Plane debris arrives in France; exam to focus on flaperon possibly from missing Malaysian jet

The piece of aircraft believed to be from a Malaysian Airlines jet that mysteriously disappeared 17 months ago arrived in France early Saturday for examination by lab experts.

A six-foot section of wing known as a flaperon was discovered on a beach on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion on Wednesday. Malaysian transport officials have stated that a part number on the flaperon suggests that it comes from a Boeing 777, the same model of aircraft as Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

The barnacle-encrusted flaperon was to be driven to the southern French city of Toulouse under escort by gendarmes, a journey of at least nine hours, where it will be examined by experts at a specialized military laboratory.

Boeing has said it is sending a technical team to France to examine the debris.

A piece of suitcase discovered on the same beach also has been flown to Paris, where it will be examined by investigators at a gendarmerie near the French capital.

Experts will scrutinize the flaperon for indications of the plane’s speed when the part detached, whether it was gliding because it ran out of fuel or whether it was plunging violently to Earth. The part is normally engaged to help a pilot bank and slow a plane as it prepares to land.

On Monday, one of three magistrates heading the French inquiry is to meet with a Malaysian legal representative and experts, officials from the French air-accident investigation bureau and gendarmes involved in the investigation. Four of 239 people on board MH370 were French.

The jetliner disappeared in March 2014 one hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing. Despite extensive ocean searches, nothing has been found of the aircraft.

The debris was discovered by a team of beach cleaners on Reunion Island.

Willsher is a special correspondent.