Possible New Debris from Malaysia Airlines MH370 Found in Mauritius

A piece of possible aircraft debris may give investigators more clues about the fate of Malaysia Airlines MH370 if it is proven to have come from that ill-fated flight.

Found in Mauritius, the part would join a flaperon – more commonly known as a “flap” – that was found and positively identified last as coming from MH370. So far that flap is the only bit of wreckage to have been discovered from the lost plane, which was headed to Beijing when it took off over two years ago, never to be seen again.

In March, investigators said that debris found in Mozambique, in southeast Africa, was “almost certainly” from the missing airplane, identifying it as consistent both with parts used on Boeing 777s, and models of the 777 used by Malaysia Airlines.

A hotel owner in Mauritius – a small island nation east of Madagascar – said he found what may be a piece from the Boeing 777’s interior cabin. Australian investigators, who are leading the search for the plane, will examine it to determine its origin.

The discoveries support the prevailing theory that the Malaysia Airlines flight crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, with parts then floating on ocean currents westward towards Africa.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from radar on the night of March 7, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew aboard.

The majority of passengers were Chinese, and many of them from Beijing and the surrounding area. A number of Beijing-based foreigners were also on board, including members of a French family, a Canadian couple, and an American businessman.

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