Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: More Debris And Confusion Over Findings

In Beijing, about 30 Chinese relatives of Flight 370 passengers marched to the Malaysian Embassy hoping to talk to an official about why Malaysia confirmed the part came from the plane when French investigators had not.

Investigators on the French-governed island of Reunion have collected a piece of wing that Malaysia has said came from Flight MH370, the first real clue in one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.

A piece of window, seat cushion and metal are among the debris recovered from a Réunion Island beach that Malaysian officials stopped short of associating with the long-lost Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, reports said.

France said it was ramping up its search off the coast of the French-governed island after Malaysia confirmed a piece of wing debris was from MH370.

Family members of passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 hold signs as they protest outside the company’s offices in Beijing, Thursday, August 6, 2015.

Tests on the wing part found last week are still ongoing.

“I was left somewhat confused and, frankly, a little angry and dismayed”, said K.S. Narendran, whose wife was one of the passengers. Officials believe it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, killing all aboard, but the wreckage and the cause remain elusive despite a vast ongoing search led by Australia.

Numerous family members convening insisted they could not trust the Malaysian government, and the pressure from Beijing was necessary. Malaysia has overall responsibility for the investigation into the loss of the plane.

Hua Chunying, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, also said in a statement that Malaysian authorities must conduct further investigations so as to “earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests” of the families of the victims – most of whom are Chinese nationals. “Malaysia is the country responsible and they should obtain the relevant documents”.

The Malaysian announcement, even if not absolute confirmation, is therefore reason to push on with what had appeared a futile search. “I don’t know what they are afraid of or what they are hiding”. Analysts, however, call the find a clear step forward by eliminating theories that plane might have landed somewhere, and confirming the search was roughly on the right track. This is not the first time they get the wrong news…

“The finding of debris does not mean the finding of our next of kin”, Jiang said. “There is still a very small element of doubt”, he said.

“There is no conclusive evidence that this part belongs to the Boeing”, said Ghislain Wattrelos, who lost his wife and two of his children on the flight.

While there has been hope that examination of the flaperon could yield some insights into how the plane might have entered the water, Dolan said any analysis would not change the debris search. “If it’s not too much to ask, I still want the remains of my husband”.