Some of them they are not ready to fly out here to reunion just yet. They have had their hopes dashed so many times, but one Family Member says if this does turn out to be a piece of mh370, they finally have a tangible piece of evidence that their loved ones are, indeed presumed dead. Ill take it robin. Great to have you on reunion island. The discovery of the debris comes after 16 months of nonstop search efforts for the missing airliner largely focused here off the western coast of australia. So how could debris wash from here thousands of miles away all the way here to reunion island . We are joined now from kuala lumpur on this exhaustive search. All the efforts since the plane vanished 500 days ago. Andrew . Reporter well, it is an extraordinary trip for the searchers and the countries involved. Now 16 months old, finally getting to the point where we can actually say that the plane did crash because there have been so many theories surrounding this flight. Lets take the headlines back to march of last year when flight mh370 disappeared off the radar. Officially they were looking in the South China Sea and near indonesia. And as the plane didnt give up any signals at all and followed closely with no real conclusions as to where the plane had gone more and more experts look at the mathematics and the possibilities of where it could have gone. And eventually using the satellites as you remember the handshakes of the satellites between the plane and the handshake, they find now that experts narrowed it down to the area in the southern indian association. This is a massive area of basically unknown sea and unknown seabed. So that search went 4. 6 million square kilometers at one point. Enormous down to currently 120,000 kilometers john. The search at one stage, there were Something Like 21 planes 19 ships, 1800 searching for now we have two or three ships down there in the deep southern indian ocean looking. We have about half of that 120,000 kilometers. What we know at this stage is where the debris surfaced is consistent with the currents and where it could have floated from. So the Australian Authorities are saying at the moment that it doesnt bring us any closer to where or pinpointing where the wreckage may be. But it is consistent with where the search area is now. Any debris from the search area could end up near reunion island. It is like a needle in the haystack that gets smaller and smaller. Andrew fascinating. Thank you for all of that. It has been an agonizing week for the families of 239 people on board that missing airliner. After more than 16 months many are treating this news with caution. Will berkeley is live in beijing where the flight was headed before that part of the story came out. Reporter Family Members say this brings them right back to march of last year when we saw them in such apgnguish and such pain. That uncertainty continues right now as they still dont know where their loved ones are. The families at this point only have each other for support. The Information Center has been closed. The hotline shut down. They dont have any official information. They are only getting it from the media. I want to read you a statement from some of the chinese families here saying quote, no matter where the debris is found, we care more about the whereabouts of our Family Members. Whether or not the debris of mh370 is found, all parties should not stop or give up their previously pledged search effort. And another quote says im torn if its confirmed from mh370 there will be some closure for us but im still hoping its not the plane and that patrick is still alive. Thats so heartbreaking. Almost 17 months later many Family Members believe that this plane somehow landed and their loved ones are still alive. Well, perhaps the news today will give them some measure of information or closure. Will thank you so much for that. Joining us on the phone is martin dolan, the chief commissioner of the Australian Safety board. His agency has been leading this search for mh370 for the past year. Commissioner dolan, thank you so much for being here. Can you tell us how much certainty you have today that a piece of mh370 has been found . We have not been able to confirm full details of what this piece of debris is or whether it is associated with flight mh370. How long do you think it will take to definitively determine if this is a piece of that airliner . The french authorities are looking or working with asian authorities and are working as quickly as possible. And we hope something can be done in the next 24 to 48 hours. It depends how much information can quickly be extracted from this piece of debris. If it is in fact a piece of a 777, does that mean it is mh370 . If it is confirmed to be a piece of a 777, yes. Our view is there is no other known source for a piece of that size of significance. Commissioner for the better part of the past year you have been leading a search thats been 2300 miles away from where this piece of debris was found k. Can you just share with us your thoughts when you heard this debris was found off the coast of madagascar . Well, we have done our thoughts were certainly that it is possible associated with the asian aircraft. And thats something we say has to be confirmed. Because we have done a considerable amount of modeling of how floating debris would drift in the indian ocean. And over the length of time six to eight months were talking about, the drift goes a considerable distance. And our modeling said there was certainly a possibility that by the Time Floating debris would have reached as far east as this. But were you convinced it was still the right place to be searching off the west coast of australia where you were . This is based very much on how the expert analysis is associated with the aircraft. The aircraft will be found quite close to the pack so we have a high rate of confidence in the search area and the officials and the equipment we use to search the area. But commissioner if this is a piece of debris you still found this off the coast of madagascar but you still have a high confidence in your search area 2300 miles away . Correct. Because our modeling says a drift of a piece of wreckage that far west is entirely consistent with the location of our search area. So even if this is determined today to, in fact be mh370, you wont move your operations over to madagascar . No because if its confirmed to be from mh370, we know that the wreckage could easily have drifted over a period of time to that search area. And all the information we have and analysis we have says the search area is where the aircraft will be found. Lastly, commissioner, what will you be doing today . What ill be doing today is waiting to get confirmation on the nature of this piece of debris. And ill be continuing to work with my team and the crews out in the water to search the area and continue to search that area until we find the missing aircraft. And you believe that confirmation will come in the next 24 to 48 hours . Im hoping so yes. Commissioner dolan, we know you have a busy day. Thank you for taking time for new day. Great to get your updates. We want to get analysis by mary scalo. Shes a former Inspector General of the department of transportation. David is a director of special projects at the oceangraphic institution. He led the efforts to find air france 447. Nice to see both of you this morning. Such an important day. Mary tell us what your thoughts were when you heard that this piece of debris was found off the coast of madagascar . Well, my initial thoughts were there were two of the missing malaysian plane, but there was also another crash in the area back in 2009 but that was an airbus. So from the hearing of that piece of plane being found, i thought, well, at this point its kind of a 50 50 chance. And with the news yesterday that boeing said it was consistent with the 777, that was highly significant because the 777 was such a unique airplane when First Certified to fly back in 1995. It was completely redesigned from previous planes and it was computer designed. So that would be unique in the 777 being a unique plane. And there were only four crashes, so i was fairly confident it might be that. David, can you explain the location where this piece of debris was found and how peculiar or expected that is . Hi alyson. It is very expected for something floating in the southernmost part of the indian ocean, especially off the west coast of australia far enough out. Everything there circulates in a counterclockwise manner. And the distance is not that great when you think that its been in the water for 500 days. So with the winds and the currents that are pushing it it could have made it there easily. The question is where exactly did it come from . And how much can it tell us about where x marks the spot where Malaysian Air 370 if it is in fact and im still reserving judgment if it is a piece of mh370. Where did it impact the water. If it does turn out to be from a 777, then are you still reserving judgment . No. Then i think we have confirmation that it met its end in the indian ocean. But i understand the familys anguish completely because its been 500 days and worse, 500 nights of not knowing where their loved ones are. And there have been so many stops and starts and reversals of opinions that i cant blame them for really having some question about whether this is real or not. Absolutely. It is just the worst not knowing. It is such a mystery for them. And they have never been able to have any resolution whatsoever. And im hoping you know its going to be a long time still if this is a piece of mh370, a long time still before anyone actually finds the main body of the wreckage. Mary can you tell us about this piece and what this piece tells you about why this plane might have gone down . Well, it does give it some clues and certainly doesnt give us the clues that the families and everyone else wants and investigators always want as to what started the chain of events. Why did the plane end up in the water, but its a pretty large piece from other ones i have worked on. If you remember the germanwings crash and how small the pieces were there. In this case a couple things could have happened. The wing could have detached and later this flapper piece, which is towards the wing closest to the body of the plane. And that impacts later. But this is a pretty big piece. And we can probably tell that the plane did not fall from say 35,000 feet straight into the water. Not a diving crash into the water because the pieces would be much smaller. You wouldnt expect to find a piece this big. And then also that it appears that it was torn from its attach point or from the hinges. And that would suggest there were stresses put on that piece. And this piece is used to extend the wing area and give an aircraft more lift or to turn the plane so the plane could have been turning or it could have been in a configuration trying to get more lift for whatever reason landing you always put it down. The fact that it is such a big piece, david, what does that tell us about what happened . Well, i think, its in the hands now of the french equivalent of the ntsb the bea and the australian Transportation Safety board. And the bea is excellent. And they will get every bit of evidence and clue that they can out of that piece. They might be able to tell if it was more of a belly landing on the water or some sort of a plunge. Marys right, having the contact points for that attachment to the plane, theyll be able to look at the strings inside the areas and the defamations and be able to see something. Which is much the case in airfrance 447. So pieces found floating had a little bit to say about how the plane hit the water. Mary we just spoke to the commissioner who is leading the search of the australian equivalent of the ntsb. And they have been 2300 miles away. Thats been their search area. He says hes still confident that that is the right search area. What do you think . Well, i think given the piece of where it was found, you know if i was doing it i would want to expand a few hypotheses and go back at the initial theories of if the plane made that initial turn in the last primary tracings and secondary radar as well from that plane, where precisely was it headed . And i would also want to enlist the aid of persons in madagascar and reunion and look for other pieces on the beaches in that area. If they can find just a few more pieces that might help them triang late better and get a better fix on some of the currents and where it came from. So i guess at this point it would open my mind a little further to france look at other theories and expand the area. But the most important parts they need right now are the black boxes. And those are still under thousands of feet of ocean. Absolutely. It sounds as though the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical. Mary david, thanks so much for all of your expertise. Obviously, well have much more coverage of this throughout the course of the day and morning. Over to john. Thank you. And we have new news concerns another malaysian flight mh17 went down in ukraine last july killing all 298 people on board. Russia using the veto to block the resolution to international a tribunal to prosecute those responsible. Russia denied any involvement in shooting down the airliner though theres speculation that russianbacked separatists in the area were behind it. Well return to breaking coverage of the possible mh370 debris. But first, donald trump making his first overseas trip and cementing his standing at the republican frontrunner. A new brand Quinnipiac UniversityNational Poll showing hes way ahead in the republican president ial pack right now. In the meantime mr. Trump also responding to the lawyer that we interviewed right here on new day who says mr. Trump called her disgusting during a deposition. Chief Congressional Correspondent dana bash sat down with trump for his take on this and many other things. Quoo quite a discussion you had. Quite a range of topics. He was watching your interview, alyson and tweeted afterwards some things that he thought about it as you can imagine, not all positive. And he continued that conversation with me at the trump tower. He said that you got up shook your finger, screamed youre disgusting youre disgusting and ran out. Okay. I watched that and thought it was disgraceful. Shes a terrible attorney and lost her case to me. In fact i won legal fees. The judge awarded legal fees its pretty rare when you get that. We beat her soundly. She has a terrible reputation in my opinion. Bottom line i would be her end. What happened is in the middle of everything, it wasnt breastfeed, it was breast pump. She wanted to breast pump in front of me in a deposition. My lawyer said i have never seen anything like it. She wanted to breast pump in front of me. And i may have said thats disgusting and may have said something else. I thought it was terrible. Shes a horrible person. Knows nothing about me. I see her, shes now the great expert on donald trump. I guess the question isnt so much that shes an expert but she does have an experience which she clearly doesnt think was very good. Thats what the country needs. The country needs somebody thats going to win. We always lose. We lose on trade. We lose to china, japan, mexico we lose to everybody. Wouldnt it be nice if we could finally win something . I beat her so badly. Shes a vicious, horrible person. Because youre not a politician we dont have your voting record to go on. We dont have you know we have your experience as a businessman and part of your experience are legal issues. I guess the question is can i so many people are on television that dont know me and they are like experts on me. When Michael Jackson died i knew him very well, and everybody was talking about Michael Jackson. They didnt know him and some never met him. Here they are talking about Michael Jackson and never met him. But she i dont think anybody is saying shes an expert on donald trump. She claims to be. Shes somebody who is recounting an experience she had. So i guess my question for you is my question for you is people are looking at that and thinking okay if he blows up at a lawyer in a deposition negotiating, what you do if Vladimir Putin challenged you . Oh believe me i would do very well with him. I get along with people. I didnt blow up in a deposition. I dont blow up. Im a person that she was wrong, that didnt happen . She made it up. One thing i do want to ask you about is in the New York Times this morning. They went through some of your depositions. Quoted you under oath saying im no different from a politician running for office. You always want to put the best foot forward saying that you exaggerate. I do want toit the best. Call it exaggeration. Of course i want to put the best foot forward. Im not going to say, oh gee, im a bad person. Do you exaggerate . Everybody exaggerates. I guess i do a little bit. I want to say good things. Okay. So i have space, lets say its for rent somebody walks in. Am i supposed to say, oh this space is no good dont take it its terrible . Or do i say, this is beautiful space, dont you love it . Look at the view. Will you exaggerate in the white house . I will the word i dont think the word exaggerate is a good word. I want to put a positive spin on things. I want to put a positive spin on the United States. If im president , we have a country thats not respected. We are very down. The United States have very down. We dont have good news anymore. We dont have victories anymore. So i would certainly want to promote the United States as a great place. People are laughing at us all over the world. They think were stupid. And we are. Were being led by stupid people. Were being led by people that dont have a clue. They are incompetent. One other xe about that quote, you said im no different from a politician running for office. Have you considered yourself a politician . Because youre out there saying that youre not. I became a politician a few months ago when i decided this is several years ago. Yeah. But politicians running for office try and put a positive spin on it. I think thats okay. I mean what are they going to do put a negative spin . I think they try to put a positive spin. A politician is a person that generally speaking should be uplifting. Are you a politician now . N