International and Australian aircrews involved in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370
International and Australian aircrews involved in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 prepare for an official photograph as they stand on the tarmac at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Pierce Base in Bullsbrook, near Perth, April 29, 2014. The chance of finding floating debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner has become highly unlikely, and a new phase of the search would focus on a far larger area of the Indian Ocean floor, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday. The international search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board, has so far failed to turn up any trace of wreckage from the plane. Given the amount of time that has elapsed, Abbott said that efforts would now shift away from the visual searches conducted by planes and ships and towards underwater equipment capable of scouring the ocean floor with sophisticated sensors. Reuters/Richard Polden

Over a year since the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight went off the radar, a recent discovery of an aircraft debris in the Indian Ocean has raised speculation that it could be part of the missing Boeing 777. Air safety investigators called to the site on Wednesday said that the component found is a "flaperon," which is part of the trailing edge of a 777, the same model that vanished on March 8, 2014 along with 239 people.

The Associated Press managed to speak to U.S. and French officials, who noted that there is a "high degree of confidence" that the piece of the airplane wing found in Reunion, a French island in the western Indian Ocean, was from MH370. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity owing to the sensitive topic and because no solid confirmation has been made. They also aren’t authorised to speak in public about it.

The mysterious wreckage was reportedly two metres long, writes The Straits Times . It was found accidentally by people who were cleaning up a beach. One of the witnesses was quoted as saying that it was covered in shells, which could mean that it has been in the water for a long time. As of this writing, U.S., French, Australian, and Malaysian authorities have teams of experts on site to analyse it.

"Whatever wreckage found needs to be further verified before we can further confirm whether it belongs to MH370," stressed Liow Tiong Lai, the Transport Minister of Malaysia. In an interview with ABC TV station News24, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) spokesperson Joe Hattley reportedly said that the debris "looks in reasonably good shape."

The last known radar contact with Malaysia Airlines flight 370 positioned it about 230 miles (370 kilometres) northwest of Penang, Malaysia, over the Andaman Sea. AP notes that Reunion Island is about 2,600 miles (4,200 kilometres) west of the search area and around 3,500 miles (5,600 kilometres) southwest of Penang. The ATSB is currently conducting a seabed search in a remote patch of ocean in the west coast of Australia. Bureau chief commissioner Martin Dolan said that the discovery of this unidentified wreckage will not alter their plans to continue with the search.

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