An itinerant on Reunion who wanders the beach sweeping up trash and disposing of it, is quite unlikely to have ever been on an airplane, and there's little reason for him to recognize a scrap or part of an airplane. As for the luggage 'full of possessions', I'm sure he sorted through them for anything of value before burning it. Either items such as identity papers/passport, money, jewelry, etc. were in the luggage and he is now not saying, or he found nothing of value.