The piece of a plane wing that washed up on an island in the Indian Ocean, he announced, was indeed part of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. 
 
 "It is my hope that this confirmation, however tragic and painful," Prime Minister Najib Razak said, "will at least bring certainty to the families and loved ones of the 239 people on board MH370." 
 
 But a top French prosecutor was slightly less definite when he stepped up to a podium in his country an hour later. 
 
 There are "very strong presumptions" that the part belongs to the missing Boeing 777, Paris Deputy Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said, adding that more testing will be done to prove it conclusively. 
 
 France, which already had opened a criminal investigation into the plane's disappearance, has been drawn deeper into the matter after the plane part's discovery last month on Reunion island, a remote part of its overseas territory. Investigators at a specialized laboratory in Toulouse are examining it. 
 
 Even with tests ongoing, analysts said the Malaysian government's highly anticipated announcement marks a key step in the investigation into what happened to the plane. 
 
 "I was left somewhat confused and, frankly, a little angry and dismayed," said K.S. Narendran, whose wife was one of the passengers 
 
 Authorities announced their conclusions, Narendran said, without detailing their findings. 
 
 "I didn't hear facts. I didn't hear the basics. I heard nothing," he said, "and so it leaves me wondering whether there is a foregone conclusion and everyone is racing for the finish." 
 
 Investigators analyze debris 
 
 When the debris -- a part of a wing known as a flaperon -- washed up July 29 on Reunion island, its discovery was considered possibly the first physical evidence that might help shed light on a mystery that has vexed even the most seasoned aviation experts: How could a commercial airplane just vanish? 
 
 Photos: MH370 debris discovered on Reunion Island Photos: MH370 debris discovered on Reunion Island Debris discovered on the island of Reunion, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, was confirmed to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said August 5. The plane disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board. Hide Caption 1 of 5 Photos: MH370 debris discovered on Reunion Island French police officers carry the plane debris on July 29. Experts say the metallic object may be a piece of a moving wing surface, known as a flaperon, from a Boeing 777. Hide Caption 2 of 5 Photos: MH370 debris discovered on Reunion Island Police officers inspect debris on July 29. Hide Caption 3 of 5 Photos: MH370 debris discovered on Reunion Island Another piece of debris resembles remnants of a suitcase. Hide Caption 4 of 5 Photos: MH370 debris discovered on Reunion Island Police carry debris on July 29. Hide Caption 5 of 5 
 
 On Wednesday, investigators met at a specialized laboratory near Toulouse to begin examining the part. Their work took hours, and Najib made the announcement very early Thursday, Kuala Lumpur time, 515 days since the flight bound for Beijing from the Malaysian capital disappeared with 239 people aboard. 
 
 Shortly before he spoke, Malaysia Airlines sent a message to victims' families saying a "major announcement" that the flaperon was from the missing plane was imminent. 
 
 "This has been confirmed jointly by the French Authorities, Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses pour la Securites de I'Aviation Civile (BEA), the Malaysian Investigation Team, Technical Representative from PRC and Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB)," the airline's statement said. 
 
 The French prosecutor, who's involved in a criminal probe that country launched because four French nationals were aboard the flight, said the flaperon matches a Boeing 777, and the characteristics of the part match the technical specifications provided by Malaysia Airlines for that part of the missing aircraft. 
 
 But he phrased his assessment differently from the Malaysian Prime Minister, saying the analysis of the flaperon would continue in order to provide "complete and reliable information." 
 
 It sounded "less certain," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. 
 
 "Really, we didn't get too much more than what Boeing already told us from looking at the pictures," she said. "So I was actually a little disappointed, thinking what the families must think on hearing that." 
 
 In a "tug of war among nations," she said, the passengers' families seem to be stuck in the middle. 
 
 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 There is still no way to know for sure why Flight MH370 ended, but we are learning more about the lives of those on board. CNN is remembering them through snapshots shared with us. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Rodney and Mary Burrows were looking forward to becoming first-time grandparents after their return home to Australia. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Australians Catherine and Robert Lawton were traveling with friends on vacation when the flight disappeared. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Paul Weeks was traveling to Mongolia for a new job as an engineer. His wife says Paul left behind his watch and his wedding ring before the trip, in case anything happened to him while he was away. Anderson spoke with Paul's brother & sister who said they are coping by spending time together as a family. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Chandrika Sharma, left, was on Flight 370; her daughter Meghna and husband K.S. Narendran wait patiently, trying to manage their anxiety and longing for her return. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Muktesh Mukherjee and Xiaomo Bai had been vacationing in Vietnam and were on their way home to their two young sons in Beijing. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 76-year-old Liu Rusheng, an accomplished calligrapher and one of the oldest passengers on the flight, was in Malaysia to attend an art exhibition with his wife. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Teens Hadrien Wattrelos and Zhao Yan are shown in a photo on Wattrelos' Facebook page. The photo is captioned, simply, "I love you," in French. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Firman Chandra Siregar, 24, studied electrical engineering in Indonesia and was on his way to Beijing on board Flight 370 to start a new job at an oil company. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Patrick Francis Gomes, center, was the in-flight supervisor for the missing plane. His daughter describes him as a quiet person with a sense of humor. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 Ch'ng Mei Ling, a Malaysian citizen who lives in Pennsylvania, is a process engineer at a chemical company. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Remembering the passengers of MH370 We do not have photos of all 239 passengers, but we wanted to remember that there are loved ones around the world missing them right now. View CNN's complete coverage of Flight 370. Hide Caption 12 of 12 
 
 Relatives of those on board have said real closure won't come until their family members' remains have been recovered and the truth about what happened to the plane is established. 
 
 Progress on those fronts is unlikely to be made unless the Australian-led underwater hunt locates the aircraft's wreckage and flight recorders somewhere in the huge southern Indian Ocean search area, which covers and area bigger than the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Global effort to solve mystery 
 
 Malaysia, the country where MH370 began its journey and whose flag it was carrying, is in charge of the overall investigations. 
 
 But there are a number of other countries involved. 
 
 French authorities have also opened their own criminal investigation last year into possible manslaughter and hijacking in the loss of MH370. 
 
 Officials from Australia earlier said they thought it was likely that the Boeing wing component was from MH370 -- no other 777 aircraft was believed to have gone missing in the Indian Ocean. 
 
 Australia is overseeing the underwater search for the wreckage because the plane is believed to have gone down far off its western coast, in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean. 
 
 China, which had the largest number of citizens on the plane, has been involved in decisions about the search for the plane. 
 
 Photos: The search for MH370 Photos: The search for MH370 Two years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing, a relative of one of the passengers burns incense in Beijing on March 8, 2016. Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014, as it flew from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. Hide Caption 1 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On July 29, police carry a piece of debris on Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean. A week later, authorities confirmed that the debris was from the missing flight. Hide Caption 2 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Staff members with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examine a piece of aircraft debris at their laboratory in Canberra, Australia, on July 20. The flap was found in June by residents on Pemba Island off the coast of Tanzania, and officials had said it was highly likely to have come from Flight 370. Experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane, confirmed that the part was indeed from the missing aircraft. Hide Caption 3 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 In late February, American tourist Blaine Gibson found a piece of plane debris off Mozambique, a discovery that renewed hope of solving the mystery of the missing flight. The piece measured 35 inches by 22 inches. A U.S. official said it was likely the wreckage came from a Boeing 777, which MH370 was. Hide Caption 4 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of the flight's passengers console each other outside the Malaysia Airlines office in Subang, Malaysia, on February 12, 2015. Protesters had demanded that the airline withdraw the statement that all 239 people aboard the plane were dead. Hide Caption 5 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A police officer watches a couple cry outside the airline's office building in Beijing after officials refused to meet with them on June 11, 2014. The couple's son was on the plane. Hide Caption 6 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the media scramble to speak with Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department, at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 27, 2014. Data from communications between satellites and the missing flight was released the day before, more than two months after relatives of passengers said they requested it be made public. Hide Caption 7 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Operators aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield move Bluefin-21, the U.S. Navy's autonomous underwater vehicle, into position to search for the jet on April 14, 2014. Hide Caption 8 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks out of a window while searching for debris off the coast of western Australia on April 13, 2014. Hide Caption 9 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The HMS Echo, a vessel with the British Roya; Navy, moves through the waters of the southern Indian Ocean on April 12, 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, on a mission to drop sonar buoys to assist in the search, flies past the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 9, 2014. Hide Caption 11 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of a missing passenger cries at a vigil in Beijing on April 8, 2014. Hide Caption 12 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Australian Defense Force divers scan the water for debris in the southern Indian Ocean on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 13 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A towed pinger locator is readied to be deployed off the deck of the Australian vessel Ocean Shield on April 7, 2014. Hide Caption 14 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force looks at a flare in the Indian Ocean during search operations on April 4, 2014. Hide Caption 15 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 30, 2014, a woman in Kuala Lumpur prepares for an event in honor of those aboard Flight 370. Hide Caption 16 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The sole representative for the families of Flight 370 passengers leaves a conference at a Beijing hotel on March 28, 2014, after other relatives left en masse to protest the Malaysian government's response to their questions. Hide Caption 17 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Royal Australian Air Force is silhouetted against the southern Indian Ocean during the search for the missing jet on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 18 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Flight Lt. Jayson Nichols looks at a map aboard a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft during a search on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 19 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 People in Kuala Lumpur light candles during a ceremony held for the missing flight's passengers on March 27, 2014. Hide Caption 20 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, delivers a statement about the flight on March 24, 2014. Razak's announcement came after the airline sent a text message to relatives saying it "deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH 370 has been lost and that none of those onboard survived." Hide Caption 21 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Grieving relatives of missing passengers leave a hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. Hide Caption 22 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A passenger views a weather map in the departures terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 22, 2014. Hide Caption 23 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Chinese satellite captured this image, released on March 22, 2014, of a floating object in the Indian Ocean, according to China's State Administration of Science. It was a possible lead in the search for the missing plane. Surveillance planes were looking for two objects spotted by satellite imagery in remote, treacherous waters more than 1,400 miles from the west coast of Australia. Hide Caption 24 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Satellite imagery provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on March 20, 2014, showed debris in the southern Indian Ocean that could have been from Flight 370. The announcement by Australian officials raised hopes of a breakthrough in the frustrating search. Hide Caption 25 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Another satellite shot provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority shows possible debris from the flight. Hide Caption 26 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A distraught relative of a missing passenger breaks down while talking to reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 19, 2014. Hide Caption 27 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 On March 18, 2014, a relative of a missing passenger tells reporters in Beijing about a hunger strike to protest authorities' handling of information about the missing jet. Hide Caption 28 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 U.S. Navy crew members assist in search-and-rescue operations in the Indian Ocean on March 16, 2014. Hide Caption 29 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of the Chinese navy continue search operations on March 13, 2014. After starting in the sea between Malaysia and Vietnam, the plane's last confirmed location, search efforts expanded west into the Indian Ocean. Hide Caption 30 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese military official looks out an aircraft window during search operations March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 31 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian air force members look for debris near Kuala Lumpur on March 13, 2014. Hide Caption 32 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Relatives of missing passengers wait for the latest news at a hotel in Beijing on March 12, 2014. Hide Caption 33 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A member of the Vietnamese air force checks a map while searching for the missing plane on March 11, 2014. Hide Caption 34 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A Vietnamese air force plane found traces of oil that authorities had suspected to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the Vietnamese government online newspaper reported on March 8, 2014. However, a sample from the slick showed it was bunker oil, typically used to power large cargo ships, Malaysia's state news agency, Bernama, reported on March 10, 2014. Hide Caption 35 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopter lands aboard the USS Pinckney to change crews on March 9, 2014, before returning to search for the missing plane in the Gulf of Thailand. Hide Caption 36 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Buddhist monks at Kuala Lumpur International Airport offer a special prayer for the missing passengers on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 37 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Members of a Chinese emergency response team board a rescue vessel at the port of Sanya in China's Hainan province on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 38 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 The rescue vessel sets out from Sanya in the South China Sea on March 9, 2014. Hide Caption 39 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives to meet family members of missing passengers at the reception center at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 40 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 A relative of two missing passengers reacts at their home in Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 41 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Chinese police at the Beijing airport stand beside the arrival board showing delayed Flight 370 in red on March 8, 2014. Hide Caption 42 of 43 Photos: The search for MH370 Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Juahari Yahya, front, speaks during a news conference at a hotel in Sepang on March 8, 2014. "We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts" with the jet, he said. Hide Caption 43 of 43 
 
 U.S. and British government agencies -- as well as experts from Boeing and the satellite company Inmarsat -- have contributed to the investigations. 
 
 The Toulouse lab previously examined wreckage from Air France Flight 447, a passenger jet that went down in the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris in 2009. 
 
 The remnants of a suitcase found on Reunion the day after the flaperon was discovered have been sent to a lab outside Paris for analysis. 
 
 Debris won't change underwater search 
 
 The wing part found on Reunion won't prompt a rethink of the search area, Australian officials say. 
 
 JUST WATCHED From disappearance to debris: CNN's coverage of MH370 Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH From disappearance to debris: CNN's coverage of MH370 03:16 
 
 "Because of the turbulent nature of the ocean, and the uncertainties of the modeling, it is impossible to use the La Reunion finding to refine or shift the search area," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a report published Tuesday, citing the country's national science agency. 
 
 That the debris drifted thousands of miles to the west of the underwater search area is consistent with ocean drift models, Australian officials say. 
 
 The ATSB report admitted, though, that an earlier prediction that some debris from MH370 could wash up in July 2014 on the shores of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, north of where the aircraft is calculated to have entered the ocean, was incorrect because of an error in the use of wind data. 
 
 Searches are taking place on Reunion for more possible debris from MH370. But Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has said he's doubtful many pieces are likely to turn up. 
 
 "Reunion Island is a pretty small speck in a giant Indian Ocean," he told The Wall Street Journal. "Most pieces that were even floating by the time they got to this area would simply float past." ||||| KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia said on Thursday paint color and maintenance-record matches proved that a piece of wing found on the shore of an Indian Ocean island was part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished last year. 
 
 Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said investigators on the French-governed island of Reunion had collected more aircraft debris, including a plane window and aluminum foil, but there was no confirmation they also belonged to the missing plane. 
 
 With the first trace of the plane confirmed, Malaysia has asked the governments of neighboring Mauritius and Madagascar to help widen the search area, he told reporters. 
 
 Earlier, Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the piece of debris was from the Boeing 777 airliner that was bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew on board when it went missing. 
 
 "Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Najib said in a televised address. 
 
 The airline described the find as "a major breakthrough". 
 
 The first piece of direct evidence that the plane crashed in the sea closed a chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history. 
 
 But exactly what happened remains unknown and Najib's announcement did not appear to represent any kind of resolution for the families of those on board, most of whom were Chinese. 
 
 The fragment of wing known as a flaperon was flown to mainland France after being found last week covered in barnacles on a Reunion beach. 
 
 French authorities said they would step up efforts on Friday to find more debris off Reunion. That will include deploying a military aircraft as well as more police at sea and on the shore. 
 
 Despite the Malaysian confirmation, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain, saying only that there was a "very strong presumption". 
 
 Deputy Paris Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said this was based on technical data supplied by both the manufacturer and airline but gave no indication that experts had discovered a serial number or unique markings that would put the link beyond doubt. 
 
 Representatives of manufacturer Boeing confirmed that the flaperon came from a 777 jet, he said, and Malaysia Airlines provided documentation of the missing aircraft. 
 
 Mackowiak told reporters more analysis would be carried out on Thursday, and a fragment of luggage also found in Reunion would be examined by French police. 
 
 "We appreciate the French team and their support and respect their decision to continue with the verification," Liow said, adding that Malaysian experts were convinced the flaperon was from MH370 because a seal on the part matched a maintenance record and the paint was the same color. 
 
 SEARCH FOR CLUES 
 
 A group of families from China said French investigators and Boeing must also say definitively the wing piece was from the plane. 
 
 "We are not living in denial ... but we owe it to our loved ones not to declare them lost without 100 percent certainty!" the families said on their microblog. 
 
 China's foreign ministry urged Malaysia to keep investigating and to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests" of relatives. 
 
 Investigators looking at the wing flap at an aeronautical facility in the French city of Toulouse are likely to start by putting slices of metal under a high-powered microscope, to see clues in its crystal structure about how it deformed on impact, said Hans Weber, president of TECOP International, Inc., an aerospace technology consulting firm. 
 
 They would probably then "do a full physical examination, using ultrasonic analysis before they open it up to see if there's any internal damage", Weber said. 
 
 "That might take quite a while. A month or months." 
 
 John Goglia, a former board member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, told Reuters much could be learned from examining the metal and how the brackets that held the flaperon in place had broken. 
 
 However, other experts cautioned that the cause of the disaster may remain beyond the reach of investigators until other debris or data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered. 
 
 "Debris such as the flaperon can only increase our understanding of the last seconds of the flight," said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal. 
 
 Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) east of Reunion. 
 
 Investigators believe that someone may have deliberately switched off the aircraft's transponder, diverted it off course and deliberately crashed into the sea. 
 
 An initial search of a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq miles) patch of sea floor has been extended to another 60,000 sq km. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Tim Hepher, Siva Govindasamy, Praveen Menon, Emmanuel Jarry, Ingrid Melander, Ebrahim Harris, Alwyn Scott, Michael Martina and Lincoln Feast; Writing by Paul Tait and John Chalmers; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel) ||||| KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A piece of a wing that washed up on an Indian Ocean island beach last week was part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, Malaysia said on Thursday, confirming the discovery of the first trace of the plane since it vanished last year. 
 
 “Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370,” Prime Minister Najib Razak said in an early morning televised address. 
 
 “I would like to assure all those affected by this tragedy that the government of Malaysia is committed to do everything within our means to find out the truth of what happened,” Najib said. 
 
 The announcement, by providing the first direct evidence that the plane crashed in the ocean, closes a chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history but still gives families of the 239 victims little clue as to why. 
 
 “It’s not the end,” said Jacquita Gonzales, who lost her husband Patrick Gomes, a flight attendant on board the aircraft. 
 
 “Although they found something, you know, it’s not the end. They still need to find the whole plane and our spouses as well. We still want them back,” she said. 
 
 The airline described the discovery as “a major breakthrough for us in resolving the disappearance of MH370. 
 
 “We expect and hope that there would be more objects to be found which would be able to help resolve this mystery,” it said in a statement issued as soon as Najib had spoken. 
 
 The fragment of wing known as a flaperon was flown to mainland France after being found last week covered in barnacles on a beach on France’s Indian Ocean island of Reunion. 
 
 Despite the Malaysian confirmation it was part of MH370, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain, saying only that there was a “very strong presumption” that it was the case. 
 
 Paris Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said this was based on technical data supplied by both the manufacturer and airline but gave no indication that experts had discovered a serial number or unique markings that would put the link beyond doubt. 
 
 Boeing representatives confirmed that the flaperon came from a 777 jet “due to its technical characteristics, mentioning the color, the structure of the joints,” he said. 
 
 Secondly, Malaysia Airlines was able to provide documentation of the actual aircraft used on flight MH370. 
 
 French gendarmes and police inspect a large piece of plane debris which was found on the beach in Saint-Andre, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, July 29, 2015. REUTERS/Zinfos974/Prisca Bigot 
 
 “On this basis, it was possible for a connection to be made between the object examined by the experts and the flaperon of the Boeing 777 of MH370,” Mackowiak told reporters in Paris. 
 
 He said more analysis would be carried out on Thursday, but he could not say when further results would be announced. 
 
 A fragment of luggage also found in Reunion would be examined by French police as soon as possible, he added. 
 
 “YET TO BEGIN” 
 
 Investigators looking at the wing flap are likely to start by putting thin slices of metal under a high-powered microscope, to see subtle clues in the metal’s crystal structure about how it deformed on impact, said Hans Weber, president of TECOP International, Inc., an aerospace technology consulting firm based in San Diego, California. 
 
 Later, investigators would probably clean the piece and “do a full physical examination, using ultrasonic analysis before they open it up to see if there’s any internal damage,” Weber said. “That might take quite awhile. A month or months.” 
 
 John Goglia, a former board member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, told Reuters: “The real work is yet to begin”. 
 
 “They will identify everything they can from the metal: damage, barnacles, witness marks on the metal. They’re going to look at the brackets (that held the flaperon in place) to see how they broke. From that they can tell the direction and attitude of the airplane when it hit. There’s a lot to be told from the metal.” 
 
 However, experts said the cause of the disaster may remain beyond the reach of investigators until other debris or data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered. 
 
 “A wing’s moving surfaces give you far fewer clues than bigger structures like the rudder, for example. As a single piece of evidence, it is likely to reveal quite little other than it comes from MH370,” said a former investigator who has participated in several international probes of crashes at sea. 
 
 The examination of the part is being carried out under the direction of a judge at an aeronautical test facility run by the French military at Balma, a suburb of the southwestern city of Toulouse, and witnessed by Malaysian and other officials. 
 
 Officials from the United States, Australia, China, Britain and Singapore as well as manufacturer Boeing were also on hand. Boeing said it was providing technical expertise. 
 
 Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 last year while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from Reunion. 
 
 Slideshow (5 Images) 
 
 The Boeing 777 was minutes into its scheduled flight when it disappeared from civil radar. Investigators believe that someone may have deliberately switched off the aircraft’s transponder, diverted it thousands of miles off course, and deliberately crashed into the ocean off Australia. 
 
 A $90 million hunt along a rugged 60,000 sq km patch of sea floor 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of the Australian city of Perth has yielded nothing. 
 
 The search has been extended to another 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq miles) and Malaysian and Australian authorities say this will cover 95 percent of MH370’s flight path.
– Debris has washed up on an island in the Indian Ocean and is raising hopes that the fate of the Malaysian passenger jet that vanished last year might finally be known—though it wouldn't be the first false alarm. A French aviation expert tells the Telegraph that plane wreckage washed ashore on Reunion Island. "I've been studying hundreds of photos and speaking to colleagues," says Xavier Tytelman. "And we all think it is likely that the wing is that of a Boeing 777—the same plane as MH370." He says authorities from Australia in charge of the search are investigating. This French-language blog has photos. A member of the French Air Force tells CNN that the piece appears to be wing flap, but "it is way too soon to say whether or not it is MH370—we just found the debris this morning." The island is about 380 nautical miles from the Madagascar coast. MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, after taking off from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia with 239 people aboard. It was bound for Beijing, and its disappearance has baffled aviation officials.