Malaysia Airlines flight missing

[MariannNOVA]

As the BBC pointed out, it's highly unlikely that if the captain was involved, he would have failed to turn off the SATCOM thing for so long if he was trying to remain undetected. As such a senior experienced pilot, he would be very well of its existence.

 

Honestly, I think the Malaysian gov't is trying to throw him under the bus because they simply don't have a clue. Supporting the opposition leader does not mean one would all of a sudden give up a long career of serving people and decide to murder 200+ people. I don't buy it.

I agree....I do not buy it either.

 

When I stopped listening around midnight, one theory postulated by a former FBI agent is that the U.S. authorities strongly suspect the plane is "on deck" and they are following leads about which we know nothing.

 

I have no difficulty believing that. I also know that we are told what the U.S. decides to tell us....when they decide to tell us.

[Lanny]

Rep. Peter King was on a Sunday morning show and he probably has Classified information available to him. He suggested "the Malaysia government is not cooperating and that U.S. authorities must get more involved in what appears to be an international crime."  Here's the URL to the article I read:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/16/king-frustrated-with-malaysia-probe-into-missing-plane-wants-more-fbi/

 

I tend to suspect the co-pilot more than the pilot, but it is also extremely possible that bad people entered the cockpit and took over from the Pilot and Co-Pilot. Who was "in command" remains a huge mystery. There are  a huge number of possibilities about what happened to this aircraft and the crew and passengers who were aboard. 

 

 

[Berta]

As the BBC pointed out, it's highly unlikely that if the captain was involved, he would have failed to turn off the SATCOM thing for so long if he was trying to remain undetected.  As such a senior experienced pilot, he would be very well of its existence.  

 

Honestly, I think the Malaysian gov't is trying to throw him under the bus because they simply don't have a clue.  Supporting the opposition leader does not mean one would all of a sudden give up a long career of serving people and decide to murder 200+ people.  I don't buy it.  

 

Is it possible, as an experienced pilot, that the pilot could have turned the transponder back ON after being in flight undetected for a while, with a different plane identification? Isn't that what the transponder does... reports location AND plane identification? So if the pilot waited two hours and then reprogrammed the transponder and made it look like a private plane on the radar, turned it on and continued on what ever path uninhibited.

 

Yes, it's "out there", but so was thinking this was a hijacking at all.

[Colleen]

Rep. Peter King was on a Sunday morning show and he probably has Classified information available to him. He suggested "the Malaysia government is not cooperating and that U.S. authorities must get more involved in what appears to be an international crime."  Here's the URL to the article I read:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/16/king-frustrated-with-malaysia-probe-into-missing-plane-wants-more-fbi/

 

 

Oh, my word.  His bombastic comments are an embarrassment.  He lends further support to the view, held by many in the world, that Americans are under the delusion the good ol' US of A is in charge of everything and everyone.

[Lanny]

Oh, my word.  His bombastic comments are an embarrassment.  He lends further support to the view, held by many in the world, that Americans are under the delusion the good ol' US of A is in charge of everything and everyone.

 

His comments may be a little bombastic, but the very sad truth is that the Malaysians do not have the technology, or the expertise, they need,  to make progress in this investigation, without heavy assistance from the U.S. government and the manufacturers of the systems on board the aircraft.

 

However, from a legal standpoint, the Malaysians are in charge, and they will always continue to be in charge, and any aid they receive from other countries, if any, must be at the request of the Malaysians.

 

I suspect that as time passes, and the families of the crew and passengers get more publicity, that the Malaysian authorities will request more help from the U.S. Government.  

 

The U.S. Government, from a legal standpoint, will never be in charge of this investigation. 

 

They have three (3) more weeks to find the "Black boxes", if the aircraft is not  parked on some airport.

[Colleen]

His comments may be a little bombastic, but the very sad truth is that the Malaysians do not have the technology, or the expertise, they need,  to make progress in this investigation, without heavy assistance from the U.S. government and the manufacturers of the systems on board the aircraft.

 

However, from a legal standpoint, the Malaysians are in charge, and they will always continue to be in charge, and any aid they receive from other countries, if any, must be at the request of the Malaysians.

 

I suspect that as time passes, and the families of the crew and passengers get more publicity, that the Malaysian authorities will request more help from the U.S. Government.  

 

The U.S. Government, from a legal standpoint, will never be in charge of this investigation. 

 

Exactly.  Which is why, regardless of the extent of our assistance and behind-the-scenes discussion regarding same, King should keep his mouth shut rather than pander & grandstand.

 

They have three (3) more weeks to find the "Black boxes", if the aircraft is not  parked on some airport.

 

The fact that the beacon will stop in 30 days ( or roughly three weeks now), doesn't mean they have only that length of time to find the black box.  They may find it in a month, a year, a decade ~ at which point it may still provide valuable information.

 

[Mrs Mungo]

His comments may be a little bombastic, but the very sad truth is that the Malaysians do not have the technology, or the expertise, they need, to make progress in this investigation, without heavy assistance from the U.S. government and the manufacturers of the systems on board the aircraft.

It doesn't matter. If the Malaysian government doesn't want us, then we won't do it. Part of Colleen's point (I think) is that being bombastic and insisting nobody can do without our help is only going to antagonize a country like Malaysia and people like the representative in question should be keeping their traps shut.

 

They have three (3) more weeks to find the "Black boxes", if the aircraft is not parked on some airport.

It took two years to find the black boxes from the Air France plane that crashed out of Rio. It might be more difficult after the box starts pinging, but you can only pick up the pings when fairly close anyway. I would bet the most likely outcome from this is to change how we track black boxes, maybe adding gps emergency beacons that can be turned on remotely or something.

[PrincessMommy]

As the BBC pointed out, it's highly unlikely that if the captain was involved, he would have failed to turn off the SATCOM thing for so long if he was trying to remain undetected.  As such a senior experienced pilot, he would be very well of its existence.  

 

Honestly, I think the Malaysian gov't is trying to throw him under the bus because they simply don't have a clue.  Supporting the opposition leader does not mean one would all of a sudden give up a long career of serving people and decide to murder 200+ people.  I don't buy it.  

 

I agree... it seems that they are grasping at straws.  For we know he may be the one person between all those passengers and the terrorists (if there are terrorists).  He may be saving lives right now and his gov't is pointing fingers at him because he backs an unpopular politician.   Just awful.

[jennynd]

It doesn't matter. If the Malaysian government doesn't want us, then we won't do it. Part of Colleen's point (I think) is that being bombastic and insisting nobody can do without our help is only going to antagonize a country like Malaysia and people like the representative in question should be keeping their traps shut.

 

It took two years to find the black boxes from the Air France plane that crashed out of Rio. It might be more difficult after the box starts pinging, but you can only pick up the pings when fairly close anyway. I would bet the most likely outcome from this is to change how we track black boxes, maybe adding gps emergency beacons that can be turned on remotely or something.

When he say 3 more weeks, I believe it means that you only have 30 days to retrieve it or it can be damaged by salt water. However, engineer always over designed so I will assume it par ably will be fine

[jennynd]

I agree with this. Not only that, but a 50 year old man like the pilot, with children and grandchildren, is a highly-unlikely prospect for sabotage of an airline and his own suicide. Maybe, but I don't buy it, either.

I agree.. I think Malaysia is hiding something. There is nothing making sense so far.

[Laura Corin]

I agree.. I think Malaysia is hiding something. There is nothing making sense so far.

 

It's entirely possible that Malaysia is trying very hard to deflect attention in case there is a hostage situation that would be better sorted out without the world's media in attendance.  I'm reserving judgement.

 

L

[SeaConquest]

Ominous.

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/03/16/malaysia_airlines_mh370_investigators_examine_9_11_style_plot.html

 

I'm mobile so can't paste the story.

[Mrs Mungo]

When he say 3 more weeks, I believe it means that you only have 30 days to retrieve it or it can be damaged by salt water. However, engineer always over designed so I will assume it par ably will be fine

No. The batteries that allow the black boxes to emit a signal last for 30 days. That is what he is referring to. The boxes are designed to remain intact under all sorts of conditions.

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/11/289189214/what-would-it-take-to-destroy-a-black-box

[Berta]

When he say 3 more weeks, I believe it means that you only have 30 days to retrieve it or it can be damaged by salt water. However, engineer always over designed so I will assume it par ably will be fine

 

I think it stops pinging after 30 days. Right now if they are within range of the black box they can pick up the pinging on radar/sonar or what ever it is that they have to "hear" the pings.

[PrincessMommy]

I think it stops pinging after 30 days. Right now if they are within range of the black box they can pick up the pinging on radar/sonar or what ever it is that they have to "hear" the pings.

 

Does the black box ping even if it hasn't been in an accident?  Is it always pinging or does it only begin pinging when there's been an accident of some kind?

[Arcadia]

Malaysia's Defence Minister's statement on 16 March 2014 5.30PM.  Whatever the reasons, lets extend some grace.  It is not easy getting information from so many countries, making sense of the information and not saying anything until verified.  The whole world is watching.  None of the Malaysia's higher ups involved want to put their foot in their mouth on a world stage and have that recorded for posterity in the media..

 

"The number of countries involved in the search and rescue operation has increased from 14 to 25, which brings new challenges of co-ordination and diplomacy to the search effort."

 

"I cannot comment on speculative theories as to what might have caused the deviation from the original flight path, as I do not wish to prejudice the on-going investigation.

I understand the hunger for new details. But we do not want to jump to conclusions. Out of respect to the families, and the process itself, we must wait for the investigation to run its course."

 

"We will provide more detail on the redeployment of assets when it becomes available. Facts must be corroborated and verified before being released.

When possible, we will keep the media fully briefed, but our priority remains the search and rescue operation. To that end, we have been engaged in diplomatic and investigative efforts over the past 24 hours."

[Berta]

Does the black box ping even if it hasn't been in an accident?  Is it always pinging or does it only begin pinging when there's been an accident of some kind?

 

I believe it starts pinging upon impact.

[jennynd]

No. The batteries that allow the black boxes to emit a signal last for 30 days. That is what he is referring to. The boxes are designed to remain intact under all sorts of conditions.

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/03/11/289189214/what-would-it-take-to-destroy-a-black-box

This is what I read

Maybe he is referring to battery life but this is what I read. Not expert and not pretending to be..

 

 

Former commercial airline pilot Alex Hidveghy who worked for several years as a contract pilot for the cargo division of Malaysian airlines told BBC News the "black box data would last 30 days on the ocean floor".

 

Also a testing spec

Engineer does design things last forever.

 

 

 

There are several tests that make up the crash-survival sequence:

 

Crash impact - Researchers shoot the CSMU down an air cannon to create an impact of 3,400 Gs (1 G is the force of Earth's gravity, which determines how much something weighs). At 3,400 Gs, the CSMU hits an aluminum, honeycomb target at a force equal to 3,400 times its weight. This impact force is equal to or in excess of what a recorder might experience in an actual crash.

Pin drop - To test the unit's penetration resistance, researchers drop a 500-pound (227-kg) weight with a 0.25-inch steel pin protruding from the bottom onto the CSMU from a height of 10 feet (3 m). This pin, with 500-pounds behind it, impacts the CSMU cylinder's most vulnerable axis.

Static crush - For five minutes, researchers apply 5,000 pounds per square-inch (psi) of crush force to each of the unit's six major axis points.

Fire test - Researchers place the unit into a propane-source fireball, cooking it using three burners. The unit sits inside the fire at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,100 C) for one hour. The FAA requires that all solid-state recorders be able to survive at least one hour at this temperature.

Deep-sea submersion - The CSMU is placed into a pressurized tank of salt water for 24 hours.

Salt-water submersion - The CSMU must survive in a salt water tank for 30 days.

Fluid immersion - Various CSMU components are placed into a variety of aviation fluids, including jet fuel, lubricants and fire-extinguisher chemicals.

[Joker]

Former commercial airline pilot Alex Hidveghy who worked for several years as a contract pilot for the cargo division of Malaysian airlines told BBC News the "black box data would last 30 days on the ocean floor".

 

 

 

I thought they were still able to retrieve data from the Air France flight, though, and that wasn't found for two years. Did they not?

 

[jennynd]

I thought they were still able to retrieve data from the Air France flight, though, and that wasn't found for two years. Did they not?

 

That is what I heard too. I am not expert, just post what I read

[Lanny]

Ominous.

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/03/16/malaysia_airlines_mh370_investigators_examine_9_11_style_plot.html

 

I'm mobile so can't paste the story.

"as well as deep and remote oceans." 

 

I just watched a video on FoxNews.com It was an interview with a Retired USAF Colonel.  There was a lot of discussion about the door of the 777 Cockpit and the Jump seat(s) within the cockpit.  It would take an explosive device to open that door, from outside the cockpit and that explosion would destroy the aircraft.

 

So, it would seem at this time, these are the options about what happened:

(1) The Pilot or CoPilot was involved in this

(2) There was someone else in the Cockpit, who was trained in how to fly a 777 and possibly that person had been riding, with permission, in a jump seat. That person may or may not have been on the manifest. Either a "dead heading" crew member or someone on the passenger list.

(3) Someone was allowed access to the cockpit

 

I have ridden, in the cockpit, of Civil Turbojet aircraft, on Ferry flights and also on Scheduled flights within the USA and I was on the manifest, in either situation. That was on  U.S. flag airlines.

 

Let us hope, that if this is the case, that the airline has knowledge about *every* person who was aboard the aircraft when it departed from KL.

 

I tend to agree with the conclusion of the Retired USAF Colonel, that probably the aircraft is at the bottom of a "deep and remote ocean."   I pray that is not  the case here. For the sake of the innocent people who were aboard the aircraft and their families.

 

I worked on the DFDAC for the Boeing 747-400 mentioned in this Boeing article. You can read about what a Flight Data Recorder is designed to do, on this Boeing web page:

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/aero_02/textonly/s01txt.html

 

Notice that there is special mention of the 777 and that which  Flight Data Recorder is installed in a 777  depends upon the production date of the aircraft. 

[jennynd]

It's entirely possible that Malaysia is trying very hard to deflect attention in case there is a hostage situation that would be better sorted out without the world's media in attendance. I'm reserving judgement.

 

L

Maybe, China is very low key on this whole thing. Maybe they are working on something behind the scene.

[MariannNOVA]

I agree with this. Not only that, but a 50 year old man like the pilot, with children and grandchildren, is a highly-unlikely prospect for sabotage of an airline and his own suicide. Maybe, but I don't buy it, either.

My husband suggested to me that the pilot may have been forced to cooperate with terrorists and go along with a nefarious plan at the risk of his family being harmed.

[mathnerd]

My husband suggested to me that the pilot may have been forced to cooperate with terrorists and go along with a nefarious plan at the risk of his family being harmed.

Now, news is coming out that it could be Al Qaida - their malaysian cell plotted this and it involved a pilot. There are so many theories from the social media and various governments that it is hard to keep track.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/malaysia-jet-pilot-hijack/2014/03/15/id/559742/

[umsami]

Now, news is coming out that it could be Al Qaida - their malaysian cell plotted this and it involved a pilot. There are so many theories from the social media and various governments that it is hard to keep track.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/malaysia-jet-pilot-hijack/2014/03/15/id/559742/

'Doubt it, Al Qaeda and all of its various franchises are usually eager to take credit.  They would be publicizing this big time as they view it as a recruiting tool.

[Seasider]

I believe it starts pinging upon impact.

 

But if there's no impact...?

[itsheresomewhere]

'Doubt it, Al Qaeda and all of its various franchises are usually eager to take credit.  They would be publicizing this big time as they view it as a recruiting tool.

:iagree: .  On another forum, they are saying that if anyone comes forward it will be a chinese separatist group.  

 

Did anyone hear that one of the passengers was expert on reprogramming computers for airlines or something close to that?  That same forum was saying something like that.

[nansk]

I agree....I do not buy it either.

 

When I stopped listening around midnight, one theory postulated by a former FBI agent is that the U.S. authorities strongly suspect the plane is "on deck" and they are following leads about which we know nothing.

 

I have no difficulty believing that. I also know that we are told what the U.S. decides to tell us....when they decide to tell us.

What does that term mean? Does it mean the airplane may be on the deck of some aircraft carrier? Just curious.

[Pawz4me]

What does that term mean? Does it mean the airplane may be on the deck of some aircraft carrier? Just curious.

 

In this case it means on land.  Not crashed.

[Melissa in Australia]

Well I asked my aerospace engineering 3rd year son if he had any insights on what could have happened. he said yes it has been widely discussed at Uni amongst everyone and they have come to the conclusion that what happened is.....

 

 

 

 

Aliens stole the plane :lol:

 

 

 

I guess that theory is as good as any other that is going around at the moment

[Lanny]

The  Flight Data Recorder would be able to operate for approximately 30 days on battery power, after an accident. After that, no pings would be sent out. They are almost indestructible. They can, and do, survive fires, severe impacts, etc. 

 

They are currently trying to search an area six (6) times larger than the USA.  That is an incredibly difficult task, under any circumstances. If they cannot locate any floating debris, in the ocean(s) they are searching, before the Flight Data Recorder stops sending signals, it is, IMHO, unlikely they will ever be able to locate the FDR or any pieces of the aircraft.  After the Air France aircraft departed from Brazil, they were able to locate floating debris, on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, so they had some idea of where to search for the "Black" boxes. 

 

It could be that the aircraft has landed safely, at an airport in Iran or Pakistan or somewhere else, and is inside a hangar there. It would take a "rogue" government, to permit the aircraft to land in their territory. Also, I believe it would have been detected, had it approached the airspace of any country with active military radars operating properly.  An object that is not identified by Transponder probably would result in military aircraft being activated to intercept and force the aircraft to land at the nearest airport.

 

I wonder about exactly how many people were aboard the aircraft and exactly who they are.  It is very possible that the count given by the airline is not correct. It is not uncommon, for mistakes to be made, during the Final Boarding process at the Gate, about who is onboard. Passengers misconnect, are late and miss their flight, etc. Sometimes, passengers switch flights, at the last minute and there is confusion about  exactly who is aboard. Airline employees and others flying "Space Available" board at the last minute and mistakes can be made about them, being included on the passenger manifest.  This  to me, seems less likely on an International flight than on a Domestic flight, but it is not impossible.

 

This is a link to the NTSB web site manual about Flight Data Recorders in Aircraft Accident investigations:

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/manuals/FDR_Handbook.pdf

 

If and when they can locate the aircraft and/or the "Black" boxes, more data will become available.

 

ETA: On page 10 of the NTSB document, they explain about their participation in foreign investigations where the NTSB is participating.

 

ETA #2: This is from the NTSB document, in their information about foreign investigations:

"16.16. Foreign investigations with Safety Board participation or assistance are protected from 

FOIA requests for 2 years."

[FaithManor]

Thank you Lanny. I appreciate your insights and links.

[Pawz4me]

According to this Reuters article, Malaysia has asked Australia to "take responsibility for the search in the southern vector."  Which seems very sensible to me.

 

 

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he had spoken to Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak by telephone, and had offered more surveillance resources in addition to the two P-3C Orion aircraft his country has already committed.

"He asked that Australia take responsibility for the search in the southern vector, which the Malaysian authorities now think was one possible flight path for this ill-fated aircraft," Abbott told parliament. "I agreed that we would do so."

[Arcadia]

According to this Reuters article, Malaysia has asked Australia to "take responsibility for the search in the southern vector." Which seems very sensible to me.

I agee.

The Asia countries and Australia would usually take charge of searches in their territorial waters. I'm sure Australia and Indonesia has a bilateral agreement on the international waters between them.

The lastest press annoucement did say they are still hoping that its a rescue and not a recovery operation.

 

"Australia and Indonesia have also agreed to lead the search in the two sectors of the 'southern corridor' in their respective regions."

 

"There is still hope for MH370 since there was no distress call, ransom or any group claiming responsibility," said Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein at a press briefing on the search for the missing aircraft here today.

 

Hope was also in the air when the search and rescue multinational operations involving 26 countries, begun today, focusing in the so-called southern corridor, involving the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)."

 

ETA:

In case anyone is interested. PDF Is brochure with a big map of Australia's territorial waters.  There is a signed treaty with Indonesia in 1997.

http://www.ga.gov.au/image_cache/GA3746.pdf

 

ETA:

ABC7news just said in the 11am PST news that the last signoff is the voice of the co-pilot

[wapiti]

I came across a theory that the plane might have tailed another 777 for radar purposes http://keithledgerwood.tumblr.com/   I'm wondering how possible this might be.

[Lanny]

There was someone aboard the aircraft who said, in Social Media, that he was a Flight Engineer for a Malaysian Charter company. He must work aboard *old* aircraft (Boeing 707, Boeing 727, Douglas DC-8, etc.) because late model Civil Turbojet aircraft only have 2 crew members in the cockpit. Pilot and Co Pilot. The days when they also had a Flight Engineer are long ago. That was at least one generation of aircraft back. 

 

Something *extremely* troubling to me is that apparently the Transponder had been turned off, awhile before the Malaysian Air Traffic Controller advised the crew that they were leaving Malaysian airspace and entering Vietnamese airspace. The copilot (?) then acknowledged that with, "all right, good night".

 

If the Transponder had been turned off, I cannot process why the Air Traffic Controller would not have contacted the flight and asked them about that.

 

There are simply a *huge* number of possibilities about what happened and where the aircraft is. It may be in a hangar, or sitting on a runway, in Indonesia or in some other country. Or, it may be at the bottom of an ocean. Nobody knows, but I am certain that there are a lot of people trying very hard, 24/7, to solve this mystery.

[5of5]

Something *extremely* troubling to me is that apparently the Transponder had been turned off, awhile before the Malaysian Air Traffic Controller advised the crew that they were leaving Malaysian airspace and entering Vietnamese airspace. The copilot (?) then acknowledged that with, "all right, good night".

 

If the Transponder had been turned off, I cannot process why the Air Traffic Controller would not have contacted the flight and asked them about that.

 

I recently read an article retracting this sequence of events.

 

As an aside, here's an interesting info graphic on lost aircraft:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2014-03-13/vanishing-planes-mapped-since-1948.html

[Stacia]

As an aside, here's an interesting info graphic on lost aircraft:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2014-03-13/vanishing-planes-mapped-since-1948.html

 

Wow. That's really sad. I never realized so many had vanished without a trace....

[mathnerd]

I came across a theory that the plane might have tailed another 777 for radar purposes http://keithledgerwood.tumblr.com/   I'm wondering how possible this might be.

Though common sense says that it is impossible, in this case, I have come to the conclusion that anything is possible. I hope that the investigators have looked into this theory because there are a lot of similarities between that singapore airlines flight and the missing flight.

[Melissa in NC]

What does that term mean? Does it mean the airplane may be on the deck of some aircraft carrier? Just curious.

A 777 is too large to land on an aircraft carrier.  DH works in this field and he said, "No way it could land on an aircraft carrier".  I think the term means it is on land somewher.

[5of5]

Can you stand yet another theory?  If so...

 

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

[busymama7]

Can you stand yet another theory? If so...

 

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

I read that today from Facebook but couldn't figure out how to link it here. I hope someone at least looks at the possibility. The idea of a hijacking just seems so remote.

[Seasider]

Can you stand yet another theory? If so...

 

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

This is immensely more logical than what was suggested by a caller on a local radio program yesterday. He was certain that time travel experiments had finally proven successful. One way, at least.

[alef]

This is immensely more logical than what was suggested by a caller on a local radio program yesterday. He was certain that time travel experiments had finally proven successful. One way, at least.

Oh, I like that theory! It's much less depressing than the more believable ones.

[MBM]

Can you stand yet another theory?  If so...

 

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

 

According to the posters at pprune dot com (many of them are pilots), this theory doesn't quite work with the information they know. Look at one of D.S.'s recent responses if you want to know why.

 

Another theory is that MH370 shadowed a Singapore flight, flying either above or below it. The Singapore flight was going to Barcelona and passed through a number of countries where MH370 could have landed.

 

http://mh370shadow.com/post/79838944823/did-malaysian-airlines-370-disappear-using-sia68-sq68

 

I don't know. It's all terribly befuddling and sad.

[Seasider]

I don't know. It's all terribly befuddling and sad.

Yes, this. While I was in a doctor's waiting room this morning, a TV news ticker ran an item about Chinese passenger families preparing to go in a hunger strike until they get some answers.

[Melissa in Australia]

I read that today from Facebook but couldn't figure out how to link it here. I hope someone at least looks at the possibility. The idea of a hijacking just seems so remote.

 

This isn't an unlooked into possibility at all. there have been some calculations based on this type of Scenario and it would put the plane coming down somewhere in the Australian Maritime Search area. it is a long way away from anywhere and there have been several Orion planes searching that area for a while. However it is so far away form land that the planes have to fly for a couple of hours to get there, search for about half an hour and head back to Australia to refuel. I read on today's news that New Zealand is sending their Orion to assist Australia in this search. To cover the whole area will take many weeks.

[Melissa in Australia]

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/22038682/search-difficult-and-over-deep-water-amsa/

[Spryte]

I just heard on the radio that they are looking at the possibility that the plane's computer system was controlled by an outside source, and that Boeing had been looking into/addressing this problem with their planes since 2012.  It was a quick blurb on the radio, and I haven't seen much more about this theory.

 

Has anyone else heard this, or is my news radio station donning a tinfoil hat here?

[Pawz4me]

I just heard on the radio that they are looking at the possibility that the plane's computer system was controlled by an outside source, and that Boeing had been looking into/addressing this problem with their planes since 2012.  It was a quick blurb on the radio, and I haven't seen much more about this theory.

 

Has anyone else heard this, or is my news radio station donning a tinfoil hat here?

 

I've heard hints of that theory, but I've yet to hear anyone who seems knowledgeable comment on it.

 

And yet another theory:  a mid-air swap.

 

So many theories are making my head spin.  I can't imagine what the families are going through.