Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: More Debris And Confusion Over Findings

By Bill Chappell

Published August 6, 2015 at 6:16 AM CDT

Surrounded by journalists, a relative of passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 wears a sign reading "Must return safely!" during a protest held by victims' families Thursday outside the Malaysia Airlines office in Beijing.

Malaysian officials say what they believe to be airplane seat cushions and window panes have been found washed up on Reunion Island, the same spot in the Indian Ocean where a wing fragment was found last week. The Malaysians say that fragment is from the missing Flight MH370; French investigators say they're almost — but not quite — certain.

Malaysia's prime minister has said the new findings "conclusively confirmed" that the piece of wreckage was from the Boeing 777 missing since the spring of 2014. But officials in France, where the debris from Reunion Island is being tested and analyzed, stopped short of that, saying even though a connection seems likely, more tests are needed.

Malaysia Airlines issued a statement Thursday saying it had informed relatives of the 239 people who were aboard the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that the wing section "was indeed from Flight MH370."

Whipsawed by the stream of conflicting information about their missing loved ones, some passengers' families in China held a protest Thursday, insisting that the whole thing is a sham, part of a cover-up.

From Shanghai, NPR's Frank Langfitt reports:

"Malaysian investigators have collected a plane window and other debris, according to the country's government.

"But in Beijing, about 20 passengers' family members protested outside the office of Malaysia Airlines, saying they didn't believe any of it.

"Some told the Singapore Straits Times that they thought the debris was planted on the island as a part of a political conspiracy.

" 'We believe our loved ones are still alive,' one family member told the newspaper."