Looks Like that Plane Debris Is Definitely from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

The French say

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes)September 3, 2015

Read: Cutting Through the Bullshit Surrounding Flight MH370

French officials have finally confirmed that the plane debris discovered earlier this year on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean is from the long-missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

"Today it is possible to state with certainty that the flaperon discovered on Réunion July 29, 2015 corresponds to that of Flight MH370," Paris investigators said in a statement, according to the New York Times.

MH370 disappeared in March 2014 after the plane took off in Kuala Lampur for Beijing with 239 people on board, leaving few clues as to its fate. It wasn't until July of this year that authorities announced they found what appeared to be debris from MH370's wing flap.

The Guardian reports that an Airbus technician matched serial numbers on the wreckage to that of the missing flight, confirming earlier suspicions. The location of the debris means that the downed plane's location is consistent with the original search areas, where experts predicted finding debris from the crash over a year ago.

Although the discovery of this wreckage is a step in the right direction, oceanographer Charitha Pattiarachi told VICE that we are still a ways away from pinpointing MH370's exact location.