Plane window found on Reunion Island

Police officers inspect metallic debris found on a beach at Saint-Denis on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean on Sunday.

“We still need to know what happened”. “We have to rely on fishermen and others who are there all the time to help us”. Investigators settled on that scenario after analysing data exchanged between the plane and a satellite, which showed the jetliner took a straight path across the ocean.

The items have been sent to the French authorities for examination.

Other French officials with ties to the investigation Paris and Reunion also said they were unaware of any new debris.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an global team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed MH370”, Najib told reporters. The French territory is thousands of kilometres west of the area being searched for wreckage from the flight.

While confirming ocean-borne debris from the plane is an important threshold for many relatives, it will be hard for some to fully come to terms with the disaster without seeing the body of their loved one, said Nancy Smyth, a sociologist at University of Buffalo who focuses on psychological trauma.

But they confirmed the part was from a Boeing 777, of the type that vanished without trace on March 8, 2014, after veering off course while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. “It can only be certain that it is actually debris from a plane”.

He also said more apparent plane debris has been found on Reunion Island and sent to local authorities for French investigators to examine.

Sara Weeks, the sister of New Zealander and MH370 passenger Paul Weeks, said: “Why the hell do you have one confirm and one not?”

Liow said a Malaysian team found the objects, including a window and some aluminum foil, but an aide to the minister later said it was “window material” rather than a window that was recovered.

Liow Tiong Lai said a maintenance seal on the flaperon matches the airline’s records. “We don’t believe any of their words”. “They have more verification process to make, the paint, the sealant and so on”, he said. “The expert team strongly feel and confirm that it is MH370”. The search should continue.

Caroline Sapriel, managing director of CS&A, which advises companies on crisis management, said that the airline must communicate the developments “sensitively to the families and all stakeholders otherwise it may end up being perceived wrongly and have a further deteriorating effect on their already tainted reputation”.

Some relatives of those killed aboard MH370 said today’s confirmation that the plane had crashed was not enough to lay the matter to rest, as they reiterated demands for answers on what caused its disappearance. Of course, the rescue work has to be continued. “Only that, for us, will be full closure”, The Malaysian Star quoted Jacquita Gonzales, wife of MH370 chief steward Patrick Gomes as saying.

The announcement in Malaysia was met with anger and cynicism by Chinese relatives of some of the 239 passengers and crew who were on board when the flight disappeared on 8 March past year.

They held signs, including one saying “Malaysia hides the truth”, and another expressing confidence that Chinese President Xi Jinping will help the relatives. After several hours, the group was invited into a closed-door talk with airline officials. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Thursday, August 6, 2015, that a wing…

Privately, however, there were questions about why Mr Najib had moved forward with the statement before all countries had agreed.

“We now have physical evidence that, as I announced on 31 March last year, flight MH370 tragically ended in the Southern Indian Ocean”. “Why not wait and get everybody on the same page so the families don’t need to go through this turmoil?”

But that has not deterred interpretations of photographs of the flaperon and revised drift modelling by the Australian-led search team, which some argue was changed to suit the finding, to pursue existing theories.