KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Transport said in a statement that it is in contact with its counterpart from the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), the French air crash investigation agency, pertaining to the flaperon which washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion yesterday.
The flaperon, a mixture of a flap and an aileron hinged on the trailing edge of a Boeing 777 aircraft wing, is believed to possibly belong to the Malaysia Airlines flight 370 that went missing in March last year.
Although thousands of kilometres from where it is thought to have crashed, the currents of the ocean are consistent with Reunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean.
“A team comprising experts from the Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 has been despatched to Reunion Island to verify whether the flaperon belongs to the missing aircraft.
“The Ministry would like to state that until there is tangible and irrefutable evidence that the flaperon does belong to the missing aircraft, it would be premature to speculate at this juncture.
“This is to ensure that we do not raise false hope for the loved ones of the victims of MH370. We will make the necessary announcements once details have been verified,” the statement said.
Below is the full statement from Transport Ministry.
A part identified as a flaperon that could possibly belong to the Boeing 777 aircraft that was MH370 has been discovered. The flaperon was washed up on to the island of Reunion which is located in the Indian Ocean. We are in contact with our counterpart from Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), the French air crash investigation agency, pertaining to this matter.
A team comprising experts from the Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 has been despatched to Reunion Island to verify whether the flaperon belongs to the missing aircraft.
The Ministry would like to state that until there is tangible and irrefutable evidence that the flaperon does belong to the missing aircraft, it would be premature to speculate at this juncture.
This is to ensure that we do not raise false hope for the loved ones of the victims of MH370. We will make the necessary announcements once details have been verified.