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Missing Malaysia Air plane

985 replies

KenAdams · 08/03/2014 09:47

It's so sad. They still haven't found anything, but thinks it's crashed into the sea.

For anyone that hasn't heard

OP posts:
themaltesefalcon · 15/03/2014 11:42

Forgive my ignorance, but how do they "know" that the onboard transponders were "deliberately" shut down? Could they not have failed independently?

VivaLeBeaver · 15/03/2014 12:06

Marking place.

GoldieMumbles · 15/03/2014 13:04

Too cold for the bike ride we had planned so I'm popping on for a few minutes.

"it was a pilot
-explains knowledge of gap between aircomms allowing the 15 min gap"

This is now what has got me confused. The quickest way to turn the ADS-B off is to pull out the circuit breaker. There's a big panel at the back of the cockpit full of circuit breakers - electronic fuses - that allow you to switch off the electrical supply to just about anything on the aircraft. The thing that doesn't add up to me is that 'he' (I'm boldly making assumptions it was a man - sorry) pulled the circuit breaker from the ADS-B transponder but not the ACARS. The circuit breakers will be in the same place, so why didn't 'he' do both at the same time. Why wait 15 minutes between them?

"why would you take a 777"

With the intent of using it for something else later, like flying it into the Petronas Towers, for example.

"How on earth can a 777 fly undetected for 7 hours?"

I really don't think it can unless it stayed out overwater. So that leaves two possibilities. 1) It stayed over water; 2) it was detected and that's why they are now looking wherever they are.

And all that talk of the USS Kidd going out to the Indian Ocean also turns out to be wrong - it's heading to the Straits of Malacca! So much contradictory info. But with the US Navy sending a P-8A Poseidon aircraft (which is a navy version of the Boeing 737 with lots of detection equipment in it and on it), it's a fair bet they've narrowed it down quite a lot - or they are really trying to eliminate one strong possibility (I don't know which but would speculate that it's the Andaman Islands theory)

I'm beginning to wonder if one of the pilots tried to take it over, pulled the transponder circuit breaker, the other noticed and they ended up fighting in the cockpit. That might explain the 15 minute gap, until the other pilot had been overpowered.

lessonsintightropes · 15/03/2014 13:06

Goldie, everyone has gone here

GoldieMumbles · 15/03/2014 13:15

"Ah true about the locking out. I thought that there were always at least 2 in the cockpit on long haul, as there is a navigator as well I thought? Or is that just on the big double deckers and the 747s? "

No, aircraft haven't had a navigator for a very long time. They're all flown by a 2-person crew. Longer flights have one or two reserve crew for the cruise portion of flight. The locking out theory isn't possible and isn't as big of a concern as people think. I can't say more.

"He is convinced the airplane has not crashed and has landed somewhere. He thinks probably in a country that lacks the ability to track what's flying in and out.
However my dad is certain America knows where the plane is and he also said it wouldn't be any good if they were planning on flying it into a developed country as it would be picked up and recognised and shot down before reaching its target.
He said it could only be used to either fly into another airplane or to crash into a target such as a boat out at sea."

All very true. It's probably about the only thing big enough to sink an aircraft carrier if you fly into the side of one.

"My dad says that you can't decompress part of the plane and not the other, the oxygen masks would fall for everyone. Is that true? "

Yes. An aircraft is either pressurised or it's not. You can't just pressurise different bits.

"Which countries could they have landed in that wouldn't have noticed?"

Quite a few. I mentioned Yemen and Somalia a while back but it looks like there wasn't enough fuel for that. You need a country that won't notice or is sympathetic to your aims; a 6000 foot long paved strip (a lot more if you plan to take off again) and preferably a hangar to hide it in.

"Can you really fly 'under the radar'? If so, how low is this?"

Yes, but it depends on the radar and how far away from it you are.

KenAdams · 15/03/2014 13:39

Aah how many posts do you have before a thread gets full?

Do I need to do a Part II?

OP posts:
KenAdams · 15/03/2014 13:40

I went out last night so I'm currently only reading page 30!

OP posts:
Catsmamma · 15/03/2014 13:43

there's already a follow up thread Ken and goldie

Follow up thread....come join us!

KenAdams · 15/03/2014 13:43

Someone has already done it for me

OP posts:
GladysKStrohl123 · 15/03/2014 20:08

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