Malaysia Airlines flight missing

[Liz CA]

Apparently, GPS is part of many of the passengers' cellphone services and Malaysian Airlines says that all its crew members have cell phones with GPS turned on. They tried calling those numbers and it was ringing. The amazing thing is that the phone chat client on some of these phones shows the status of these passengers as being online according to a Malaysian newspaper. This means that the sea water has not yet got to these phones. Chances of survival seem to be slim but cannot be ruled out in these circumstances.

 

Wow. I hope they find them. I read the news reports at a friend's house and immediately thought of Heather. She was not going anywhere, was she?

[Cammie]

The world is so small these days.  My dd is in school here in Bangalore with one girl whose father works for Malaysian Airlines so of course they know many of the crew on board.  Another girl in dd's school used to live in Beijing and a family from her previous school was on the plane.  We are all so connected these days in this shrinking world.

[gardenmom5]

is she Canadian? I thought she was an American.

 

there were only three americans on board.  a businessman, and two children who were traveling with others.

Wow. I hope they find them. I read the news reports at a friend's house and immediately thought of Heather. She was not going anywhere, was she?

 

[Forget-Me-Not]

Heather has posted to this thread a couple of times.

[Arcadia]

 

it doesn't say which version of the 777 this plane was.  the 777-200 needs 5,600', the 777-300 needs over 6000' to land, and nearly twice that for takeoff.   but even those distances have 'safety" built-in and a really good pilot could conceivable land on a shorter area.

eta: and if they're willing to destroy the brakes and tires, can stop considerably shorter.

 

The plane is a Boeing 777-200ER

[melmichigan]

is she Canadian? I thought she was an American.

 

there were only three americans on board.  a businessman, and two children who were traveling with others.

New reports are stating that one person reported as an American child is actually a woman from Pennsylvania.

 

Mei Ling Chng of South Park was one of the 239 people on the plane.

 

[Happy]

is she Canadian? I thought she was an American.

 

there were only three americans on board.  a businessman, and two children who were traveling with others.

 

The business man was Phillip Wood, the son of my friends. As awful as hearing he was on the plane was, it is pretty awful now to not know what happened or where the plane is. My friends are people of tremendous faith...and this is taking a huge toll on them. One of his brothers today was talking in an interview about how he doesn't want to give up hope, but realistically knows there is very little chance his brother is alive somewhere.

 

It baffles me there is no sign of this plane anywhere. Dh (a pilot) and I mused that it could have landed on the water with little debris, then sank. But I find it troubling that no word of distress was heard. I had thought of it being hijacked to a remote area of...well, who knows...and the passengers held for ransom. It seems unlikely that no sound, no text, no signal has been heard.

 

Don't many iPhones have a 'find me' app? Would it work if the phone was in airplane mode or off? Or around the world?  

 

If this didn't deeply affect my friends, I would probably be thinking up a Bermuda Triangle/alien abduction movie idea....but then that's just how my mind works sometimes....

[Stacia]

I cannot even imagine what this feels like for everyone involved. :grouphug:

 

Based on what's been seen (or not seen) at this point, my best guess would be that the plane may have turned around (what has been reported from radar), been either hijacked (transponder was turned off manually) or exploded (whether mechanical failure or terrorism; either way, the transponder could get destroyed/quit working), & that the plane ended up crashing somewhere outside of the areas that have been searched up to now. I think they'll find it, but just need a wider search area (off the predicted flight path), which will take time. With currents, weather, etc... the debris field (if there is one) is dispersing every moment, making it harder to find.

[quark]

nm

 

[EmilyK]

this was interesting:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/10/world/asia/malaysia-plane-scenarios/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

 

[mommymilkies]

 

 

If this didn't deeply affect my friends, I would probably be thinking up a Bermuda Triangle/alien abduction movie idea....but then that's just how my mind works sometimes....

Oh good, I'm not the only one.  The first thing that went through my mind was the Island on LOST.  I think I need more sleep.

 

This is all very scary.  Those poor people.  I really, desperately hope they are found safe, but it's not looking optimistic. :(

[Liz CA]

is she Canadian? I thought she was an American.

 

there were only three americans on board.  a businessman, and two children who were traveling with others.

 

No, I don't think she is Canadian. Pretty sure, she is American.

[Liz CA]

Heather has posted to this thread a couple of times.

 

Good to know. I was out of town and read this story initially at a friend's house.

[gardenmom5]

the phones being active is odd - but they would need a cell tower to be able to transmit. jammers are cheap.  I too have wondered about the hijack scenario, manually turning off the transponder then flying at a lower altitude.  they did detect the plane turning before they lost contact - though it doesn't state to which heading.  apparently, the plane was supposed to turn from 25 degrees to 40 degrees as part of their filed flight plan.

I believe there has to be something to trigger the transponder in the black box to  engage, and there is a limit to how far the signal can be tracked, reducing over time as the battery wears down.

 

though in regards to the phone - they way the systems are today, anyone calling should be picked up by the service providers VM.  just like if we're out of range, or the battery died it goes to the service providers VM.

[Heather in Neverland]

No, I don't think she is Canadian. Pretty sure, she is American.

 

I am alive and well. Thank you for asking. 

 

Everyone here is completely perplexed. The Malaysian authorities look like bumbling fools on the news here. It is just awful.

 

I realize I am no expert but I don't get it... Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet...our emails and phone calls are being constantly tracked... the other day I looked up an item on amazon and the next day it showed up as an advertisement in my FB feed... the earth is surrounded by satellites ...and airplanes are designed TO BE TRACKED... how can it just disappear???? We seem to be able to track anyone and anything yet a giant airplane just disappears? At 35,000 feet?

 

All this nonsense about how they think they found a piece of debris, but they are not sure, they can't see it very well, it might be a door, oh wait, it's not...etc. Hello? Binoculars anyone? Telescopes? We can see MARS but we can't tell if something is a big airplane door floating in the water? And they need hours and hours and hours to figure it out?

 

I have been through immigration in the KL airport MANY times. They scan your passport barcode AND take your thumbprints on some electronic device AND take your picture. How did those passports not get flagged as stolen? And they "think" the people using the stolen passports are not "Asian-looking"? They think???

 

I'm sorry but this makes no sense to me. 

[Melissa in Australia]

I think that people perceive the world as being more techno than it really is. The oceans are full of rubbish  it would be easy to mistake something for part of a plane.

 It can take days to find people in life rafts when the location of the sunken ship is known. it took ages to find that French plane (wasn't it months and months?). I have heard an interview with a search pilot and a Aeroplane crash investigator. the search pilot said it can be really difficult to find something in the ocean when there is no known area to search. the Aeroplane crash investigator gave several possible scenarios  that could result in the plane disappearing without sending any mayday communications. The one I can remember was the possibility of the windscreen coming out causing the pilots to get sucked out and the plane to depressurize  or something like that.

[Pawz4me]

I am alive and well. Thank you for asking. 

 

Everyone here is completely perplexed. The Malaysian authorities look like bumbling fools on the news here. It is just awful.

 

I realize I am no expert but I don't get it... Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet...our emails and phone calls are being constantly tracked... the other day I looked up an item on amazon and the next day it showed up as an advertisement in my FB feed... the earth is surrounded by satellites ...and airplanes are designed TO BE TRACKED... how can it just disappear???? We seem to be able to track anyone and anything yet a giant airplane just disappears? At 35,000 feet?

 

All this nonsense about how they think they found a piece of debris, but they are not sure, they can't see it very well, it might be a door, oh wait, it's not...etc. Hello? Binoculars anyone? Telescopes? We can see MARS but we can't tell if something is a big airplane door floating in the water? And they need hours and hours and hours to figure it out?

 

I have been through immigration in the KL airport MANY times. They scan your passport barcode AND take your thumbprints on some electronic device AND take your picture. How did those passports not get flagged as stolen? And they "think" the people using the stolen passports are not "Asian-looking"? They think???

 

I'm sorry but this makes no sense to me. 

 

If it's any consolation -- I read an article that quoted a spokesperson for the U.S. Seventh Fleet as saying that the Malaysian officials were being very organized and thorough in leading the search.

 

I think it just takes time.  We live in a world where we're used to getting information instantly.  Like Melissa said, I remember the search for the Air France plane taking a very long time.  Most of us forget how big the world's oceans are.  Even with all the technology we have, it's like finding that proverbial needle in a haystack.

 

[Heather in Neverland]

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-military-now-reveals-it-tracked-mh370-to-malacca-straits

 

"In a strange twist, Malaysia's military believes it tracked the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by radar over the Strait of Malacca, far from where it last made contact with civilian air traffic control over the Gulf of Thailand. A military source confirmed with Reuters that the Boeing 777-200ER with 239 on board changed course and made it to the other side of the Malay peninsula...

 

The Berita Harian newspaper was the first to report this development, quoting the Royal Air Force Malaysia (RMAF) chief General Tan Sri Rodzali Daud as saying they tracked the signal to Pulau Perak on the country's west coast.

 

"The last time the plane could be traced by an air control tower was near Pulau Perak, which is on the Straits of Malacca at 2.40am.

 

"After that, the signal from the plane was lost," he said.

 

Incidentally, Malaysia Airlines first statement on the missing jetliner on Saturday said that air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 2.40am but it was later corrected to 1.30am."

 

 

If this is true then the plane flew right over my house. This whole thing is so bizarre and sad.

[MariannNOVA]

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-military-now-reveals-it-tracked-mh370-to-malacca-straits

 

"In a strange twist, Malaysia's military believes it tracked the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by radar over the Strait of Malacca, far from where it last made contact with civilian air traffic control over the Gulf of Thailand. A military source confirmed with Reuters that the Boeing 777-200ER with 239 on board changed course and made it to the other side of the Malay peninsula...

 

The Berita Harian newspaper was the first to report this development, quoting the Royal Air Force Malaysia (RMAF) chief General Tan Sri Rodzali Daud as saying they tracked the signal to Pulau Perak on the country's west coast.

 

"The last time the plane could be traced by an air control tower was near Pulau Perak, which is on the Straits of Malacca at 2.40am.

 

"After that, the signal from the plane was lost," he said.

 

Incidentally, Malaysia Airlines first statement on the missing jetliner on Saturday said that air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane at 2.40am but it was later corrected to 1.30am."

 

 

If this is true then the plane flew right over my house. This whole thing is so bizarre and sad.

The Captain of the Navy destroyer sent to participate in the search said in an interview yesterday that this search makes finding a needle in a haystack look like a piece of cake.....many of the individuals I have heard In Interviews have said that the Malaysian effort has been well organized......it is too bad they are being portrayed as otherwise in Malaysia......although I can imagine the tension level there is quite off the charts.

 

It was perturbing to hear on the news that the Chinese are berating the Malaysian government for 'not moving quickly enough' and 'not doing enough.' I have learned these past few weeks from helping Michael with his report on Malaysia that the Chinese have no great affection for the Malay people......if one does not know that little tidbit, one might think the Malaysian government is not doing enough, but the British and Americans I have heard interviewed are as perplexed as anyone and have thankfully not said anything derogatory about the Malaysians or their effort.

 

I told dh last night that I think they are looking in the wrong place.

 

We continue to lift the passengers, crew, families and all of you in prayer.

[Guest submarines]

I keep reading that the passengers' cell phones are still turned on, but I can't find a definite source. This would indicate that there was no mid-air explosion?

[gardenmom5]

because today cells phones will go to the servers vm, I would expect them to ring until the number is disconnected.  after all, someone calling us will still get a ring even if the phone is turned off.

I keep reading that the passengers' cell phones are still turned on, but I can't find a definite source. This would indicate that there was no mid-air explosion?

 

[Heather in Neverland]

The Captain of the Navy destroyer sent to participate in the search said in an interview yesterday that this search makes finding a needle in a haystack look like a piece of cake.....many of the individuals I have heard In Interviews have said that the Malaysian effort has been well organized......it is too bad they are being portrayed as otherwise in Malaysia......although I can imagine the tension level there is quite off the charts.

 

It was perturbing to hear on the news that the Chinese are berating the Malaysian government for 'not moving quickly enough' and 'not doing enough.' I have learned these past few weeks from helping Michael with his report on Malaysia that the Chinese have no great affection for the Malay people......if one does not know that little tidbit, one might think the Malaysian government is not doing enough, but the British and Americans I have heard interviewed are as perplexed as anyone and have thankfully not said anything derogatory about the Malaysians or their effort.

 

I told dh last night that I think they are looking in the wrong place.

 

We continue to lift the passengers, crew, families and all of you in prayer.

As it is in most of life, the truth lies in the middle. The Chinese and Malays have a MUTUAL dislike of one another. And while the search may be difficult, it is also NOT common for people to "demand" answers from those in authority here.

 

People in authority positions are considered to be above questioning. Just last week there was an incident at our state track meet. One of our coaches asked an official about the number of laps recorded for an individual (the official was absolutely incorrect) and was told "how dare you question me!! I am the official. You have no right to even speak to me!"

 

Unfortunately, that is a common attitude here. So on the news shows here the Malaysian officials seem to be a combination of perplexed and perturbed that they are having to even answer any questions from the world about what happened.

 

On the other hand, nothing like this has ever happened here. Malaysia is not used to being in the international spotlight and they don't seem to know how to handle all of it.

 

I'm trying hard not to be cynical but cover-ups and corruption are the name of the game here so I have my doubts on their handling of this to say the least. I truly hope I am wrong.

[Scrub Jay]

because today cells phones will go to the servers vm, I would expect them to ring until the number is disconnected.  after all, someone calling us will still get a ring even if the phone is turned off.

 

Really?  I find that when a cell phone is off it may have one quick ring but then goes straight to voice-mail.  Sometimes no ring at all.

 

[Guest submarines]

because today cells phones will go to the servers vm, I would expect them to ring until the number is disconnected.  after all, someone calling us will still get a ring even if the phone is turned off.

 

Makes sense. Thanks.

 

Though if my cell is turned off I get the message that customer is not in reach, or something like that, without a typical ring.

[Joker]

Really? I find that when a cell phone is off it may have one quick ring but then goes straight to voice-mail. Sometimes no ring at all.[\quote]

 

I didn't know any rang while off. The four phones on my plan go straight to voicemail with zero rings when turned off or dead.

[gardenmom5]

 

I realize I am no expert but I don't get it... Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet...our emails and phone calls are being constantly tracked... the other day I looked up an item on amazon and the next day it showed up as an advertisement in my FB feed... the earth is surrounded by satellites ...and airplanes are designed TO BE TRACKED... how can it just disappear???? We seem to be able to track anyone and anything yet a giant airplane just disappears? At 35,000 feet?

 

All this nonsense about how they think they found a piece of debris, but they are not sure, they can't see it very well, it might be a door, oh wait, it's not...etc. Hello? Binoculars anyone? Telescopes? We can see MARS but we can't tell if something is a big airplane door floating in the water? And they need hours and hours and hours to figure it out?

 

I have been through immigration in the KL airport MANY times. They scan your passport barcode AND take your thumbprints on some electronic device AND take your picture. How did those passports not get flagged as stolen? And they "think" the people using the stolen passports are not "Asian-looking"? They think???

 

I'm sorry but this makes no sense to me. 

 

the US spy satellites imagery has been examined and they've 'said' they have found no evidence of an explosion.  it was also announced they have good coverage in that area - but if the plane was far from where it was supposed to be, have they examined that?

 

the more evidence comes out of the stolen passports the more that sounds like an established human smuggling operation. in which case, someone may have been paid off to let them on board. 

 

there are p-3c orions, which can find a soccer ball on the ocean, and they've only found trash and wood.  authorities have stated what appeared to be a fuel spill wasn't, - but they didn't say what it really was.  that would have been helpful.

[Arcadia]

It was perturbing to hear on the news that the Chinese are berating the Malaysian government for 'not moving quickly enough' and 'not doing enough.' I have learned these past few weeks from helping Michael with his report on Malaysia that the Chinese have no great affection for the Malay people......if one does not know that little tidbit, one might think the Malaysian government is not doing enough....

There are two issues here.

 

One, there are territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the rest of the region. There has always been tensions there. There is also the political tension of which nations in that region are friendly to Taiwan as China wants Taiwan. (If your son is intereasted, he can read about the water dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over the terms of MY selling SG water. SG was kick out of MY which is why SG became independent in 1965. Also about the formation of ASEAN).

 

Two, the majority of the peole are China nationals on that plane. The China goverment have to "berate" the Malaysian government to placate their own people. China peopla are hounding their own govt. for answers too. Hubby is still there on business and this is still very much on people's mind and heart.

 

I think the current MY govt. is just not use to handling disaster of this nature which makes things seem slow.

 

I think I'll just read the chinese newspapers of both MY and CN today to get a more "drama" version. English is not the national language of both countries. Too bad my malay is too pathetic to read the malay papers.

[swellmomma]

I am alive and well. Thank you for asking. 

 

Everyone here is completely perplexed. The Malaysian authorities look like bumbling fools on the news here. It is just awful.

 

I realize I am no expert but I don't get it... Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet...our emails and phone calls are being constantly tracked... the other day I looked up an item on amazon and the next day it showed up as an advertisement in my FB feed... the earth is surrounded by satellites ...and airplanes are designed TO BE TRACKED... how can it just disappear???? We seem to be able to track anyone and anything yet a giant airplane just disappears? At 35,000 feet?

 

All this nonsense about how they think they found a piece of debris, but they are not sure, they can't see it very well, it might be a door, oh wait, it's not...etc. Hello? Binoculars anyone? Telescopes? We can see MARS but we can't tell if something is a big airplane door floating in the water? And they need hours and hours and hours to figure it out?

 

I have been through immigration in the KL airport MANY times. They scan your passport barcode AND take your thumbprints on some electronic device AND take your picture. How did those passports not get flagged as stolen? And they "think" the people using the stolen passports are not "Asian-looking"? They think???

 

I'm sorry but this makes no sense to me. 

 

It's funny dd14 had to write a paragraph for her online social studies class explaining how an event somewhere else had an impact on here here in canada.  She wrote about how we have satellites able to pinpoint obscure points, internet where all your nonsense is judged by those on the other side of the world within minutes of you doing said stupid thing, everyone able to contact anyone at a drop of a hat, heck even 3rd world countries are getting cell phone service.  Yet the disappearance of the flight made her realize just how big the world, specifically the ocean is.  IF it went down in the ocean it may never be found, Who knows how far it went down, if it was off course, if it ended up in a chasm.  anyway there was more to her paragraph but it was an interesting thought process.  I mean this is not the 30s with earhart going missing in the bermuda triangle, you would think that with all our technology they would be able to have more answers.  The whole thing is very bizarre.

[vonfirmath]

I am alive and well. Thank you for asking. 

 

Everyone here is completely perplexed. The Malaysian authorities look like bumbling fools on the news here. It is just awful.

 

I realize I am no expert but I don't get it... Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet...our emails and phone calls are being constantly tracked... the other day I looked up an item on amazon and the next day it showed up as an advertisement in my FB feed... the earth is surrounded by satellites ...and airplanes are designed TO BE TRACKED... how can it just disappear???? We seem to be able to track anyone and anything yet a giant airplane just disappears? At 35,000 feet?

 

Well, one thing to realize here. Google earth's "zooming in" is not real time. They take pictures satellite and aerial photographs (and photos taken by cars) and put them together. So, for example, the picture you see when you zoom in to our house is almost 2 years old at this point.

 

Google Street View is how they provide "street level views"

According to Wikipedia (Google Street View displays panoramas of stitched images taken from a fleet of specially adapted cars. Areas not accessible by car, like pedestrian areas, narrow streets, alleys and ski resorts, are sometimes covered by Google Trikes (tricycles),^[2]snowmobiles^[3][4] or boats)

[Mandylubug]

Am I the only one that thinks this plane will resurface with a nuke attached?

[MariannNOVA]

There are two issues here.

 

One, there are territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the rest of the region. There has always been tensions there. There is also the political tension of which nations in that region are friendly to Taiwan as China wants Taiwan. (If your son is intereasted, he can read about the water dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over the terms of MY selling SG water. SG was kick out of MY which is why SG became independent in 1965. Also about the formation of ASEAN).

 

Two, the majority of the peole are China nationals on that plane. The China goverment have to "berate" the Malaysian government to placate their own people. China peopla are hounding their own govt. for answers too. Hubby is still there on business and this is still very much on people's mind and heart.

 

I think the current MY govt. is just not use to handling disaster of this nature which makes things seem slow.

 

I think I'll just read the chinese newspapers of both MY and CN today to get a more "drama" version. English is not the national language of both countries. Too bad my malay is too pathetic to read the malay papers.

Thank you for taking the time to share this.......it is fascinating to read. I will definitely delve further......I have learned so much as I guide ds through thus project that is practically the bane of his existence. I did read about the water dispute.......I may re-read it and attempt to pique ds' interest. A few weeks ago, as ds began, I was surprised to learn indeed that the disputes have gone on forever in this part of the world.

 

Thank you again.

[Guest submarines]

Well, one thing to realize here. Google earth's "zooming in" is not real time. They take pictures satellite and aerial photographs (and photos taken by cars) and put them together. So, for example, the picture you see when you zoom in to our house is almost 2 years old at this point.

 

Google Street View is how they provide "street level views"

According to Wikipedia (Google Street View displays panoramas of stitched images taken from a fleet of specially adapted cars. Areas not accessible by car, like pedestrian areas, narrow streets, alleys and ski resorts, are sometimes covered by Google Trikes (tricycles),^[2]snowmobiles^[3][4] or boats)

 

I thought Google Earth satellite images are more immediately accessible to paid subscribers. I can imagine they are accessible to the military very close to real time.

 

Street level views aren't really relevant here, eh? :001_rolleyes: :D

[MariannNOVA]

As it is in most of life, the truth lies in the middle. The Chinese and Malays have a MUTUAL dislike of one another. And while the search may be difficult, it is also NOT common for people to "demand" answers from those in authority here.

 

People in authority positions are considered to be above questioning. Just last week there was an incident at our state track meet. One of our coaches asked an official about the number of laps recorded for an individual (the official was absolutely incorrect) and was told "how dare you question me!! I am the official. You have no right to even speak to me!"

 

Unfortunately, that is a common attitude here. So on the news shows here the Malaysian officials seem to be a combination of perplexed and perturbed that they are having to even answer any questions from the world about what happened.

 

On the other hand, nothing like this has ever happened here. Malaysia is not used to being in the international spotlight and they don't seem to know how to handle all of it.

 

I'm trying hard not to be cynical but cover-ups and corruption are the name of the game here so I have my doubts on their handling of this to say the least. I truly hope I am wrong.

Thank you for this, heather. If I state something to ds, I have NO credibility, but if I tell him 'Miss Heather wrote that blah, blah, blah' well, then he will listen. When he gets home today I will sit with this post which I gave printed and get a discussion going with him......or at least with me, myself and I. 😳

 

Hi to your family!

[vonfirmath]

I thought Google Earth satellite images are more immediately accessible to paid subscribers. I can imagine they are accessible to the military very close to real time.

 

Street level views aren't really relevant here, eh? :001_rolleyes: :D

 

Not for this particular case, no. But for the "Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet..." part I quoted (that you deleted) Yes.

 

ETA: I doubt Google Earth is real time even for paid subscribers. There has to be a satellite pointing a particular plot of land on the Earth in order to be able to access its images. There are HINTS in some of these news stories that the US may have a satellite network high enough to do this. But those hints also come with the "this is deeply classified" reminder. And stuff like that is not going to be being used for a commercial program.

 

more to the point, the first question of the Google Earth FAQ addresses this:

https://support.google.com/earth/answer/187961?hl=en&ref_topic=4380577

 

"Google Earth displays the best available imagery, most of which is one to three years old. The information in Google Earth is collected over time and is not in real time. It is not possible to see live changes in images."

[Guest submarines]

Not for this particular case, no. But for the "Google Earth can zoom in on the most obscure house on the planet..." part I quoted (that you deleted) Yes.

 

ETA: I doubt Google Earth is real time even for paid subscribers. There has to be a satellite pointing a particular plot of land on the Earth in order to be able to access its images. There are HINTS in some of these news stories that the US may have a satellite network high enough to do this. But those hints also come with the "this is deeply classified" reminder. And stuff like that is not going to be being used for a commercial program.

 

more to the point, the first question of the Google Earth FAQ addresses this:

https://support.google.com/earth/answer/187961?hl=en&ref_topic=4380577

 

"Google Earth displays the best available imagery, most of which is one to three years old. The information in Google Earth is collected over time and is not in real time. It is not possible to see live changes in images."

 

I quoted your post using the "quote" feature of this board. I didn't delete anything. :001_smile:

 

[Arcadia]

Link is to diagram of the search area provided by Vietnam yesterday and posted in a China daily.

http://world.chinadaily.com.cn/2014-03/11/content_17338893.htm

 

 

There are HINTS in some of these news stories that the US may have a satellite network high enough to do this. But those hints also come with the "this is deeply classified" reminder. And stuff like that is not going to be being used for a commercial program.

 

There is a big US military presence in that region.  The Malaysia Federal govt. can request the US govt. for satellite information which would help in the SAR.  In the case of a SAR, a request at govt. level is normal and I believe common.

 

Link is to the COSPAS-SARSAT which is the Intl org for using satellite for SAR

http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/about-cospas-sarsat/participating-countries-organisations

 

 A few weeks ago, as ds began, I was surprised to learn indeed that the disputes have gone on forever in this part of the world.
 

 

It is interesting the disputes that have gone on forever except that being born and growing up there, there was always the fear that a stray missile/bomb would obliterate the "litte red dot" that is my homeland. (ETA: my house back home has a bomb shelter built into it by law enacted in 1997. The law changed so it is no longer compulsory for new homes to have bomb shelters built in. I've heard the bomb sirens blaring in test runs.)

[Seasider]

Despite the tragic circumstances, this thread is fascinating. Thanks, Heather, for the lesson in cultural geography/politics, and to others for the technology briefs. 

 

Of course this situation remains in my prayers, especially the families of those gone missing. Happy, many hugs to you and your dear friends.

 

 

[MariannNOVA]

 

 

 

It is interesting the disputes that have gone on forever except that being born and growing up there, there was always the fear that a stray missile/bomb would obliterate the "litte red dot" that is my homeland.

I am quite a bit older than most of the moms on this board......I will be 60 in August and I have 13 yr old twins and a 15 yr old......and a 35 and 33 yr old.

 

Anyway, I digress......I understand what you are saying as I was six yrs old during the Cuban Missile crises. The air raid drills under our coats and under our desks were one thing, but I was walking home from school one day (another time, another era) and sirens began blaring. I was about a block from my house and was right outside of the bank where my parents banked. I froze.......in terror...........a woman who was about to run into the bank grabbed me and brought me into the bank with her where everyone huddled together until the sirens stopped.

 

Then, I walked home.

 

And my husband wonders why I am neurotic about the kids.

[Mrs Mungo]

Some of the theories are a little bizarre. The main reason they haven't found the plane is because the ocean is huge. Our sattelites are generally programmed to look out over land, not the 3/4 of the planet that is water. We can't possibly have enough sattelites in space to cover every square inch of the planet in real time. We definitely don't have sattelites that are pointed at nothing but water 99% of the time.

 

It took two years to find the Air France flight that crashed after flying out of Rio:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447

 

It took people years to find the Titanic, and historians/scientists had a pretty good idea about where it actually sank.

 

My personal opinion, based purely on the information out there? This was likely a hijacking/terrorist act. Nobody has taken credit because the group wants to do it again. BUT, it could be pilot error, just like the Air France flight. Confusing information often comes from leaks from people who are too low level to really know anything, this is particularly true in countries where bribery is the order of the day.

[mathnerd]

An US based satellite imaging firm is "crowdsourcing" the hunt for MH370. It will make available all the satellite images it has of that region and people can help out by scanning them and tagging suspicious objects in the pictures. Awesome idea.

 

this is where they make the images available: http://www.tomnod.com/nod/challenge/malaysiaairsar2014

this is the article on their effort: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/03/crowdsourcing-the-search-for-malaysia-flight-370/

[Pawz4me]

There is a big US military presence in that region.  The Malaysia Federal govt. can request the US govt. for satellite information which would help in the SAR.  In the case of a SAR, a request at govt. level is normal and I believe common.

 

I *believe* the type of satellite system that's being hinted at is well beyond the typical military/spy satellites, and certainly well beyond the usual request for information chain.  The little bits I've read said this system could probably provide some vital information, but doing so might give away more information about the particular satellite network than the U.S. wants known.  Whether such a satellite network even exists, or is just a James Bond figment of someone's imagination . . . who knows?

 

Breaking news now is the plane turned around, flew back over Malaysia and into the Strait of Malacca.

[flyingiguana]

I am quite a bit older than most of the moms on this board......I will be 60 in August and I have 13 yr old twins and a 15 yr old......and a 35 and 33 yr old.

 

Anyway, I digress......I understand what you are saying as I was six yrs old during the Cuban Missile crises. The air raid drills under our coats and under our desks were one thing, but I was walking home from school one day (another time, another era) and sirens began blaring. I was about a block from my house and was right outside of the bank where my parents banked. I froze.......in terror...........a woman who was about to run into the bank grabbed me and brought me into the bank with her where everyone huddled together until the sirens stopped.

 

Then, I walked home.

 

And my husband wonders why I am neurotic about the kids.

 

I had my bag packed to run to the nearest air raid shelter.  It did not occur to me that if I had to run a mile to get there, there was no way I was going to be lucky enough to get in.  And that stopping to get my packed bag was only going to slow me down.

 

Now I live in a part of the country where they use those sirens for tornado warnings.  They still make me jump.  Even when they're just being tested.

 

On 9/11 my dad was supposed to be walking along the beach in CA.  He and his buddies canceled the walk, because they still lived with the memory of WW2 where everyone was concerned about enemy subs attacking the shore.

 

Old habits die hard.

[MariannNOVA]

I had my bag packed to run to the nearest air raid shelter. It did not occur to me that if I had to run a mile to get there, there was no way I was going to be lucky enough to get in. And that stopping to get my packed bag was only going to slow me down.

 

Now I live in a part of the country where they use those sirens for tornado warnings. They still make me jump. Even when they're just being tested.

 

On 9/11 my dad was supposed to be walking along the beach in CA. He and his buddies canceled the walk, because they still lived with the memory of WW2 where everyone was concerned about enemy subs attacking the shore.

 

Old habits die hard.

You totally understand what I am saying.

[Stacia]

authorities have stated what appeared to be a fuel spill wasn't, - but they didn't say what it really was.  that would have been helpful.

 

Are you talking about the original oil slicks that were reported the first day? If so, I saw a few articles that mentioned the oil had been tested & was consistent w/ fuel used on cargo ships, so it was probably leaked/dumped by a cargo ship. It was not the type of fuel used in the aviation industry.

 

[Seasider]

I *believe* the type of satellite system that's being hinted at is well beyond the typical military/spy satellites, and certainly well beyond the usual request for information chain.  The little bits I've read said this system could probably provide some vital information, but doing so might give away more information about the particular satellite network than the U.S. wants known.  Whether such a satellite network even exists, or is just a James Bond figment of someone's imagination . . . who knows?

 

Breaking news now is the plane turned around, flew back over Malaysia and into the Strait of Malacca.

 

Now I'm wondering if the whole point of the exercise is to force the US to divulge just what level of surveillance it's capable of...

 

Oh, I shoulda been a conspiracy theorist.

[Lanny]

I just watched a video on FoxNews.com and now there is something that I had read about, several days ago, and did not think was important, at that time, that is among the multiple possible reasons for this tragedy. The aircraft involved had been in an accident with another aircraft, I believe in the Singapore airport. That was about 2 years ago. The airline had reported, several days ago, that the repairs were done by Boeing. I suspect the truth is that the repairs were done by the airline, possibly with someone from Boeing supervising the work, who signed off on it.  One Wing tip was damaged. 

 

The man who was interviewed on Fox (a former military aviator) mentioned the possibility of that wing having weakened, and that possibly it fell off.

 

Had the repairs been done properly, I would not think there is a high probability of this being the cause of the tragedy. And, supposedly, the aircraft had been in maintenance, about 10 days before the accident.  Depending upon what type of maintenance (750 hours, etc.) they might or might not have inspected the wing with xray and other technology.

 

I have been interested in airline safety for many years and it is always easy, after an accident, to jump to conclusions, about the "probable cause". It might be several years, before the N.T.S.B. (or in this case, the appropriate Civil Aviation authority in Malaysia) issues a report about the "probable cause(s)" of this tragedy. 

[mathnerd]

Breaking news now is the plane turned around, flew back over Malaysia and into the Strait of Malacca.

 

they should have looked at their military radar ASAP and let everyone know the truth 4 days ago. The data was right there in their military radars and in several other neighboring countries' military radars too. If I were the army boss of that country and something so big goes missing, I might ask a few of the people working in my agencies to check their radars just in case ... So, they knew all this and let all the serachers look in the wrong sea for a long time because they were covering up something or they were really incompetent and did not know how to deal with this situation and to check with their own military.

Whatever it is, the only questions I have are: where is the plane and what happened to the people on it?

[MariannNOVA]

I just got in from getting the kids........perhaps you have all mentioned this, but it is all over the cable news stations (on satellite radio) that the Malaysian authorities have confirmed that the aircraft did indeed make a U turn, and the aircraft's transponders were turned off.

[Mrs Mungo]

Possible info about one of the men traveling on a stolen passport:

Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the first man, named Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 19, was likely trying to enter Germany to seek asylum. His mother contacted authorities after he didn't arrive in Frankfurt.

[MariannNOVA]

I hit submit and did not mean to.........

 

Continuing:

 

There were fascinating former airline captains on both cnn and fox. They had interesting points of view to share. They have not discounted the possibility of terrorist activity........one of the captains most compelling argument, IMHO, to this end was why did those two man only use the stolen passports from KLIA. Why had they used their own identity until boarding the Malaysia Airlines flight?

 

All the men mentioned electrical failure and the possibility of the pilot having to fly using dead reckoning.......you can google it. The pilot would attempt to get back to the last location where he knew where he was and he and the co pilot would fly using clock, speed and map if I recall. They said a captain as experienced as this one would know how to use DR to get himself back over Malaysia and then find an airport or be able to ditch the aircraft in a place where he would be seen.

 

All the men were greatly troubled by the transponders being turned off.

 

All the men were greatly troubled by the fact that the aircraft should have been handed off from Malaysia air traffic control to viet nam air traffic control just before the time when Malaysia saw the flight drop off radar........and why is there no communication between Malaysia atc and viet nam atc.

 

I listened to about an hour or more and it was compelling. The insight offered by the pilots is fascinating. Considering that I have spent the better part of my life involved in aviation (embry riddle aeronautical university) and doing aircraft financing on Wall Street.......it is fascinating to listen to these individuals speak.

 

Oh, and I just remembered that all of the captains and the NTSB individual said this: in the event of an electrical failure (and everything on board is powered by electricity so that would be a huge failure), the 777 has safety redundancy built into it many times over. With electrical failure, aircraft would be able to fly for 30-90 minutes while the captain looked for a place, as I said earlier, to land or ditch....and if ditching, to do so in a location where help could arrive relatively quickly.