MH370: Flaperon Definitely From Missing Plane

The piece of wing washed up on Reunion Island has been formally identified as part of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The French prosecutor looking after the case confirmed the news weeks after the flaperon was found to be from a Boeing 777.

As MH370 was the only plane of that type to be missing, many had already concluded the wreckage was from the plane.

It disappeared in March 2014 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with the loss of all 239 on board, most of them Chinese citizens.

Despite a multi-national search effort and several false alarms, no trace of the plane was found until the flaperon was discovered on the beach in Saint Andre on 29 July.

Malaysian authorities have also said the paint colour and maintenance record proves the part comes from MH370.

The French prosecutor had previously been more cautious about attributing the wreckage to the plane.

But he now says a technician from Airbus Defence and Space in Spain, where the part was produced, had matched one of the numbers on the part to the serial number for the plane.

In a statement, he added: "It is therefore possible to confirm with certainty that the flaperon found on Reunion island on July 29, 2015 corresponds to the one from flight MH370."