Where Did We Last Hear From Malaysia Flight MH370?

An aviation expert thinks he may have found wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight 370 on Réunion Island, which is a French department in the Indian Ocean. MH370 disappeared after taking off from Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia on March 8, 2014, and was bound for Beijing with about 239 people on board. Air traffic controllers in Subang, which is outside of Kuala Lumpar, said they lost contact with the plane over the sea between Malaysia and Vietnam (the yellow marker on the map below). The plane's last known location was over the small island of Pulau Perak in the Straight of Malacca (the red marker on the map). So how far is Réunion from where MH370 lost contact? The island about 5,556 kilometers, or 3,500 miles, from the Straight of Malacca.

Assuming this wreckage belongs to MH370, this confirms suspicions that the flight was flying in the opposite direction of its scheduled route, according to CNN. The debris that was found is a wing flap, which a military pilot told the Telegraph looks like the wing of a Boeing 777 — the type of plane MH370 was. Police examining the wreckage have also said that it looks like it's been in the water for about a year, which would fit the timeline. This development does contradict theories that the plane landed in Diego Garcia or flew over North Korea.

Xavier Tytelman, an expert in aviation security, told the Daily Mail that the wreckage could not be ruled out as belonging to MH370. He said local media photos showed "incredible similarities" to the wing of a Boeing 777. He also said there was a number on the wing, "BB670," which is not a plane's registration number or serial number, but could definitely be helpful:

However ... it's clear that this reference would allow a quick identification. In a few days, we will have a definitive answer.

The location of the wreckage would fit international experts' satellite data, which estimated that the plane with down in the southern Indian Ocean. Authorities still don't know why the plane veered so dramatically off course. Search teams combed the ocean floor looking for traces of the jet until the Malaysian government declared the loss an accident and presumed all of its passengers and crew dead.

The answer of what plane this wreckage truly belongs to couldn't come soon enough for the families of the 239 victims.

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