Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 Update: France Confirms Wing Flaperon Belonged To Missing Plane

French authorities have followed Malaysian authorities in confirming that the debris that washed up on Reunion Island in July was from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Update: Debris Confirmed From Flight

The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Thursday that the analysis made it “possible to say with certainty that the flaperon discovered on the Reunion Island on July 29 2015 corresponds to the one on MH370,” reported CNN.

Last month, Malaysian Prime MInister Najib Razak said that there was enough information yielded from testing to confirm that the flaperon matched MH370.

“Today, 513 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion is indeed from MH370,” the prime minister said in a televised statement. “We now have physical evidence that, as I announced on 24th March last year, flight MH370 tragically ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

Although both Razak and Malaysia Airlines had said that the testing on the wing debris was conclusive, French prosecutor Serge Mackowiak was more careful in his own remarks, stating that there was a “very strong supposition” that the debris belonged to MH370 and that those working on testing would continue to analyze the evidence.

The component of a Boeing 777 airplane that was found, known as a “flaperon,” is a combination of two other wing components – the flap and the ailerons, which create lift or drag and prevent the aircraft from rolling over, respectively. Flaperons, which are positioned near the rear of a plane’s wings, are deployed solely for take-offs and landings.

MH370’s flaperon was likely able to stay afloat due to its hollow structure. Its natural buoyancy allowed it to eventually land on Reunion Island, where it was found by beach cleaners. Further aiding investigators in positively identifying it as part of MH370, the flaperon typically has markings and/or parts numbers that would correspond to the plane.

By finding and identifying the flaperon as a part of MH370, authorities are able to give closure to the families of the 239 people who perished aboard the ill-fated flight that took off on March 8, 2014.