Over a year since Malaysian Airlines MH370 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, the world may finally be getting its first clue to the mystery surrounding its disappearance. The piece of debris, called a flaperon, which washed up on the shores on Reunion Island near Madagascar, has now arrived in Toulouse, France. Experts there are expected to confirm it is a piece of the missing aircraft. All signs point to a positive identification, with even Malaysia airlines confirming the barnacle-encrusted flaperon is from a Boeing 777.
Hopefully, given the ability of aeronautical experts to extrapolate details from the debris, we will finally know what happened to the flight. Did it crash, explode in midair, or meet some other fate?
This may not be much, but it may provide some comfort to the families of the 239 people who were aboard the plane when it went missing. The flaperon could tell them that. It would be the first piece of hard information they have that wasn’t based on speculation. Possibly, this new evidence could also put to rest the conspiracy theories that have run wild over the past year. That, too, would be a blessing to family members. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that one piece of evidence will help lead to a discovery of MH370’s black box or resolve the ultimate question of what happened to the plane, but it’s a start. It may be the first step towards finally laying to rest the mystery of the missing Malaysian aircraft.
