Search on after Malaysia Airlines flight vanishes

[Faithfree]

There were suggestions on CNN and BBC that it may have tried to turn back, but just 2 hours into the flight, it should have had ample fuel to make the return. If there were other technical issues, they would have requested emergency clearance to land in VN. Everything seems to me to point to a sudden catastrophe. But I'm not a pro in this area. Seems the two suspects who had stolen passports bought their tickets together, sequential numbers and all.

Also: "Five passengers booked on the flight did not board, he added. Their luggage was consequently removed."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26502843

Removal of luggage indicates they had already checked in. Were they just lucky that they missed their flight, or did they know something?

[mistermack]

There were suggestions on CNN and BBC that it may have tried to turn back, but just 2 hours into the flight, it should have had ample fuel to make the return. If there were other technical issues, they would have requested emergency clearance to land in VN. Everything seems to me to point to a sudden catastrophe. But I'm not a pro in this area. Seems the two suspects who had stolen passports bought their tickets together, sequential numbers and all.

That's suspicious, but at the same time, it's illogical.
If someone was going to blow up a plane, why would you go along with them?
Double the chance of getting caught, and one bomb would do it anyway.

But who can read the minds of loonies?

[Warren Dew]

It had just crossed into Vietnamese air space, from Malasia.
Doubtful if it was a shooting down, but has to be a bomb. What else could break it up so fast, that they couldn't use the radio?

Could be an errant U.S. antiaircraft missile a fuel tank explosion, like TWA 800.

[laklak]

God beamed them all up to heaven. He'll spit out the bones and gristle later.

[cronus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26525281

Stolen jet passport 'no terror link'

A man travelling on a stolen passport on a missing Malaysian jet was a young Iranian who is not believed to have terrorist links, Malaysian police say.

It is believed the 19-year-old was travelling to Germany where he was hoping to seek asylum, they say.

Malaysia is widening the hunt, after days of searching found no trace of the plane or the 239 people on board.

(continued, Asian guy who flies one seater reckons it's common bad practice to siphon off airliner aviation fuel, a little, and replace it with light vegetable oil, and maybe someone used something other than vegetable oil on the bad trip?)

[mistermack]

(continued, Asian guy who flies one seater reckons it's common bad practice to siphon off airliner aviation fuel, a little, and replace it with light vegetable oil, and maybe someone used something other than vegetable oil on the bad trip?)

That's not very likely the cause. The plane could glide for over a hundred miles, if it's engines failed.
Plenty of time to send a mayday message. Probably more than a hundred miles, as both engines would be unlikely to fail together, suddenly.

If the plane DID make a turn, as if to head back, it was likely that the crew went mental, or were interfered with, as they would normally have sent a mayday message, and request for a course, to the flight controllers, before altering course like that.

It's amazing that they haven't found anything. I thought that with gps they would know exactly where the plane was, when it went down.

[cronus]

Could be engine failure caused panic amongst the crew. What was their religion, anyway?

[Hermit]

I thought that with gps they would know exactly where the plane was, when it went down.

Not at all amazing. Assuming that the GPS has some sort of backup power supply to transmit a signal after the plane has broken up, it would be of much smaller wattage than under normal conditions. Also, it would only have a small antenna left after the plane's disintegration. Thirdly, its communication system is designed for air travel, not submarine. That's why we don't usually build radio masts 50 metres below sea level.

[cronus]

Who needs GPS? Surely they need only look for where the sharks are clustering to locate the wreckage? It's the South China Sea .

[pErvinalia]

I thought that with gps they would know exactly where the plane was, when it went down.

Not at all amazing. Assuming that the GPS has some sort of backup power supply to transmit a signal after the plane has broken up, it would be of much smaller wattage than under normal conditions. Also, it would only have a small antenna left after the plane's disintegration. Thirdly, its communication system is designed for air travel, not submarine. That's why we don't usually build radio masts 50 metres below sea level.

The NSA has radio masts everywhere..

[Hermit]

I thought that with gps they would know exactly where the plane was, when it went down.

Not at all amazing. Assuming that the GPS has some sort of backup power supply to transmit a signal after the plane has broken up, it would be of much smaller wattage than under normal conditions. Also, it would only have a small antenna left after the plane's disintegration. Thirdly, its communication system is designed for air travel, not submarine. That's why we don't usually build radio masts 50 metres below sea level.

The NSA has radio masts everywhere..

Unlike a Plane's GPS, the thousands of submarine NSA masts are designed to work in that environment and massive, which is why the latter are so easily found and the former not.

[mistermack]

I thought that with gps they would know exactly where the plane was, when it went down.

Not at all amazing. Assuming that the GPS has some sort of backup power supply to transmit a signal after the plane has broken up, it would be of much smaller wattage than under normal conditions. Also, it would only have a small antenna left after the plane's disintegration. Thirdly, its communication system is designed for air travel, not submarine. That's why we don't usually build radio masts 50 metres below sea level.

None of that affects the facts.
Presumably they would have records of gps signals, leading to the point where the gps stopped sending.
If the plane broke up at altitude, it couldn't glide very far on the way down in a severely damaged condition. So the last gps would presumably be fairly close to where the wreckage is.

They don't appear to have that information, as they are looking both sides of the mainland, in the Gulf of Thailand, and the Malacca Straight

On the news today, they were saying that they have plotted the course on radar, and it APPEARS that the plane changed course, and went back over the mainland to a point in the Malacca Straight.

I find that pretty amazing too, if it happened. You would think that air traffic control would have noticed that, and asked them what was happening.

Edit that. The news just said that it's possible that someone on the plane switched off all the transponders, and turned back on a new course, crossing the mainland at low altitude.
That would answer why the trail ended over the Gulf of Thailand, but there isn't any sign of the plane there.

[JimC]

When the Lizard Overlords want your plane, there's not much you can do about it...

[mistermack]

More likely the hand of man.
It's looking like either one of the pilots went mental, or someone on board got control of the cockpit, and forced them to turn off all the transponders.
Even if that happened, it's still surprising that nobody was able to make a call on their mobile, saying what had happened.
You would think that the cabin crew would have noticed a change of course, and altitude.

Maybe someone let off poison gas.

[JimC]

More likely the hand of man.
It's looking like either one of the pilots went mental, or someone on board got control of the cockpit, and forced them to turn off all the transponders.
Even if that happened, it's still surprising that nobody was able to make a call on their mobile, saying what had happened.
You would think that the cabin crew would have noticed a change of course, and altitude.

Maybe someone let off poison gas.

Airline food...