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Flight MH370 Missing

• alanti 10,564 Posts

  Tue, Mar 11 2014 10:49 PM

  Yes everything has been tossed into the pot.

  Having lived in this region for years, I have good knowledge of the area and jet - they both were home.

  I have my theories but it is not worth speculating as there are too many unknowns and this is not fair on the families and loved ones of those missing.

  What we do know is what we have been told, which is not as much as we could IMHO.

  It is a highly  militarized  region so the jet would have showed up on their primary radars if within range. But it must be stressed primary radars have limitations. This would be tracked even if they did not know who it was flying by. If it was a restricted flight zone, they would have been on high alert.

  What we do know is the times the Malaysians have given us, which totally made no sense unless the last known time was correct (confirmed  by  the  defense  spokesman) so from the outset we were not told the truth or the time frames were wrong (and they did not alert media for hours after - loss of face blah blah)

  We know the transponder and ACARS was not transmitting and no emergency  squawk was transmitted. 

  To get a total failure on all comms is highly unlikely, so most have assumed these have been disabled. 

  We can draw our own conclusions, but until the jet is found we will not know, lets hope that is soon as TBE says.

   

• Danmark2010 805 Posts

  Wed, Mar 12 2014 2:10 AM

  alanti:

  Thought and hopes go out to the passengers, flight and cabin crew and family and friends  aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370  en-route  to  Beijing.

  Sadly aboard a 777-200, looks like a very bad day.

  Edit: The airline are contacting next of kin, and have set up a support center - this is very grim. Something not quite right from the airline.

  We should pray for all this people too find them in live.Have merci God for all this people and them family.

• thebigeasy707 5,885 Posts

  Wed, Mar 12 2014 4:08 PM

  one of the things I've found strange are the 2 stolen passports used by Iranian guys who we're told were seeking asylum in Germany and are not seen as a terrorist threat due to them having been checked out by Interpol.

  why would they be on a plane heading to China? It makes no sense.

  there's a lot of inconsistencies with details of this flight. i feel the Malaysian authorities have been holding certain details from the rest of the world.

  update!

  Chinese sat images show suspected crash wreckage.

  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-live-3235735

   

  The three objects discovered are all quite large. One is 13 by 18 meters, the other 14 by 19 meters and 24 by 22 meters.    

  According to the government agency, the objects were discovered northeast of where the plane took off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and south of Vietnam

   

• chuddlymccannon 298 Posts

  Thu, Mar 13 2014 4:10 AM

  Now they are saying that the engines remained to run for another 4 hours after the last transponder that they previously knew was for sure the plane.

  How are they just now coming out with this information?

  And then, how are they also saying the reports could be false, or misreadings?  As far as the engines running go.

  You would think that by now they would know what they are looking at!

• alanti 10,564 Posts

  Sat, Mar 15 2014 12:33 AM

  chuddlymccannon:

  Now they are saying that the engines remained to run for another 4 hours after the last transponder that they previously knew was for sure the plane.

  Well well well, we have info that the last ping to the satelite was at 8.11 - some 7 and a bit hours after takeoff - if this is true as the Malaysian PM said tonight.

  For a 6 hour flight a maximum fuel load would be approx 7  hours  fuel, so how much fuel did it really have? And what was the cargo manifest? 

  So where is it now and did it land and if so where are the SLF? A glimmer of hope that they could be alive. For years (after Egypt Air 990) I pushed for greater  psychological  testing of flight crew - after all you can hardly scan the human brain for thoughts before you board.

  I would like to say we learn from mistakes, that we improve procedures but we have short term memories.

  Passengers with fake passports can board (not insinuating any involvement but is a risk), Cockpit intrusions by lax or unsuspecting crew (judging by FO letting in women), potential greed or mental issues by crew, noshos not having luggage before takeoff, the list is endless.

  Yes the above involve MAS but i would place money on a  systemic  failure with many airlines. Right now I am feeling disillusioned.

• andwhy67 2,816 Posts

  Sat, Mar 15 2014 1:28 AM

  Getting reports now telling of the plane being hi-jacked. In reality we all hope maybe they do discover a wreckage somewhere, or is it a waiting game until we have another plane used World Trade Centre style with the potential loss of thousands of lives.

  lf that is the case!!

  My daughter is due to give birth any day now, certainly by the end of the month, lt saddens me to think what world my grandson has been born into!!

• TWOMINUSONE 2,580 Posts

  Sat, Mar 15 2014 3:25 AM

  The latest news is that the planes flight, direction etc are the actions of a deliberate flight plan by someone. Ive got this awful feeling that the plane has landed somewhere, and that it may be used for terrorist actions.

  I just cant help feeling that it will be used as a delivery device for something awful. If this is the case, then i fear the passengers have no hope. Lets pray it doesn't come to this.

  EDIT: As Andwhy has stated, it could be used for a 911 type scenario, but if they do have the plane grounded somewhere, god knows what they can pack onto it if this is the case.

• thebigeasy707 5,885 Posts

  Sun, Mar 16 2014 3:51 PM

  Just a thought.....maybe it's a good idea in future to override pilots from being able to turn off transponders eh?

  There are a few reasons why pilots have the ability to turn certain communications off but in this day and age, with the ever growing threat of terrorism in the air, then something needs done with the transponder because it's the first thing terrorists disable.

  Possibly a remote bypass switch which can be turned on again from the ground which overrides any execution from the cockpit in such circumstances.

• alanti 10,564 Posts

  Sun, Mar 16 2014 10:00 PM

  thebigeasy707:

  .maybe it's a good idea in future to override pilots from being able to turn off transponders eh?

  Essentially  I agree TBE BUT, as with any electronic device/component, they can overheat and cause a fire. Therefore it needs to have an off or isolation switch.

  A fire in the cockpit is a recipe for disaster and a greater probability than getting a  rouge  flight crew (if indeed my worst fears are true).

  What this incident has proven is there needs to be greater on-time reporting via streaming data in real time. Expensive probably but what is the cost of one life let alone a whole jets worth.

  The technology exists and we have the existing capability  on-board  now.

  In the aftermath of this incident (regardless of the eventual outcome) there are several aspects that need an indepth review.

  A number of years ago I took it up with the Pilots Union to push for greater scrutiny of  psychological  testing for all flight crew (especially after Silk Air 185) only to be ridiculed for trying to make changes for a couple of rotten apples.

  That said todays new of the Captain and breakup with his wife and political affiliations, I too split up with my wife and never had any inclination to do anything but safety. I never really thought about the others on board - my goal always was to land safely, that way we all get home in one piece,