It looks like the search for the missing MH370 flight may finally be bearing fruit, with air safety investigators saying that aircraft debris found in the Indian Ocean is more than likely that of the stricken plane.

Given that the plane went down on March 8 of last year it is remarkable that the crash has remained a mystery, although the fact that the wing component belongs to a Boeing 777 gives them a ‘high degree of confidence’ that they have finally struck gold. Below from Associated Press:

A discovery of debris from the missing plane would confirm the prevailing belief based on satellite data that the plane turned south into the Indian Ocean after vanishing from radar, and put to rest other theories that it traveled north, or landed somewhere after being hijacked.

The debris was located on the French island of Reunion and, when you consider the prevalent wind and current conditions, the pieces seem to fit. Mashable reports:

While the prevailing currents in the southern Indian Ocean during March differ significantly from those in place today, simply because of the change of seasons and other factors (the weather doesn’t stay the same for that long, after all), the general flow of water in the upper ocean would most likely have taken debris that was deposited in the southern Indian Ocean in a counterclockwise direction.

Those currents have certainly caused that debris to travel, the last primary contact with the plane placing it about 370km northwest of the Malaysian city Penang. Reunion happens to be around 5 600km southwest of Penang.

Investigators hope that the wing can help with figuring out the mystery of what caused the plane to crash:

If the part belongs to Flight 370, it could provide valuable clues to investigators trying to figure out what caused the aircraft to vanish in the first place, said Jason Middleton, an aviation professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. The nature of the damage to the debris could help indicate whether the plane broke up in the air or when it hit the water, and how violently it did so, he said.

Teams have now been sent to verify with certainty whether the debris comes from MH370 and we should know within the next few days.

Perhaps this may bring some sense of closure to those who lost loved ones in the crash that claimed 239 lives, although for many others this may be the start of another very trying period.

[sources:ap&mashable&mashable]