Malaysia 'almost certain' MH370 has been found

 Investigators are despatched to Indian Ocean island to prove washed-up wing flap belongs to a Boeing 777 in a bid to solve mystery of the doomed jet

Malaysian officials today said it was 'almost certain' the debris that washed up on La Reunion island in the southern Indian Ocean belongs to a Boeing 777 – the same model as missing flight MH370.

Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi made the announcement after air crash investigators said they had 'a high degree of confidence' the wreckage came from that type of aircraft.

Yesterday's dramatic discovery, some 3,500 miles from the doomed jet's last known location, has fuelled hopes across the globe that one of aviation's greatest mysteries could move closer to finally being solved.

Aviation investigators are now heading to the island to verify the findings after identifying the six-foot-long piece of debris as a 'flaperon' from the edge of a plane's wing. 

Crucial piece of the puzzle: Aviation investigators are heading to the island of La Reunion to determine whether this six-foot-long wing flap belongs to missing flight MH370 after it was found on the beach in Saint-Andre on the French Indian Ocean island

French police inspect the piece of plane debris which was found on the beach in Saint-Andre on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion

Officials are examining debris found washed up on Reunion island east of Madagascar to determine if it is related to the missing MH370

The debris appears to be part of a wing and was taken onto the island of La Reunion, where it will be thoroughly inspected 

Air crash investigators confirmed that they have a 'high degree of certainty' that the component is from a Boeing 777 – similar to MH370

Mr Kaprawi said: 'It is almost certain that the flaperon is from a Boeing 777 aircraft. Our chief investigator here told me this.'  

French, Malaysian, and Australian authorities have all begun looking into the object's origin, with Malaysia saying it was sending a team of experts to the island today.

'We expect in two days we can complete the verification,' Mr Kaprawi said.  

Australia's deputy prime minister also said a number stamped on the debris could help quickly identify whether it came from MH370.

The stamp was not a serial number but could have been some sort of maintenance number that would help with trying to identify it, Warren Truss said.

'This kind of work is obviously going to take some time although the number may help to identify the aircraft parts, assuming that's what they are, much more quickly than might otherwise be the case,' he said.  

If the wing part is confirmed as coming from MH370, a massive air, land and sea search is expected to get under way in the region for other debris from the aircraft.

A torn-off part of the aircraft suggests that other debris would have drifted from the crash site - and the discovery of the flaperon is a powerful clue as to where other pieces would have ended up. 

If the Indian Ocean currents have carried a large piece of a wing some 3,000 miles, there is a possibility that smaller items from the plane, particularly luggage, seat cushions and blankets could have been carried to the Reunion coastline. 

Locals are expected to be questioned in coming days over whether they have picked up items on the beach - which they might have assumed were worthless pieces of flotsam, but which could now prove to be vital clues as to where the aircraft went down.

Teams from among the 500,000-strong population are expected to be brought together to search the coastline, while it is likely that aerial and sea support from France, Australia, Malaysia and China will be deployed to join in the hunt for debris. 

Circled is the part of the Malaysian Airlines plane that officials believe has washed up on the Reunion Island, east of Madagascar

The two-metre-long section of wreckage was discovered on the island of La Reunion, east of Madagascar, more than 3,800 miles away from where the aircraft was last seen, north of Kuala Lumpur and some 3,000 miles from the search area west of Australia 

source: daily mail