MALAYSIA-AIRLINES/AUSTRALIA DEPUTY PM If wreckage found off Madagascar belongs to MH370, "certainly a major breakthrough" - Australian Deputy PM

Record ID: 145698

  • Title: MALAYSIA-AIRLINES/AUSTRALIA DEPUTY PM If wreckage found off Madagascar belongs to MH370, "certainly a major breakthrough" - Australian Deputy PM
  • Date: 30th July 2015
  • Summary: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (JULY 30, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STATEMENT FROM THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA WARREN TRUSS'S OFFICE ON AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE FOUND IN INDIAN OCEAN
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Australia
  • Country: Australia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5RBL6I7MHHUBZGQUMEJR3M4U4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE, PLEASE REFER TO STORY 0425-MALAYSIA-AIRLINES/MH370-FILE, SENT ON JULY 30, FOR FILE MATERIAL
    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS WHITE FLASHES IN LIEU OF CUTAWAYS.
    Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said on Thursday (July 30) that it will certainly be a "major breakthrough" if debris washed up on Reunion Island off the east coast of Africa belongs to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
    France's BEA air crash investigation agency said it was examining the debris, found washed up on the French island east of Madagascar on Wednesday (July 28), in coordination with Malaysian and Australian authorities, but that it was too early to draw conclusions.
    "The wreckage does resemble wing parts from a Boeing 777, the type of aircraft that was operating MH370. So, we're looking with great interest at this discovery. Boeing and other experts are travelling to the site so that they can see first hand and confirm whether or not this is a part of a 777 aircraft and then, as a further step, whether there is anyway of linking that wreckage to the missing aircraft," said Warren Truss, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.
    Australia, who leads the search for the missing plane in the southern Indian Ocean, has focused on a large area of the coast of Western Australia but has failed to turn up any evidence of the aircraft so far.
    The location of the aircraft debris is consistent with the search area identified, Truss told reporters, but it doesn't prove precisely where the plane went into the ocean.
    "It's been in the water for a year and a half now and it's moved, obviously, a considerable distance. So, it won't be all that helpful in pinpointing precisely where the aircraft might be located, but if this wreckage is linked to MH370, it'll certainly confirm that the aircraft has gone into the water in the Indian Ocean area," said Truss.
    Truss said that there is work being done in Australia to see how long it may have been in the ocean considering the condition of the debris.
    "I don't think it'll be very long for us to be able to identify that it's wreckage from a 777, a Boeing 777, but it will take I'd imagine longer to be satisfied that it's associated with MH370. It could be that there's some identifying feature on the wreckage that links it to that aircraft and that would obviously mean that an earlier diagnosis can be made. But, at this stage, an interesting discovery, it has the potential to be something of a breakthrough in the search for MH370, but we have more work to do before we can be optimistic about that," he added.
    The piece usually contains markings or part numbers that should allow it to be traced to an individual aircraft, the person familiar with the matter said.
    Aviation experts who have seen widely circulated pictures of the debris said it may be a moving wing surface known as a flaperon, situated close to the fuselage.
    The part is roughly 2-2.5 meters in length, according to pictures of the debris. From the photos, it appeared fairly intact and did not have visible burn marks or signs of impact.
    Truss added on Thursday that if the wreckage is found to belong to MH370, it may give some clarity to the families of those on board as to what may have happened to the doomed flight.
    "If the wreckage is identified, what that does is give some degree of closure to the families who are waiting for information about what's happened to their loved ones and I think that's the most important element of this potential development. If it can be established beyond doubt that the aircraft has gone into the water, then that helps people to understand what happened and then to have closure for their loss," he said.
    The discovery could be the biggest breakthrough in the so-far fruitless search for MH370, which disappeared without a trace in March 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Most of the passengers were Chinese.
    "By far, it's the first time that there has been wreckage that has the potential to be identified as associated with this missing aircraft, and so, if in fact that it is confirmed, it certainly is a major breakthrough and really pinpoints the fact that the aircraft entered the sea in the Indian Ocean," Truss said.
    A person familiar with the matter told Reuters the part was almost certainly from a Boeing 777, but that it had not yet been established if it was a piece from the missing MH370.
    There have been four serious accidents involving 777s. Only MH370 is believed to have crashed south of the equator.
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