Suspected Flight 370 wing flap arrives at French facility

[Lite Beer]

Suspected Flight 370 wing flap arrives at French facility
GREG KELLER, Associated Press
THOMAS ADAMSON, Associated Press

BALMA, France (AP) — A wing flap suspected to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Saturday arrived at a French military testing facility where it will be analyzed by experts.

After a 10-hour journey by road from Paris' Orly airport, a truck carrying the roughly 8-foot (2.44-meter) component known as a flaperon arrived at the DGA TA aeronautical testing site near Toulouse, accompanied by police motorcycles and a police car.

French aviation experts will try to establish whether the wreckage that was found on the Indian Ocean island Reunion comes from the Boeing 777 which disappeared on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The experts, including a legal expert, will start their inquiry on Wednesday, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. On Monday, an investigating judge will meet with Malaysian authorities and representatives of the French aviation investigative agency, known as the BEA, according to a statement late Friday.

Air safety investigators, including one from Boeing, have identified the component as a flaperon from the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 wing, a U.S. official said. The official wasn't authorized to be publicly identified.

Flight 370 is the only missing 777 and many are convinced the flap comes from the ill-fated jet.

"In the aeronautic community there is no (doubt) on the issue of what the debris belongs to. We are all convinced that it belongs to this flight (370)," said aviation security expert Christophe Naudin on France's BFM-TV.

He said only three 777s have crashed since 2013 and the other two were in completely different locations.

"One is in the United States, one in Ukraine, and this one in the Indian Ocean," he said.

Under a microscope and expert eyes, the wing fragment that washed up on the beach of the volcanic island could yield clues not just to its path through the Indian Ocean, but also to what happened to the airplane.

Analysts at the French aviation laboratory hope to glean details from metal stress to see what caused the flap to break off, spot explosive or other chemical traces, and study the sea life that made its home on the wing to pinpoint where it came from.

Even if the piece is confirmed to be wreckage from Flight 370, there's no guarantee that investigators can find the plane's vital black box recorders or other debris. A multinational search effort has so far come up empty.

___

Adamson reported from Paris.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-02

[Lite Beer]

RT@airlivenet: ALERT Report: A plane door washed up on Reunion Island and is currently undergoing tests in France - @SkyNewsBreak http://t.co/XxZIszIXHJ

[Chicog]

So I guess the big questions will be:

Is it marked in a way which uniquely ties it to MH370?

Is the damage indicative of it being torn off by impact or by more nefarious means?

Will the damage tell how fast the plane was travelling at impact and the position of the flaps at that time?

One would hope they will invite at least Boeing, the NTSB and the AAIB to participate, given their relative expertise in 777 accidents.

[impulse]

One would hope they will invite at least Boeing, the NTSB and the AAIB to participate, given their relative expertise in 777 accidents.

It's the French. Need I say more? Flip a coin....

On a related note:

http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/08/02/11/18/reunion-island-garbo-burned-suspected-mh370-debris

http://www.smh.com.au/world/mh370-search-plane-seat-washed-up-on-reunion-island-in-may-20150802-gipl4t.html

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/07/31/more-debris-on-reunion-island-beach-may-unlock-mh370-crash-mystery/

http://news.sky.com/story/1529113/mh370-search-plane-door-found-sky-sources

Edited August 2, 2015 by impulse

[Lite Beer]

RT@SkyNewsBreak: Update - Sky Sources: More potential plane wreckage with Malaysian and Chinese writing has been found washed up on #Réunion Island #MH370

[stoneyboy]

There is more wreckage washed up on Reunion just now.

So it's looking more likely this is in fact the missing plane.

[Lite Beer]

RT@sumishanaidu: BREAKING: Malaysian government confirms "flaperon has been officially identified as being part of a Boeing 777 aircraft." #MH370

[Aforek]

One would hope they will invite at least Boeing, the NTSB and the AAIB to participate, given their relative expertise in 777 accidents.

Boeing will send a technical team to take part in expertise

[Lite Beer]

MH 370?
Plane door found on Reunion Island : Sky News

A plane door has been found washed up on Reunion Island, Sky News reported on Sunday.

According to Sky News’ David Bowden, the object was discovered in a different location to the flaperon which prompted speculation that it was from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Experts confirmed that the flaperon was consistent with that of Boeing 777 although it is not known if it is from the missing jet.

The Transport Ministry said that MH370 investigators would only be able to inspect the flaperon after Monday because Malaysian authorities had to attend a meeting with the French Government before they could actually see the debris.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said he was informed that only Malaysia, France and plane manufacturer Boeing would jointly inspect the debris stored at Toulouse at this point, adding that he was unaware if other agencies are also involved.

A CNN report said the US National Transportation Safety Board would also take part, with a French source telling the channel that a preliminary report could come as early as this week.

Reunion Island is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.

Flight MH370 with 239 people on board disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 last year. It is believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Plane-door-found-on-Reunion-Island-Sky-News-30265730.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-02

[yadongbreakfast]

French claim the find.

Sorry Aussies.

[Lite Beer]

RT@airlivenet: ALERT More: An object, believed to be the door of an aircraft, was discovered just south of the city of St Den... http://t.co/XxZIszIXHJ

[Somtamnication]

A second piece of plane debris has been found. Cross fingers.

[impulse]

A second piece of plane debris has been found. Cross fingers.

The links I posted (#4) indicate there has been debris washing up since May, but the garbage collector has been burning it.

Edited August 2, 2015 by impulse

[than]

RT@airlivenet: ALERT More: An object, believed to be the door of an aircraft, was discovered just south of the city of St Den... http://t.co/XxZIszIXHJ

Source from french Air Transport Gendarmerie it was 70 cm aluminum fragment found on beach... The man who found this believed it was a part of airplane door.... now wait investigation

[Chicog]

MH 370?

Plane door found on Reunion Island : Sky News

A plane door has been found washed up on Reunion Island, Sky News reported on Sunday.

According to Sky News’ David Bowden, the object was discovered in a different location to the flaperon which prompted speculation that it was from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Experts confirmed that the flaperon was consistent with that of Boeing 777 although it is not known if it is from the missing jet.

The Transport Ministry said that MH370 investigators would only be able to inspect the flaperon after Monday because Malaysian authorities had to attend a meeting with the French Government before they could actually see the debris.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said he was informed that only Malaysia, France and plane manufacturer Boeing would jointly inspect the debris stored at Toulouse at this point, adding that he was unaware if other agencies are also involved.

A CNN report said the US National Transportation Safety Board would also take part, with a French source telling the channel that a preliminary report could come as early as this week.

Reunion Island is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.

Flight MH370 with 239 people on board disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 last year. It is believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/aec/Plane-door-found-on-Reunion-Island-Sky-News-30265730.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-02

Sky have now retracted that claim.

[Chicog]

An object found on the French island of Reunion has been confirmed as "a domestic ladder" and is not a plane part, amid reports that a new piece of plane debris possibly from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was found on the island.

Malaysian director general of civil aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said a piece of debris found on a beach near the town of Saint-Denis this morning had nothing to do with the investigation involving missing MH 370.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/mh370-new-debris-not-a-plane-part-31421518.html?

[JetsetBkk]

An object found on the French island of Reunion has been confirmed as "a domestic ladder" and is not a plane part, amid reports that a new piece of plane debris possibly from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was found on the island.

Malaysian director general of civil aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said a piece of debris found on a beach near the town of Saint-Denis this morning had nothing to do with the investigation involving missing MH 370.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/mh370-new-debris-not-a-plane-part-31421518.html?

Yes, I can see the resemblance - a plane door and a "domestic ladder".

[lap82]

It's impossible that it's not from the plane of the MH370 flight, IMO

[hawker9000]

It's impossible that it's not from the plane of the MH370 flight, IMO

?

[Jimbolai]

French claim the find.

Sorry Aussies.

Aussies would have found it if it came in a bottle.

[bangon04]

One would hope they will invite at least Boeing, the NTSB and the AAIB to participate, given their relative expertise in 777 accidents.

Boeing will send a technical team to take part in expertise

The French are more likely to let Airbus do the analysis....

"After a 10-hour journey by road from Paris' Orly airport, a truck carrying the roughly 8-foot (2.44-meter) component known as a flaperon arrived at the DGA TA aeronautical testing site near Toulouse, accompanied by police motorcycles and a police car."

At least this is getting the urgent attention it deserves:

"The Transport Ministry said that MH370 investigators would only be able to inspect the flaperon after Monday because Malaysian authorities had to attend a meeting with the French Government before they could actually see the debris."

Edited August 3, 2015 by bangon04

[sanuk711]

The MH370 part is on its way to France

So I guess the big questions will be:

--

Is it just trying to make it's way to Calais in an attempt to cross the Channel to get into England....................

[Aforek]

The French are more likely to let Airbus do the analysis....

"After a 10-hour journey by road from Paris' Orly airport, a truck carrying the roughly 8-foot (2.44-meter) component known as a flaperon arrived at the DGA TA aeronautical testing site near Toulouse,

Nothing to do with Airbus DGA TA is military, expert center to study plane crashes

big aeronautic industry around Toulouse ( Caravelle, Concorde, Airbus, Ariane , satellites...)

[Carmine6]

Now being confirmed by Malaysian Prime Minister. There was a very brief French press conference that was more guarded since they're not done with it yet.

MH370: Reunion debris is from missing plane

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33794012

"The international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Najib said in a televised statement.

[Tywais]

New topic started now - MH370: Part Found On Reunion Island Is From Missing Plane