Aug 1, 2015, 02:05 PM
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33713885
The discovery of an aeroplane part on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean is being investigated to see if it came from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
![[Image: _84565606_gettyimages-482269842.jpg]](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/ECF0/production/_84565606_gettyimages-482269842.jpg)
Initial pictures suggest it is a flaperon - a part of the wing that helps create lift for an aircraft.
Several aviation experts have said it could have come from a large aircraft such as a Boeing 777 - the same model as the MH370 plane.
But all urge caution and Malaysian officials says they want "tangible and irrefutable evidence" before they tell the families of the victims.
Robin Beaman, a marine geologist with Australia's James Cook University, said the pictures showed substantial marine growth - gooseneck or stalked barnacles - on the debris. These are commonly found on flotsam in the Indian Ocean, he told the BBC, and only on objects floating on the surface.
Mr Beaman said it was obvious from the barnacle growth that the part had been drifting for "quite a long time".
But he said it was hard to say how long exactly - it could be years or months - and that it was also unclear how long the part had been onshore before it was found.
![[Image: _84577298_mh370_flaperon_624in.jpg]](https://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/15CBD/production/_84577298_mh370_flaperon_624in.jpg)
The discovery of an aeroplane part on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean is being investigated to see if it came from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Initial pictures suggest it is a flaperon - a part of the wing that helps create lift for an aircraft.
Several aviation experts have said it could have come from a large aircraft such as a Boeing 777 - the same model as the MH370 plane.
But all urge caution and Malaysian officials says they want "tangible and irrefutable evidence" before they tell the families of the victims.
Robin Beaman, a marine geologist with Australia's James Cook University, said the pictures showed substantial marine growth - gooseneck or stalked barnacles - on the debris. These are commonly found on flotsam in the Indian Ocean, he told the BBC, and only on objects floating on the surface.
Mr Beaman said it was obvious from the barnacle growth that the part had been drifting for "quite a long time".
But he said it was hard to say how long exactly - it could be years or months - and that it was also unclear how long the part had been onshore before it was found.