MH370 search: Debris confirmed from Boeing 777, but what next?

The discovery of debris may not solve the mystery of what happened to the plane or help find it, warn aviation experts

French police carry the plane debris which was found on the beach in Saint-Andre, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion. Photograph: Prisca Bigot/Reuters

A part number on a piece of aircraft wreckage found in the Indian Ocean confirmed the object is from a Boeing 777, according to a Malaysian transport official.

"From the part number, it is confirmed that it is from a Boeing 777 aircraft. This information is from Malaysia Airlines. They have informed me," Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told AFP.

The debris discovered on Wednesday is the first piece of evidence since the Malaysia Airline flight MH370 -- a Boeing 777 -- travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared in March last year. There were 239 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.

Aeroplanes are stamped with serial numbers to enable parts to be matched to a specific model, CNN reports.

According to CNN aviation analyst Mary Sachvio, there have been only five accidents involving Boeing 777s, and the disappearance of MH-370 is the only one where debris hasn't been recovered.

In all likelihood, the debris found on Reunion Island belongs to the missing plane.

Martin Dolan, who heads the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, had told the BBC on Thursday he was "increasingly confident" the piece of metal, about two metres square in size, was a "flaperon" from a Boeing 777. A flaperon is a part of the wing used to manage the lift and control the roll of an aircraft.

New debris

This container was part of newly-discovered debris washed onto the beach at the island. Photograph: Prisca Bigot/Reuters

A liquid soap container was part of newly-discovered debris washed onto the beach at Saint-Andre on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean on Friday, reports Reuters.

A label on the liquid soap container is marked Jakarta, Indonesia.

Will aviation’s biggest mystery be solved?

The discovery may not solve the mystery of what happened to the plane, warn aviation experts. However, damage to the right wing flaperon indicates that the piece came off while the plane was still in the air.

The group, led by American Mobile Satellite Corporation co-founder Mike Exner, points to the small amount of damage to the front of the flaperon and the ragged horizontal tear across the back, CNN reports.

The debris was found 2,300 miles away from the search area, off the coast of Australia. But this does not mean that the search was being carried in the wrong place, say oceanographers.

While the discovery might offer clues to the condition of the plane when it vanished with 239 people on board, it's likely to be of scant value in pinpointing a new search zone for the Boeing 777, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said if the piece is from MH-370, it would indicate authorities are searching in "roughly the right place."

Will the main section of the plane be found?

Truss told the Australian media on Thursday that it is "not really going to be all that helpful in pinpointing precisely where the aircraft is."

But other pieces of the plane could have been carried by currents to the same region.

Once there is a confirmation that the piece is from MH-370, searches will be conducted near the islands surrounding Reunion Island.

Meanwhile, a US intelligence assessment, based on satellite data and other evidence, has speculated the plane was deliberately steered off course and possibly downed, a source told ABC News.