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U.S. officials, Boeing believe wreckage likely from missing Malaysian jet

By Danielle Haynes and Doug G. Ware
Crew members aboard the Australian Navy ship HMAS Success watch as a helicopter participates in a Replenishment at Sea with the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD LEKIU in the southern Indian Ocean during the continued search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. File Photo by David Connolly/Australian Defense Force
Crew members aboard the Australian Navy ship HMAS Success watch as a helicopter participates in a Replenishment at Sea with the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD LEKIU in the southern Indian Ocean during the continued search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. File Photo by David Connolly/Australian Defense Force | License Photo

SAINT-ANDRE, Réunion, July 30 (UPI) -- American investigators and aircraft manufacturer Boeing believe the large piece of plane wreckage that washed ashore in Africa on Wednesday probably came from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a source said.

The debris, found in the Indian Ocean, appears to have come from a Boeing 777 -- the model that was Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 when it disappeared a year ago.

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Late Wednesday, it was reported that U.S. investigators and Boeing had been studying photographs and video footage of the wreckage -- and believe it is likely a wing part from a 777, the same model flown by Flight 370.

Based on the photographic evidence -- and the fact that no other Boeing 777 remains missing or unaccounted for anywhere in the world -- those officials believe it's likely the part came from the vanished Malaysian jetliner, a source close to the probe told The New York Times.

The debris appeared off the coast of the community of St. Andrew on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. The island is located about 380 nautical miles from Madagascar.

The part is being examined by French officials to determine whether markings on the part conclusively match it with Flight 370, the Times reported.

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"It is way too soon to say whether or not it is MH370. We just found the debris this morning," French air force Adjutant Christian Retournat said.

The part -- which is nine feet long and three feet wide -- is said to resemble a Boeing 777 flaperon, which has a unique appearance in contrast to other jetliner models, CNN reported. An unnamed source said it appears that the part had been in the water for a very long time -- perhaps consistent with the timeline of 16 months since Flight 370's disappearance.

The Boeing 777 disappeared March 8, 2014, after leaving Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, en route to Beijing with 239 people on board. During the flight, the plane turned off course over the Indian Ocean between Malaysia and Vietnam. Investigators are unsure why the plane went off route.

An international search effort turned up no evidence of a possible plane crash, but all passengers and flight crew on the plane are presumed dead.

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