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.

[SheilaFentiman]

@XelaM

Ah thank you. Isn't it utterly gut-wrenching that had that child answered the phone from her dad on that plane quick enough, the families might have had an answer about what happened on that plane?

Well, maybe (I haven’t seen the documentary) - did it say at what point in the flight it happened? Things may have still been normal at that point.

[user1492771818]

You hear a ring back tone from the mobile network while it's looking for and connecting to the phone: Not from the phone itself

[Cuckoosheep]

As some posters clearly have good b777 knowledge, I was wondering the following please? I'm ex cc but I've never worked on the b777.

In regardst o depressurusaiondont the flight deck doors have blow out areas to allow the pressure to equalise through the cabin and fd, just smaller than the bottom third of the fd door?

Wouldn't thr cabin crew use the portable oxygen rather than the pax oxygen? This would give the crew much more time before hypoxia set in?

Also in regards to fd access does the 777 not have the electronic over ride keypad on the outside? I know the fd can set it to lock for fixed amounts of time incase of hijack but I thought eventually you could over ride for issues like this?

[Cuckoosheep]

Please excuse the typos. Hopefully you can understand it.

[HamFrancisco]

Was the alleged discovery of wreckage on the satellite imagery of the South China Sea ever investigated? They didn't really follow that up on the documentary, was it because the Inmarsat data was more credible?

[DCxx]

@HamFrancisco

Was the alleged discovery of wreckage on the satellite imagery of the South China Sea ever investigated? They didn't really follow that up on the documentary, was it because the Inmarsat data was more credible?

I kept wondering about this too. I thought they were going to go back to that

[notimagain]

@Cuckoosheep

As some posters clearly have good b777 knowledge, I was wondering the following please? I'm ex cc but I've never worked on the b777.

In regardst o depressurusaiondont the flight deck doors have blow out areas to allow the pressure to equalise through the cabin and fd, just smaller than the bottom third of the fd door?

Wouldn't thr cabin crew use the portable oxygen rather than the pax oxygen? This would give the crew much more time before hypoxia set in?

Also in regards to fd access does the 777 not have the electronic over ride keypad on the outside? I know the fd can set it to lock for fixed amounts of time incase of hijack but I thought eventually you could over ride for issues like this?

Hi

On our aircraft the blow out panels on the F/D door, even if "popped", wouldn't allow access from the cabin.

The SOP for our crew in event of decompression was to use the drop downs until a call of descent complete....etc.....then go onto the walk round bottles - that'll probably give more time than on the drop down (especially if it's a chemical system) but it's still limited to less than the time the flight crew would have....thtat could be multiple hours especially with only one on the system.

There is also another very niche medical issue that the masks used in the cabin (both passenger and crew) may not have supported prolonged consciousness, certainly prolonged activity, even if breathing pure oxygen, if the flight stayed up at very high altitude (cabin at > 40,000 feet or so ) for a long period of time - which it is thought it might have done.

As for the FD door, obviously can't say much but I wouldn't rely on it somehow timing out or being always over to override from outside

[XelaM]

Thank you @notimagain and others of this thread with technical knowledge. I must admit I don't understand it all. From a human point, I just don't want to believe that an experienced pilot with such a long exemplary record, with nothing to suggest suicidal tendencies and no obvious motive, could plan and execute something so heinous. Mechanical error/incapacitated pilots make it easier to rationalise. Especially since the other pilot suicides/murders on passenger planes were a lot more obvious.

[sashh]

Those with more knowledge.

How much fuel would be normal for this flight? It was scheduled to be 6 hours and I know different things influence how much fuel is used but would it be normal to have enough fuel to fly for 9 hours?

[Cuckoosheep]

@notimagain thank you. That all makes sense. I've worked for three airlines, one a flag carrier (not UK/ S.Ireland) both single and duel isle and the SEP was always to get on port/ thera oxygen as soon as possible so this realy bugged me. The diff masks makes sense now too. It's been over 15 years since I last flew as CC so I'm nowhere near current and haven't been reading pprunes.

Can i just check my thinking is right please, that if they ditched deliberately or not, the aircraft isn't going to remain mainly complete and likely to be ripped apart? I always believed ditching on the ocean would be like landing on a giant cheese grater even with the most accomplished fd.

[Cuckoosheep]

Typos and spelling again, sorry I'm juggling various things atm. Dual aisle, ahh among others.

[notimagain]

@sashh

Those with more knowledge.

How much fuel would be normal for this flight? It was scheduled to be 6 hours and I know different things influence how much fuel is used but would it be normal to have enough fuel to fly for 9 hours?

That's another "it depends"....

Fuel carriage/loading policies vary but often it's something along the lines of loading up with fuel for the planned route, plus a buffer for contingencies, and then in addition fuel to overshoot, climb/cruise descend and land at a nominated alternate airport plus a final reserve that would give something like 30 minutes holding at low altitude...i

If the planned alternate is a long way from the planned destination that means carrying a lot of excess fuel on top of that just needed just to fly the planned route. That could covert to a significant amount of time in the air if the aircraft stayed at high altitude.

I haven't looked at this in detail for a while but I don't recall any major eyebrows being raised with regard to the fuel loaded vs. time to postulated fuel exhaustion.

[SchoolTripDrama]

@TorviShieldMaiden You're laughing at a government document?! Are you quite alright?

People like you would 'laugh' at absolute proof given to you in person, because you think it makes you look good!!

[notimagain]

@Cuckoosheep

Can i just check my thinking is right please, that if they ditched deliberately or not, the aircraft isn't going to remain mainly complete and likely to be ripped apart? I always believed ditching on the ocean would be like landing on a giant cheese grater even with the most accomplished fd.

I think all bets would be off for a landing on an open ocean - I think we'd all like to think we could do a Sullenburger (the Hudson accident) but if there was a big swell running it would be very much down to luck... and of course even worse at night.....

Typos and spelling again, sorry ...

No worries, it's the same here and I'm not juggling work stuff anymore...

ATB

[SchoolTripDrama]

@XelaM

A question about the black boxes for those who know - how long can recordings on them survive under water? If it so happens that the MH370 if found at the bottom of an ocean in years to come, is there any chance at all the black boxes could still be listened to?

30 days

[SchoolTripDrama]

@sashh

Those with more knowledge.

How much fuel would be normal for this flight? It was scheduled to be 6 hours and I know different things influence how much fuel is used but would it be normal to have enough fuel to fly for 9 hours?

There is usually enough fuel for the intended journey plus and hour and a half's worth on top, in case an airport requires you to 'hold' because of issues at the airport or in case you needs to divert. So it depends how long the scheduled flight to its intended destination actually was. Then add 1.5 hours

[SheilaFentiman]

30 days is the length of time the black box sends pings, not the time the recordings survive

[OhcantthInkofaname]

@Roussette

I know. I have little evidence of this, just a gut feeling.

And if the pilot was so intent on hiding the whereabouts of the plane when he decided on this course of action, would he really leave evidence on a simulator?

That is my feeling/thinking exactly. No way he would leave that - knowing the effect on his family.

[SheilaFentiman]

@OhcantthInkofaname

That is my feeling/thinking exactly. No way he would leave that - knowing the effect on his family.

My understanding (see linked medium article) is that he did delete it, but it remained in the system files. So he may have thought it was gone for good

[SheilaFentiman]

@OhcantthInkofaname

That is my feeling/thinking exactly. No way he would leave that - knowing the effect on his family.

Also… heck of a coincidence if he ran that simulation and then something similar happened by accident, isn’t it?

[XelaM]

But do we know for sure the flight simulator evidence is correct? It randomly appeared 2 years later and as far as I know the pilot was still officially cleared of wrongdoing. If they had the flight simulator showing the exact flight route at MH370 ending in the ocean, why would they have cleared him?

[SheilaFentiman]

Ok, if you are thinking it was planted or fabricated, then we are not going to agree 😀

[bluebiro]

This was the view from the Medium article (linked to previously) about the Malaysian authorities’ report:

“the report ended by saying that the investigators could not determine the cause of the accident. The whole report seemed to be building up to a conclusion that Zaharie had done it, then ended by saying nothing at all. The problem was that Malaysia could not admit that one of its finest pilots flying for its state-owned flag carrier had deliberately taken 238 other people to their deaths. In terms of the country’s public image, Malaysia preferred that the crash remain a mystery.”

[QueefQueen80s]

@Cuckoosheep

@notimagain thank you. That all makes sense. I've worked for three airlines, one a flag carrier (not UK/ S.Ireland) both single and duel isle and the SEP was always to get on port/ thera oxygen as soon as possible so this realy bugged me. The diff masks makes sense now too. It's been over 15 years since I last flew as CC so I'm nowhere near current and haven't been reading pprunes.

Can i just check my thinking is right please, that if they ditched deliberately or not, the aircraft isn't going to remain mainly complete and likely to be ripped apart? I always believed ditching on the ocean would be like landing on a giant cheese grater even with the most accomplished fd.

That's why I think he landed then sank, as all those 1000s of pieces would have washed up now. They would never sink and it's plastic/metal.

[greenacrylicpaint]

I remember very well the threads when it happened.
lots of interesting (and at times bonkers) analysis.

is it already 9 years ago