Malaysia says Indian Ocean airplane debris is part of a Boeing 777

Experts hope the 2-2.5 meter (6.5-8 feet) wing surface, known as a flaperon, and a fragment of luggage also found on Reunion could yield clues on the fate of Flight MH370, which disappeared without trace in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board.

"We know the flaperon has been officially identified as being part of a Boeing 777 aircraft," Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement. "This has been verified by French authorities together with aircraft manufacturer Boeing, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Malaysian team."

The barnacled plane part was flown to Paris on Saturday and was taken to Toulouse to undergo more detailed analysis. Investigators believe someone deliberately switched off MH370's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course. Most of the passengers were Chinese. The debris will be analyzed at a lab staffed by 600 experts that is operated by the French defense ministry.