Missing Malaysia Air plane

[KenAdams]

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

For anyone that hasn't heard

Fab - I would have thought that too but this NTSA man said that wasn't the case and said the reason why GPS has not been installed on planes is because basically of this tradition or practice of pilots calling in their position or being tracked on radar so no one really thought it was necessary.

I guess the issue is not so much putting the GPS transponder on the plane but setting up the infrastructure in air traffic control systems around the world to process, integrate and use the incoming position data within existing procedures.

I was very surprised at what the man said - as was the interviewer.

The example cited in the interview with the NTSA man of a plane cabin slowly deoxygenating was the Helios Case in 2005.

The plane flew on until it ran out of fuel.

Interesting point, MoreBeta. And that's why I'm concerned about the lack of reports about the ACARS, which is the automated reporting from an aircraft back to the airline HQ.

The point about the radar: There is very little radar available to ATC across the North Atlantic. Aircraft exiting the ATC radar on either side are positioned for optimum separation, and it all works by individual aircraft not deviating from their assigned flight path. It does work, very well. But maybe because it works so well is why adoption of GPS for all aircraft hasn't happened yet. The cycnic in me is thinking that it's all about insurance: huge numbers of insurance claims on loss of shipping containers versus very few claims for the very rare loss of aircraft.

an unlikely but possible cause was a slow deoxygenation of the cabin that could put the entire crew and passengers to sleep and the plane fly on for hundreds of miles in a random pattern path until it finally slowly descends and crashes into the sea

that could account for the mumbling of the pilot/co-pilot who spoke to another plane

but would it account for this plane disappearing from radar?

This is chilling .

Why is China asking Malaysia to put more effort into the search? Don't international teams get involved when something of this scale happens?

China is urging greater efforts because most of the passengers are Chinese. Yes, it's an international operation, with substantial involvement by the Chinese Navy already. But it's Malaysia who is running it.

Just watching US news channel again.

Different interviewer and interviewees again discussing why we don't know where every plane is every second of every day.

Just caught the end of the interview with a man who is at Flightaware.com saying the technology exists to do it but we would need more satellites and more processing and transmission technology at much lower cost.

Read that on a previous air disaster (Air India, crash was not terror related) there were 10 people traveling on fake passports with no relation to the crash. I think fake passports are just more common in that area and I expect it's coincidence more than anything. This wasn't the exact link I read but does state similar. I think more is made of the fake passports than needs be.

www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/100629/air-plane-crash-fake-passport-kasargod-crime

There has been a further press conference. One of the stolen passport passengers has been identified as an economic migrant.

Although the fake passports may be unconnected to the disappearance, it has flagged up how poor airline security is - only the US, UK & UAE routinely check passports against the Interpol database.

\link{http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/world/asia/missing-malaysian-airliner-said-to-highlight-a-security-gap.html?hp&_r=0\New York Times}

From that Air India crash article:

'Several apparent irregularities prompted an investigation. Some of the addresses were clearly fabricated, and many of the photographs on the passports didn't match the people carrying them'

the photographs didn't match!!! do we even need passports?

Clarification on passengers who never boarded the flight.

& the stolen passport passengers were \link{http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/11/passengers-malaysian-plane-mh370-iranian-forged-passports?CMP=fb_gu\Iranian} (dark, but not black)

that explains the tickets being bought by an Iranian - I bet he's buggered off well out of the way now - he probably runs the whole Phuket passport stealing thing

I actually feel quite sorry for the 2 Iranians (even though they were illegals) - they must have had such high hopes

\link{http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article/8812646/woman-raises-questions-about-cockpit-behaviour\this is rather disturbing}

blimey I know planes fly themselves a lot of the time, & it must get quite boring for the pilots on a long flight, but these girls were there for the entire flight from take-off to landing!

at that story.

I was invited up to the cockpit on a flight to Portugal once, though not for take off or landing. I thought it was a common occurrence pre-911.

oh I know people get invited to the cockpit, that's not an issue in itself, but they were there the entire time & the pilots were talking to them rather than flying the plane - I somehow doubt that they're officially allowed to do that!

& this was very much post 9/11

That story is very shocking. I thought that people were no longer allowed in the cockpit after 9/11. I remember playing around in the cockpit as a young child, (mid 90s) being allowed to touch the buttons and levers etc.

So they can't find the plane, the black box, the transponder, or any identifiable debris. They aren't even sure where to look. Could this plane have been hijacked and flown to some unknown destination?

Apparently some passengers mobile phones are ringing when the numbers are dialed.

Can't imagine what the poor families are going through right now

Visitors are not allowed in cockpits during a flight. Most crews are friendly, though and if children really want a look, they'll let them during disembarkation (mine were even given postcards of the plane by the pilots when they did this on a recent one).

20 passengers on board employees of freescale semiconductor. Which is American high tech company work with radar etc. Different slant on it...

What are you thinking juice, have you got a source?

20 passengers on board employees of freescale semiconductor. Which is American high tech company work with radar etc. Different slant on it...