Malaysian Airlines MH370 contact lost
short flights long nights
If it's in the southern corridor, it may never be found.
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Someone questioned how Capt Zaharie could have only 18,000+ hours if he joined airline in 1981 as it equates to 12 hours per week.
That is 18,000 hours total flying experience, including his training and time employed as a first officer (co-pilot) before gaining a command (captain).
Naturally the hours he has worked in total, as with any job, will equate to far more than that. I think some of the low-cost carriers have a minimum working week of 55 hours, of which only 20-25 hours (at the most) will be flying time. The rest of the time is for briefings, preparing the aircraft and the time between flights
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On the topic of fuel , its very commen to carry enough fuel into china to get home again . Due to cost of fuel in china its cheaper to take return fuel from KL to Beijing that will get you home plus reserves . This may explain why they had empty seats but standby pax only got on due to no shoes . So 9 hours endurance would be normal for 4 hour flight for example . Cat B fuel .
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Allright, good night
Malay Mail posted an update quoting MAS CEO saying that initial investigation indicate that those final words were spoken by the F.O. He also said that while last ACARS was sent at 1:07, it is not clear when it was switched off. This info seems to cast a doubt on what was published by many news sites that the ACARS was disabled before the last radio communication.
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Just read this
I guess I will get flak for this question but:
Has it been absolutely & positively confirmed that the shown pilot & co-pilot were actually onboard & flying the aircraft at the start of the flight ?, I know possibly a ridiculous idea but could someone else have been flying the aircraft, substituting the listed crew at KL & has something happened to the original listed pilot & co, kidnapped, being held, part of the situation etc, I know this will get me grief but has anybody looked into that theory ? so many unanswered questions & as my previous posts, still no cargo manifest or info as to what was onboard, apologies if my question offends any one. PH.
Has it been absolutely & positively confirmed that the shown pilot & co-pilot were actually onboard & flying the aircraft at the start of the flight ?, I know possibly a ridiculous idea but could someone else have been flying the aircraft, substituting the listed crew at KL & has something happened to the original listed pilot & co, kidnapped, being held, part of the situation etc, I know this will get me grief but has anybody looked into that theory ? so many unanswered questions & as my previous posts, still no cargo manifest or info as to what was onboard, apologies if my question offends any one. PH.
I know its been flagged earier... but sounds coherent and plausable.... any views? Especially keeping in mind the point raised #5142?
Keith Ledgerwood ? Did Malaysian Airlines 370 disappear using SIA68 (another 777)?
Last edited by aviator1970; 17th Mar 2014 at 11:09. Reason: additional information
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From the new information given at today's PC is seems that the last "All right" transmission may or may not have happened after ACARS was switched off/failed:
Last ACARS: 1:07am
Next expected ACARS: 1:37am - this did not happen so switched off/failed somewhere in between
"All right" message: 1:19am so this could be either before OR after ACARS was switched off/failed. When probed by a journo the Minister did not want to go into it which is strange to say the least - is there some other info not being shared with us on this as to my knowledge they were saying that it was switched off before the "All right" message.
Last ACARS: 1:07am
Next expected ACARS: 1:37am - this did not happen so switched off/failed somewhere in between
"All right" message: 1:19am so this could be either before OR after ACARS was switched off/failed. When probed by a journo the Minister did not want to go into it which is strange to say the least - is there some other info not being shared with us on this as to my knowledge they were saying that it was switched off before the "All right" message.
short flights long nights
I don't even understand why the sequence of what order the shut down of equipment and radio transmissions even matters. Can some one please explain what I'm missing?
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Speaking as a dumb pax, I’ve been appalled/astonished to learn from all this that comms/tracking systems can be simply ‘switched off’. So if the mod’s will permit:
1. Under what circumstances (terrorism aside) would these systems be switched off by crew?
2. Putting aside the who/why of the MH370disappearance, what do you pilots want or anticipate will happen with these systems in the future? Will they or should they be configured so that they can never be turned off?
From my angle, I’d feel a wee bit safer if I thought that my flight was always broadcasting its location.
1. Under what circumstances (terrorism aside) would these systems be switched off by crew?
2. Putting aside the who/why of the MH370disappearance, what do you pilots want or anticipate will happen with these systems in the future? Will they or should they be configured so that they can never be turned off?
From my angle, I’d feel a wee bit safer if I thought that my flight was always broadcasting its location.
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FE Hoppy
And how much further could you go at ECON Cost Index 0 for the same fuel load?
If your speed was 0, indeed you're going nowhere, but for the purposes of establishing a search area, I think assuming the speed of the aircraft was 0 is irrelevant.
All anyone can do is:
Look at how much more than Flight Plan fuel was loaded.
Take the FOB (Fuel On Board) figure from the last ACARS position report or estimate it from the PLOG at the waypoint where the ATC handover took place if the ACARS didn't report it, amending for any extra uplift of fuel, pre-departure.
Establish Maximum & Minimum Range markers based on facts including potential crew instigated cruising Mach/IAS variation techniques (ECON CI '0', LRC, Mmo etc.) & 'best guessed' fuel on board for endurance from the last known position.
When new information comes to light such as the aircraft may have been 'Terrain Masking' it would probably add a much smaller 'theoretical' range than originally thought because of the increased fuel burn at low level, ergo reducing range.
Using 'Minimum Airspeed 0' will only keep you at the last KNOWN position. And it aint there.
And how much further could you go at ECON Cost Index 0 for the same fuel load?
If your speed was 0, indeed you're going nowhere, but for the purposes of establishing a search area, I think assuming the speed of the aircraft was 0 is irrelevant.
All anyone can do is:
Look at how much more than Flight Plan fuel was loaded.
Take the FOB (Fuel On Board) figure from the last ACARS position report or estimate it from the PLOG at the waypoint where the ATC handover took place if the ACARS didn't report it, amending for any extra uplift of fuel, pre-departure.
Establish Maximum & Minimum Range markers based on facts including potential crew instigated cruising Mach/IAS variation techniques (ECON CI '0', LRC, Mmo etc.) & 'best guessed' fuel on board for endurance from the last known position.
When new information comes to light such as the aircraft may have been 'Terrain Masking' it would probably add a much smaller 'theoretical' range than originally thought because of the increased fuel burn at low level, ergo reducing range.
Using 'Minimum Airspeed 0' will only keep you at the last KNOWN position. And it aint there.
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Aviator1970
It won't work if it's turned off but it's turned on so they can locate the SIA which means...?
Wouldn’t the SIA68 flight have detected MH370? NO! The Boeing 777 utilizes a TCAS system for traffic avoidance; the system would ordinarily provide alerts and visualization to pilots if another airplane was too close. However that system only operates by receiving the transponder information from other planes and displaying it for the pilot. If MH370 was flying without the transponder, it would have been invisible to SIA68.
In addition, the TCAS system onboard MH370 would have enabled the pilot(s) to easily locate and approach SIA68 over the Straits of Malacca as they appeared to have done. The system would have shown them the flight’s direction of travel and the altitude it was traveling which would have enabled them to perfectly time an intercept right behind the other Boeing 777. Here is a picture of a TCAS system onboard a 777.
In addition, the TCAS system onboard MH370 would have enabled the pilot(s) to easily locate and approach SIA68 over the Straits of Malacca as they appeared to have done. The system would have shown them the flight’s direction of travel and the altitude it was traveling which would have enabled them to perfectly time an intercept right behind the other Boeing 777. Here is a picture of a TCAS system onboard a 777.
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lack of pings
Originally Posted by Ana1936
I wish the journalists would ask for the info on the other pings.
1 - the data is not available. Seems unlikely
2 - the data doesn't correlate with other known observations and is regarded as irrelevant.
3 - the data is not being released because it might compromise something happening behind the scenes.
Given that the aircraft tracked eastwards initially, perhaps the POR satellite picked up its signals, rather than IOR. Furthermore, if this happened during climb prior to ACARS becoming disabled, there would probably be some useful data to look at. The collective expertise of others on this forum might well hold the key to solving this puzzle, given the right information.
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I am just an occasional visitor of this thread looking for any substantial development in this mysterious disappearance.
Can someone please explain to me the origin of the 'corridors'?
I understand that the red circle represents the distance between the airplane and the satellite at the time of the last 'ping'. I suppose there is another circle centered on the position of the aircraft at the last radar contact, and a radius equal to the distance flown in the time between the last radar contact and the last ping. So the last possible positions of the aircraft are the two intersections of these two circles or somewhere in between. Why would the airplane proceed from these points along the red circle?
Can someone please explain to me the origin of the 'corridors'?
I understand that the red circle represents the distance between the airplane and the satellite at the time of the last 'ping'. I suppose there is another circle centered on the position of the aircraft at the last radar contact, and a radius equal to the distance flown in the time between the last radar contact and the last ping. So the last possible positions of the aircraft are the two intersections of these two circles or somewhere in between. Why would the airplane proceed from these points along the red circle?
Last edited by HazelNuts39; 17th Mar 2014 at 11:24.
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@ DADDY-OH
If you use the minimum flight speed to define the nearest point on the arc you are neglecting the fact that the aircraft could fly in circle at the minimum flight speed rather than a straight line.
I know having spend far too many hours flying in circles in large aircraft.
I know having spend far too many hours flying in circles in large aircraft.
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It won't work if it's turned off but it's turned on so they can locate the SIA which means...?
Every device that draws power from the airplane's electrical system needs to be able to be switched off or at least needs to have circuit breaker which trips or can be manually pulled in case something in the device shorts. This CB trips ideally before a fire erupts. Fire and airplanes are a bad combination and have on far greater occasions led to tragedy than terrorism or auto-hijacks have.
If anything, we should be seriously reconsidering the hijack proof doors, as many have noted, once someone is in there who's crazy, nobody can get to them to stop them. At least in the days of the plastic toilet doors, there was an easy way in.
If anything, we should be seriously reconsidering the hijack proof doors, as many have noted, once someone is in there who's crazy, nobody can get to them to stop them. At least in the days of the plastic toilet doors, there was an easy way in.