Boeing 777 debris found on Reunion island: What we know so far
Astro Awani
August 10, 2015 18:28 MYT
August 10, 2015 18:28 MYT
The discovery of a wreckage on the island of La Reunion early Thursday morning (Malaysian time) took Malaysia and the world by storm. - File pic
The discovery of aircraft debris, believed to be part of a wing component known as a flaperon. on Reunion island early Thursday morning (Malaysian time) took Malaysia and the world by storm.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai speaking at KLIA on Saturday urged all quarters not to make any speculation concerning the discovery.
“We are still awaiting confirmation if the wreckage is of Boeing 777 or MH370. That is yet to be determined.
“Although from this picture, it looks like part of a Boeing 777, this is only seen by the naked eyes. This matter can only be confirmed after thorough investigation,” said Tiong Lai.
Malaysian investigators arrived at the Palais de Justice in Paris on Monday, August 3, for talks with French officials on the latest developments regarding the missing MH370 airliner, an AFP journalist said.
The five-man team from Malaysia, led by Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, arrived shortly before 1200 GMT at France's top court and said a statement would be released at the end of the meeting.
So what exactly was found? [CLICK FOR PHOTO GALLERY]
MONDAY, August 10, 2015
The Maldives joined a regional search for wreckage from missing flight MH370 following reports that islanders in the Indian ocean atoll nation had spotted unidentified debris.
Malaysia will send a team to the Maldives after the discovery of debris by residents on the Indian Ocean island nation.
MONDAY, August 3, 2015
Police had collected a mangled piece of metal inscribed with two Chinese characters and attached to what appears to be a leather-covered handle.
Chinese internet users suggested it may be a kettle.
SUNDAY, August 2, 2015
Investigators probing missing flight MH370 collected more debris on an Indian Ocean island as Malaysia urged authorities in the region to be on alert for wreckage washing up on their shores.
However authorities cast doubt on whether the new debris was linked to MH370, and a source close to the investigation in Paris said "no object or debris likely to come from a plane" had been placed into evidence on Sunday.
An AFP photographer early Sunday saw police collect a mangled piece of metal inscribed with two Chinese characters and attached to what appears to be a leather-covered handle.
The debris, measuring about 100 square centimetres (15 square inches), was placed into an iron case.
Also on Sunday a man handed police a piece of debris measuring 70 centimetres (27 inches), guessing it was part of a plane door.
SATURDAY, August 1, 2015
Debris from a Boeing 777 plane that washed up on the Reunion Island, arrive at the France defence ministry laboratory (DGA TA) in Balma, near Toulouse, where experts will begin their analysis on August 5, 2015.
AFP reports that the debris found, part of a wing flaperon, did come from a Boeing 777. It claimed that this was based on the numbers stamped on it.
Meanwhile, former MAS chief pilot Datuk Captain Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain spoke to Astro Awani on the significance of the finding, if it is actually identified as part of a Boeing 777 aircraft.
He also spoke on what a flaperon actually is, and its functions.
FRIDAY, July 31, 2015
A French newspaper examined the barnacles found attached to the debris from the Boeing 777 flaperon, reported online portal nzherald.co.nz.
Le Journal de l'ile de la Réunion reported that an academician from the Naval School of Brest, France Joseph Poupin who conducted the examination said the barnacles belonged to the 'Lepa Anatifera' species, which live in warm and hot waters.
He added that barnacles grow at a rate of one centimeter to two centimeter per year.
THURSDAY, July 30, 2015
The discovery of a piece of plane debris that washed up on Reunion island in the southern Indian Ocean on Thursday, July 30, 2015 adds a new chapter in the mystery of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The two-metre long piece of wreckage, which seemed to be part of a wing, was found by people cleaning up a beach.
A local resident then sent several photos to Xavier Tytelman, an expert in aviation security.
He said it could not be ruled out that the wreckage belonged to MH370, which vanished without trace in March last year.
A wreckage of a plane was found washed up on Reunion Island.
Tytelman noted that local media photos showed "incredible similarities between a #B777 flaperon and the debris found," referring to a Boeing 777 -- the type of plane that disappeared.
He also noted a reference on the wreckage: BB670.
"This code is not a plane's registration number, nor serial number. However... it's clear that this reference would allow a quick identification. In a few days, we will have a definitive answer," Tytelman said.
Meanwhile, part of a bag was also found on Reunion island not far from where the wreckage was found fuelling speculation that it may be from the missing flight MH370.
Who will manage the investigation?
Astro AWANI’s correspondent in France, Catherine Field said, the meeting between France and Malaysia is more or less an assessment opportunity for both sides to agree on a path forward and the next phase in the investigation of Flight MH370.
“They are going to get around the table and on the Malaysian side, there’s the Department of Civil Aviation, the government investigation team and the Malaysian Airlines (MAS). Whilst on the French side, there is expected to be one of the three judges who are overseeing investigation.
"There will also be the Civil Air Safety Bureau representative as well as the Air Transport Division of the Gendarmerie, which is part of the French Ministry of Defense," she said.
Through the meeting, the representatives will try to discover the roles that will be undertaken by the French Air Safety team in this investigation.
The French government has also made available at the disposal of the Malaysian authorities all of the technology and expertise at the Aeronautical Testing Centre in Toulouse and Paris to aid in the investigations.
Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) said Malaysia is responsible for the investigation and is managing this examination with the assistance of Boeing, the BEA (Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile), the National Transportation Safety Bureau (US) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Who says what
MONDAY, August 8, 2015
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said, the team will view the debris found in the Maldives and conduct preliminary verification.
“Once it is determined to be aircraft debris, discussions will be held to determine the next step in terms of the process of analysis,” he said in a statement.
However he stressed, it is still too early to speculate on whether the debris is linked to MH370.
MONDAY, August 3, 2015
The Malaysian team of experts will remain on Reunion Island until all investigations into the plane debris have been completed, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
He said, the Malaysian team of experts have received the support by authorities from Madagascar and Mauritius in their search for other debris on the island.
“The authorities will make an announcement to the public soon on the debris that had been found on Reunion Island," he said.
The search for Flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean, he added, had also entered the second phase.
“The search efforts for flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean is continuing and will enter the second phase. The weekly report on the MH370 search effort is also available on our website (Transport Ministry),” he said.
Meanwhile Malaysian director-general of Civil Aviation Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman who is in France for the analysis of the wing part, told AFP one item "was actually from a domestic ladder. It is not a door."
And a source close to the investigation in Paris said "no object or debris likely to come from a plane" had been placed into evidence on Sunday.
SUNDAY, August 2, 2015
Australia's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss has warned that even if the debris confirmed to come from MH370 it is unlikely to completely clear up one of aviation's greatest puzzles.
The mystery of what happened to the plane and where it went down exactly are still likely to persist unless the black box is found.
Earlier, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia is trying to get the help of aviation authorities in territories near Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
"I urge all parties to allow this crucial investigation process to take its course. I reiterate that this is for the sake of the next-of-kin of the loved ones who were on MH370 who would be anxiously awaiting news and have suffered much over this time."
SATURDAY, August 1, 2015:
“Boeing remains committed to supporting the MH370 investigation and the search for the airplane.We continue to share our technical expertise and analysis.
“Our goal, along with the entire global aviation industry, continues to be not only to find the airplane, but also to determine what happened – and why,” a media spokesperson for Boeing Commercial Airplanes told Astro AWANI.
FRIDAY, July 31, 2015
It was confirmed that the debris found is part of a Boeing 777, according to an AFP report citing Deputy Transport Minister, Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi.
Earlier, Australian search authorities Friday said they were "increasingly confident" that the wreckage that washed up on Reunion island is from missing flight MH370, with formal identification possible within 24 hours.
"We are still working with our French and Malaysian colleagues to analyse all the information, so we don't have certainty yet, but we hope that within the next little while we'll be able to get to that level of confidence.
"We're hoping within the next 24 hours," Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the agency leading the underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean, told AFP.
THURSDAY, July, 30 2015
Malaysia sends a team to verify whether the debris could be part of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
"Whatever wreckage found needs to be further verified before we can further confirm whether it belongs to MH370.
"So we have dispatched a team to investigate on this issues and we hope that we can identify it as soon as possible,” Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters in New York.
Malaysian Airlines (MAS) said it is too early to speculate whether the plane debris washed up on an Indian Ocean island could be part of missing MAS flight MH370.
“At the moment, it would be too premature for the airline to speculate the origin of the flaperon,” MAS said in a statement today.
CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the United States Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo said planes are stamped with multiple serial number to allow parts to be identified and matched to a specific model and aircraft.
"If the part numbers that are stamped on the pieces of the plane still survive, it literally could be a phone call to Boeing or the parts indices to see if it belongs to a 777. And if it belongs to a 777, it is MH370," she said.
CNN.com reported that Boeing officials conducted an initial assessment of the debris using photographs.
The source stressed that the observations are preliminary.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak stressed it is still too early to speculate on whether the debris that was found early this morning came from Flight MH370.
He said, the airline debris which had washed up on Reunion Island will be shipped to Toulouse, France for further investigation.
Why is confirmation that the debris comes from a Boeing 777, significant in the context of MH370?
There have been several incidents involving the Boeing-777 aircraft since it first entered service in 1994. Of all those cases, only five concluded in the planes being deemed as total losses, also know as a 'hull loss'.
When will the investigation results be known?
All speculation over the origins of the airline debris which had been washed up at La Reunion Island is expected to be resolved in the next 72 hours.
According to former MAS chief pilot, Datuk Captain Nik Ahmad Huzlan Nik Hussain, the assumption was made based on his experience on the investigation procedure by the international investigative body.
Next-of-kin have their say
FRIDAY, July 31, 2015:
Some relatives of those who were on flight MH370 are unconvinced by the discovery of the Boeing 777 debris.
THURSDAY, July 30, 2015
Following this development, Maira Elizabeth Nari – the daughter of the MH370 chief steward Andrew Nari shared her feelings on Twitter.
Meanwhile, some relatives said they had mixed feelings following this development, as they struggled with a desire for closure and hopes that those on board might still be alive.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein also tweeted.
Hishamuddin was the acting Transport Minister when the MH370 incident happened last year:
The Boeing 777-200ER carrying 239 passengers, mostly Chinese, and crew, was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6:30 am on March 8, 2014.
The Department of Civil Aviation on January 29 officially declared Flight MH370 wasa n accident under international aviation rules, and that all 239 passengers and crew were presumed to have lost their lives.