Indian Ocean Airplane Debris is Part of MH370

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID,  KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia said on Sunday that airplane debris that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion has been identified as being from a Boeing 777, the same model as a Malaysian Airlines plane which vanished last year.

"We know the flaperon has been officially identified as being part of a Boeing 777 aircraft," Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement, Sunday (2/8). "This has been verified by French authorities together with aircraft manufacturer Boeing, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Malaysian team."

The barnacled plane part was flown to Paris on Saturday and was taken to Toulouse to undergo more detailed analysis. Representatives from Malaysia, the United States, China, France and Boeing are due to participate in a "verification" of the flaperon on Wednesday.

Flaperon is a  2-2.5 metre (6.5-8 feet) wing surface.  Experts hope and a fragment of luggage also found on Reunion could yield clues on the fate of Flight MH370, which disappeared without trace in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.