Xavier Tytelman, a former military pilot who now specialises in aviation security, was contacted on Wednesday morning by a man living on the island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean. Police carry a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion (AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 "I've been studying hundreds of photos and speaking to colleagues," Mr Tytelman told The Telegraph. Narendran, whose wife was on the plane, said he was reticent to call the discovery a major development. We can't say for certainty, but we do think there is a chance that this is it." "We don't know how long it will take to get confirmation or a definite denial. It is still a little early to suggest it does belong to MH370," he told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" from India. "Police in Reunion examining the wreckage say that it looks like it's been in the water for around a year, which again would fit with MH370. He said that there was much discussion over a code part of the wreckage: BB670. "The code is not that of a plane number plate, nor that or a serial number on machinery," he wrote. pic.twitter.com/GDkzRLwi2h — Xavier Tytelman (@PeurAvion) July 29, 2015 
 
 The plane vanished with 239 people on board in circumstances which have baffled investigators, and left distraught families searching for answers. "And we all think it is likely that the wing is that of a Boeing 777 – the same plane as MH370. 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 43 of 43 
 
 Questions linger 
 
 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 , with 239 people aboard, disappeared after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, early on March 8, 2014, bound for Beijing.
– 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.