,” Mr. Jiang added. “We’ve often had these reports that are overstated or incorrect, saying they’ve found something,” he said on Thursday. “After more than a year of this, our hearts are broken, and after last night’s news, a lot of family members were really agitated.”
Most of the passengers on Flight 370 were Chinese. Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the government in Beijing was paying close attention to the news, but he offered no other details about the possible wreckage from Flight 370. Flight 370 was on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur when it disappeared in the early hours of March 8, 2014, and most of its passengers were Chinese. Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the government in Beijing was paying close attention to the news, but he offered no other details.
“We have taken note of the report, and further verification is being conducted with relevant countries,” Mr. Hong said in a statement issued on the ministry’s website. “The Chinese side will follow closely how this plays out and properly handle relevant follow-up matters.” “We have taken note of the report, and further verification is being conducted with relevant countries,” Mr. Hong said in a statement published on the ministry’s website. “The Chinese side will follow closely how this plays out and properly handle relevant follow-up matters.”
Paul Kennedy, the search director for Fugro Survey, a division of a Dutch company hired by Australia to conduct the seabed search for Flight 370 off Western Australia, said the work there was continuing as usual. Investigators have concluded, based on radar data and satellite signals from the plane, that it veered off course and flew on for hours to the west and then south, eventually running out of fuel and crashing somewhere in a deep, empty stretch of the Indian Ocean off Western Australia.
“There’s no substantial change to where we are looking,” said Mr. Kennedy, who for months has pored over images from the ocean floor. “We’ve just got to all be patient right now. And fingers crossed.” Paul Kennedy, the search director for Fugro Survey, a division of a Dutch company hired by Australia to conduct the seabed search for the plane, said the work in the search zone was continuing as usual.
“There’s no substantial change to where we are looking,” Mr. Kennedy said. “We’ve just got to all be patient right now. And fingers crossed.”