Where and when were confirmed MH370 debris pieces discovered in the western Indian Ocean and along African coasts?
Executive summary
Pieces of debris later linked to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 first appeared on western Indian Ocean shores in 2015, beginning with a flaperon found on Réunion Island on 29 July 2015; subsequent confirmed or strongly suspected fragments washed up on Madagascar, Mozambique and other east‑African coasts between 2015 and 2017 [1] [2] [3] [4]. Sources state that more than 30 suspected fragments have been collected overall but only three wing components have been formally confirmed as from MH370 [4] [5] [6].
1. The first confirmed find: Réunion’s flaperon, July 2015
The discovery that changed the investigation came on 29 July 2015, when beachgoers found a large wing part — later identified as a flaperon from a Boeing 777 — on Réunion Island in the western Indian Ocean; Malaysian and international investigators treated that piece as the first confirmed physical trace of MH370 [1] [3] [7].
2. Follow‑on finds along African and island shores, 2015–2017
After Réunion, additional items washed ashore on Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and other east‑African coasts and Indian Ocean islands over 2015–2017. Authorities collected more than 30 suspected fragments in that period; drift modelling and forensic work linked several items strongly to MH370, though only a subset were formally attributed to the aircraft [2] [4] [5].
3. How many pieces were confirmed versus suspected
Reporting across government and media sources notes a gap between suspected debris and items conclusively tied to MH370: “more than 30” suspected pieces were recovered along African coasts and islands, but some outlets and investigators say only three wing fragments have been formally confirmed as originating from MH370 [4] [5] [6]. Other sources record that by late 2017 around 20 pieces were recovered and most were assessed as “very likely” or “almost certain” to be from the aircraft, with two “probably” from it — wording used in official summaries [2].
4. Drift models, currents and why debris reached Africa
Oceanographic modelling guided investigators’ expectations that debris from a southern Indian Ocean crash site could drift westward to islands and African shores. Early drift analyses showed complex currents: the southern Indian Ocean circulates eastward in higher latitudes while the tropics have westward flow, leaving an “intermediate” zone that made precise drift prediction uncertain; yet models produced trajectories consistent with debris arriving at Réunion from a southern source around mid‑2015 [1].
5. Geographic pattern: western Indian Ocean and east Africa as the recovery zone
All reporting emphasizes that confirmed or strongly suspected MH370 debris washed up in the western Indian Ocean and along the east coast of Africa — Réunion, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania figure prominently in contemporaneous recoveries — not on Australian west coasts or widely across other oceans [8] [3] [9].
6. Limits of the debris record and investigative caution
Sources underscore limits: the number of items formally confirmed is small (three wing parts in some accounts), drift modelling has significant uncertainty because search areas lie across zones with different current regimes, and official underwater searches of the southern Indian Ocean to date have not located the main wreckage [1] [4] [2]. Some outlets report slightly different tallies of recovered items (20, 30, 41 or 43), reflecting varying cut‑offs and which pieces were submitted to Malaysian authorities — available sources do not reconcile each inventory definitively [2] [10] [5].
7. Why these coastal finds matter for the ongoing search
Investigators have used the timing and locations of these beach discoveries to refine drift models and narrow probable underwater search zones in the southern Indian Ocean; authorities and private searchers have repeatedly pointed to the western‑Indian‑Ocean strandings as key empirical constraints on where the aircraft might have come down [1] [2].
8. Competing narratives and what reporting disagrees on
Coverage agrees on the pattern (western Indian Ocean and east African coasts) and the Réunion flaperon as the first confirmed piece, but differs on counts and the number of formally confirmed items — some outlets say “more than 30” suspected pieces with only three confirmed wing fragments, others cite inventories of 20–43 pieces delivered to authorities [4] [5] [10] [2]. These discrepancies reflect different source sets, dates and criteria for “confirmed.”
9. Bottom line for readers
Physical debris tied to MH370 was found on western Indian Ocean islands and east‑African shores beginning in July 2015, most notably the Réunion flaperon; those finds informed drift modelling and subsequent search planning, but the small number of formally confirmed parts and ocean current uncertainties leave the main wreckage undiscovered [1] [4] [2].