Malaysia Airlines Confirms Washed Up Debris Belonged To A Boeing 777

A piece of a plane wing that washed up on an island may very well be the first confirmed trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The 6-foot part was found on the French island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, Daily Mail reports.

Malaysia's deputy transport minister, Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, reportedly confirmed a part number written on the wreckage shows it came from a Boeing 777.

MH370 is the only aircraft of this kind believed to have crashed in that area of the world, according to Yahoo! News.

Kaprawi told reporters,

I believe that we are moving close to solving the mystery of MH370. This could be the convincing evidence that MH370 went down in the Indian Ocean.

MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board.

For reasons unknown, the plane is thought to have plunged into the southern Indian Ocean after being diverted off its course from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing.

The pilot of the flight was found to have practiced landing on an island in the Indian Ocean using a home flight simulator, making him the primary human suspect for the crash.

Prior to this week, search teams had yet to find any confirmed evidence of the crash, largely due to the vastness of the area in which debris may be located.

The wing piece found on Wednesday, however, contains a part number that is mentioned in Boeing's manufacturer's manual.

A piece of luggage, a detergent bottle with Indonesian writing and a Chinese bottle of water have also been found on the same island, Daily Mail reports.

MH370 is one of just three Boeing 777s in history to have met tragedy.

The others are Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over war-torn Ukraine in July of 2014, and Asiana Airlines Flight 214, which crash-landed at a San Francisco airport in July of 2013.

Malaysian investigators are reported to have taken the wing piece to Toulouse, France, where it will be examined.

According to Daily Mail, Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said more information on the part's potential connection to MH370 should be available "within the next 24 hours."

Citations: Wing flap washed up on Indian Ocean island WAS from a Boeing 777 confirms Malaysia Airlines as experts claim BARNACLES could pinpoint site of MH370s black box (Daily Mail), Moving close to solving MH370 mystery Malaysian official (Yahoo News)