US official: Debris from same type of plane as MH370

Photos of the debris that washed up over the weekend appear to show the fixed leading edge of the right-hand tail section of a Boeing 777, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

Radar tracking of the plane show it turned around as it approached Vietnamese airspace, flew back toward Malaysia and then on over the Indian Ocean, where radar contact was lost.

Authorities who scrutinized data exchanged between the plane's engine and a satellite determined that the jetliner took a straight path across the ocean, leading them to believe that the plane flew on autopilot for hours before running out of fuel and crashing into the water.