AFP, Paris :
Technical experts in France were to begin examining a washed-up plane part on Wednesday that almost certainly belonged to missing flight MH370, raising hopes that some light may finally be shed on one of aviation’s darkest mysteries.
The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared on March 8 last year when it inexplicably veered off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, and a colossal multinational hunt for the aircraft proved fruitless.
But last week’s discovery of a two-metre-long (6.6-foot-long) wing part called a flaperon on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion raised fresh hopes for relatives desperate for answers.
The Boeing 777 piece has been taken to the southwestern French city of Toulouse, where it will undergo the high-profile examination.
The case containing the wing part will be opened early afternoon Wednesday, said a French source close to the case, in the presence of French and Malaysian experts, Boeing employees and representatives from China — the country that lost the most passengers.
It is as yet unclear whether their conclusions will be announced on the same day or later, added the source, who wished to remain anonymous.
Australia’s deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said on Wednesday, meanwhile, that official word on whether the flaperon is from MH370 could come this week.
Technical experts in France were to begin examining a washed-up plane part on Wednesday that almost certainly belonged to missing flight MH370, raising hopes that some light may finally be shed on one of aviation’s darkest mysteries.
The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared on March 8 last year when it inexplicably veered off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, and a colossal multinational hunt for the aircraft proved fruitless.
But last week’s discovery of a two-metre-long (6.6-foot-long) wing part called a flaperon on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion raised fresh hopes for relatives desperate for answers.
The Boeing 777 piece has been taken to the southwestern French city of Toulouse, where it will undergo the high-profile examination.
The case containing the wing part will be opened early afternoon Wednesday, said a French source close to the case, in the presence of French and Malaysian experts, Boeing employees and representatives from China — the country that lost the most passengers.
It is as yet unclear whether their conclusions will be announced on the same day or later, added the source, who wished to remain anonymous.
Australia’s deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said on Wednesday, meanwhile, that official word on whether the flaperon is from MH370 could come this week.
