MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (Netflix)

[XelaM]

Has anyone seen this new Netflix documentary about MH370?

It's just unbelievable that in our time a passenger plane can just disappear without a trace.

I find the conspiracy theories in that documentary totally bizarre, but I also feel very sorry for the pilot's family who has effectively been scapegoated without any real evidence that he brought the plane down. If it was a murder-suicide why would he fly for another 8 hours instead of just crashing into the ocean where he was? It makes no sense. It's also an insane coincidence that two of Malaysian Airlines planes suffered tragedies in the space of just a few months in 2014 - nothing to do with any mechanical issues on the planes.

Not seen the documentary and TBH probably won't seek it out.

Due to my previous line of work I have a tendency not to get past the first few minutes of things like Air Crash etc due to the inevitable short cuts/inaccuracies and tend to end up throwing slippers at the TV.....😬

As far as items on beaches goes, yes it would be nice for officials to get their hands on potential debris first but given stuff washes up over a period of months or even years, in the case of MH potentially all around the the Southern Indian Ocean, I don't think there was ever any choice other than to rely almost completely on the general public.

Of the 27 pieces of debris described in
the report, 7 couldn’t be tied to the plane, 20 were likely or higher to be from mh370.

those pieces were found in Mauritius, reunion island, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa. No one place.

The first piece found was July 2015 (the flaperon that is confirmed mh370) and the last Jan 2017 (highly likely mh370) - so no one time, either.

the report was published 2018 so more stuff may have been found since

This article indicates 39 pieces in total, though quite a few are unconfirmed

https://www.airlineratings.com/news/mh370-debris-now-for-the-facts/

The use of the debris isn’t only about proving that the plane is in the Indian Ocean though.

Also I can assure you that the Netflix MH370
documentary is in no way remotely similar to Air Crash Investigation.

Yes you are right, you can potentially glean a lot of information from debris.

As you will have seen in the reports a lot of lab work was done on the larger terms that were recovered. As an example the flaperon recovered from La Reunion was shipped back to Toulouse, France for forensic examination in the labs under the watchful eye of the French legal authorities.

Is it worth putting that amount of effort into analysing every small piece of possible aircraft debris that washes up that might be part of MH370....?? Larger bits, especially of critical areas- yes.

"I can assure you that the Netflix MH370 documentary is in no way remotely similar to Air Crash Investigation."

Glad to hear it, I'm sure it's well produced and is engaging but I'm afraid having done the book (reports) and had the odd workplace discussion about this accident over the years I'm not that tempted.

I'm not saying it's better than ACI to be clear. It's just a completely different type of content. I adore ACI 😅

“But perhaps in this case it was too difficult and expensive? I'm not sure. It wouldn't have been more expensive than the ocean search surely.”

I think the difference with the ocean search is that somewhere there is a massive sunken bit of plane, and it is more or less staying put. So if you have searched one area, you don’t have to search it again. Plus, the public can’t search the sea bed.

For the debris, it took months and months for the first piece to wash up and be found. Better to alert people who live in any potential areas to keep an eye out and advise on who to contact. But every possible beach could have been scoured in sept 2015 and something washed up in Oct 2015, say.

Reading with interest! My husband is a 777 pilot with British Airways. He won’t really be drawn on this - annoyingly haha. Am gonna watch the Netflix documentary with him as we’re both interested. He said he felt it was irresponsible of the programme to reveal the hatch location leading to the avionics. If someone got into that they could down the aircraft, cut communication etc. Seems mad this is a thing in a post 9/11 world.

In fairness it's not Netflix who revealed the hatch issue to the public. The doc covers the issue as it forms part of Jeff Wise's already well publicised theory. But therr has also been long running discussion on it. For example, here is an article from 2014, the year MH370 disappeared, which alludes earlier discussion in 2012 and 2013 https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/07/will-industry-address-vulnerability-beneath-the-carpet-of-the-777/

I guess what he meant was Netflix has a massive audience / is much more mainstream. But yeah I guess if you want to figure out how to bring an ac down you could find this hatch info online.

As @FloorWipes says that hatch is no real mystery, the carpet section over it is hidden in full view and it's rare but not that unknown for it to be open (but it has to be carefully guarded to avoid people falling down it) whilst the aircraft is on the ground) - engineers needed to access it on occasions.

Most aircliners have something similar, and no you can't fly the aircraft from down there, certainly not a 777.

The hatch in question is in full view of many people, though, and it’s hardly likely an unknown could climb in without being challenged. Plus it’s not possible to do some of the things from there that the documentary implied (according to knowledgeable posters) eg plug in a laptop and take over the steering.

X post!

But perhaps in this case it was too difficult and expensive? I'm not sure. It wouldn't have been more expensive than the ocean search surely.

They need to find the plane to locate the black box. It's not as if there is any doubt it is under the ocean in the general area they have searched in. The pieces washing up don't particularly help them find the flight recorder, just confirm the location in the Indian Ocean. Over 100 million dollars has been spent on the search for MH370, so I doubt it is a case of cutting corners.

Would the black box even yield any information at this stage though? It's been down there years...

Impossible to know… a moot point at the moment anyway as no further ocean search is planned.

They have given up the search for now and I don't think there's any confidence that the black box would be in any condition to reveal anything.

I agree that I don't think it's really a case of cutting corners. I think it's to do with problems coordinating an unusual investigation involving multiple countries and agencies, and also problems in identifying all appropriate goals for such an investigation.

“problems in identifying all appropriate goals for such an investigation.”

What goals do you think should have been different?

I think it's about priorities.

A new search by Ocean Infinity is expected in 2023/24.

I think the new search is still a “maybe” - not sure OI are up for another “no find no fee” approach so someone would have to pay.

Search for MH370 to resume in 2023 – Australian Aviation

My impression is that there has not been sufficient emphasis on making it impossible for this to happen again, and all the necessary angles of investigation to support that.

I also think there hasn't been sufficient emphasis on all the aspects that may help bring understanding and closure to families.

The investigation should also be more reflexive, not only looking at the cause of the loss, but also the many ways in which the investigation has fallen short.

@surrenderdorothy

At the 9th Annual MH370 Remembrance Event 2023 held by the passengers' next of kins, Plunkett said they were ready to begin the search in the summer, subject to the government's support and agreement.
"Last year I visited the then transport minister (Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong) to share the details of the work we had done up until that point and to signal our desire to restart the search.
"That minister repeated that he wanted to see credible new evidence, an expression we have discussed many times and I'm not entirely sure I understand the purpose of the hurdle given.
"I have in my email inbox a draft proposal setting out both the basis upon which we will proceed as well our view of the new evidence and analysis available," he said in a speech read by a next of kin of an MH370 flight crew, V. P. R. Nathan.

Plunkett said there was a material cost by undertaking a search and Ocean Infinity was a business with salaries and other expenses to pay.
"I believe it is inherently fair to ask that if we deliver something the government wants and benefits from, they should pay for it. My sincere hope is that we are able to agree terms with the minister."

https://www.nst.com.my/amp/news/nation/2023/03/886151/ocean-infinity-wants-resume-mh370-search