Investigators scramble to analyse wreckage for MH370 link

Investigators headed to a tiny Indian Ocean island on July 30 to inspect whether plane wreckage that drifted ashore was from missing flight MH370, raising hopes of solving one of aviation's greatest mysteries.

Australia described the July 29 discovery of the two-metre (six-foot) long piece of wreckage, which appeared to be part of a wing, as an "important development" after more than 16 months of searching.
 
But Malaysia Airlines and authorities involved in the search, yet to make a thorough inspection of the debris on the French island of La Reunion, cautioned against jumping to quick conclusions.
 
"Whatever wreckage is found needs to be further verified before we can further confirm whether it belongs to MH370," Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters in New York, saying he hoped for answers "as soon as possible".
 
French, Malaysian, and Australian authorities have all begun looking into the object's origin, with Malaysia saying it was sending a team of experts to the island.
 
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, vanished on March 8 last year shortly after takeoff over the South China Sea with 239 people on board  

Authorities involved in an Australian-led search at sea believe it eventually went down in the southern Indian Ocean.
 
But no confirmed physical evidence has ever been found and Malaysian authorities in January declared that all on board were presumed dead.
 
"This obviously is a very important development and if it is indeed wreckage from MH370, it starts to provide some closure for the families of the people on board," said Australia's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss.
 
Malaysia's deputy...