French prosecutor concludes wing part found is from MH370

PARIS: The French prosecutor's office concluded Thursday that a wing part found on Reunion Island in July belonged to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The wing part was found on July 29 after 16 months of searching for debris from the missing flight.
In a statement, the prosecutor said that three numbers found on the wing part allowed investigators to conclude "with certainty" that it belonged to the missing Boeing 777.
The plane disappeared without a trace with 239 people aboard about an hour after it left Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It mysteriously changed course and went out over the Indian Ocean before losing all contact.
Malaysia had previously confirmed that the debris, a piece of the wing called a flaperon, belonged to the flight and the country's prime minister had said that it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. French prosecutors had not issued formal confirmation until Thursday.
French investigators used an endoscope to uncover the numbers on the interior of the flaperon.
International and Spanish investigators then met in Seville, Spain, to cross-reference the numbers with manufacture Airbus Defence and Space, which has its headquarters in Spain and which had been sub-contracted to produce the piece by Boeing.
A technician there turned over data that allowed investigators to confirm that the numbers on the piece corresponded to the serial number on the part that had been destined for the aircraft of MH370, the prosecutor's office said.
In August, the French prosecutor said identification of the part was supported by information received by aircraft maker Boeing and Malaysia Airlines.
Thursday's conclusion is the most concrete pieces of evidence into the fate of the flight.
It remains unclear why the plane deviated from its course and went dark. — dpa