Could it have been, that after an unknown chain of events, they tried to line up for 09 of Phuket? That would at least be consistent with the alleged primary radar tracks.

It's getting worse. First the expert GT is on, sprouting rubbish as normal. Then Fox News, just now, showed an interview with the Australian Prime-minister, about the search. Well, I don't know who it was that they interviewed, but I know who the guy is that I voted for, for the PMs job, and it wasn't him been interviewed.:ugh::ugh:

I was sent the following link by another ppruner who was not sure if it was useful. It shows the military radar plot of the LKP. It is hard to interpret a dynamic plot from a single screen shot.

Interestingly, as far as I can see, this is a raw radar plot and I cannot make out any track label on MH370 as screen does not have sufficient definition although the radar has an electronic map overlay.

What I think they have shown with the arrow is MH370 LKP. If they think it is returning from the east what did they think seeing it so far west?

Also this position is west, towards the satellite ground position which suggests that the aircraft had to have an easterly track component to reach the northern arc and a southerly one to reach the southern arc (assuming that Indonesian radar is correct with no track). Either way, pings preceding the last ping should show first movement west followed by movement east.

As usual it is in Mandarin.

??????????????? ??????[??] _????_???

Which Translates as:


March 21 , Malaysian military representatives in Beijing Lido Hotel Malaysia Airlines lost contact with the families of airline passengers to meet military radar screenshot released . Source : CFP

China News Network March 21 the day of 11:00 , Malaysia, the military announced on behalf of the military radar shots in Beijing Lido Hotel. Screenshot shows , Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 lost contact last appeared on the radar screen of the Air Force Ma time at 2:22 on March 8 , from the Macedonian side air base of 200 nautical miles.

Malaysian military representative said the plane was last seen at 2:22 on the radar screen of the Air Force , Air Force Base, 200 sea miles away . Aircraft exhumation , but considered returning the aircraft is a normal phenomenon , determine takeoff point is Kuala Lumpur , it is considered to be friendly.

According to Legal Evening News reported that the military radar , lost contact after flight MH370 signs return, the aircraft turned around , flew over the Malay Peninsula , to Penang direction . But because the plane was taking off from Kuala Lumpur , so the flight was considered friendly , so did not issue a warning signal or intercept command. At 2:02 on the 8th , radar to detect aircraft in the vicinity of Perak Island. Subsequently, the horse near the Strait of Malacca military radar last detected traces of the MH370 .

Cue points & data for the first 40 min of flight
 

Following is all the ADS-B data i could gather from 1642 to 1721 UTC :
255 cue points with time, altitude and speed data (and discontinued lat/long, climb rate and squawk data).
Presented as such, these lines are quite ugly, but you can directly copy/paste them in a csv file (semi-colon separator) and work with the numbers if you're interested.

Originally, i wanted to collect this data only for the first 20 points, because they're in a straight line from runway 32R and i thought i could figure a way to deduce MH370's TOW from this climb data, even though i have no clue about MAS's tankering, derating rules etc... but Bloomberg released the TOW yesterday, so, probably pointless finally.
Still, i think this ADS-B data is pretty useful and among the most reliable we were given.



SOURCES/METHOD USED :

- "FR24 Gr" = FlightRadar24 graph (MH370 - Malaysia Airlines - Flight history - Flightradar24). The raw figures (time, alt & speed) for the 185 cue points of the FR24 graph are included in the page's source code, all i had to do was grab them and translate them in the right units.
- "FR24 Pn" = FlightRadar24 "pinned" page (same url). The data you get each time you press the FWD button. Adds location and heading to some of the 185 "FR24 Gr" points.
- "GE" = Google Earth. For the first "FR24 Pn" points (just after takeoff, in the 327° straight line), i got the lat and long data from Google Earth. Presumably it can be done with every other "FR24 Pn" cue point, that's why i marked their missing lat/long data with a "*"
- "FR24 Pb" = FlightRadar24 "playback" page (Flightradar24.com - Live flight tracker!). Oddly enough, the points are not the same as in the "pinned" page. And these ones also include the climb rate, the squawk and the data feeder (registered ADS-B receiver which the data came from)
- "FA" = FlightAware data (Registre de suivi des vols ? MAS370 ? 08-03-2014 ? WMKK / KUL - ZBAA / PEK ? FlightAware). No squawk data on this one, and some minor discrepancies when compared to FR24 heading and velocity data.
- "PF" = PlaneFinder. 3 additional cue points, still better than nothing.

Once all this data collected, i ordered them by growing altitude until FL350, and adjusted the remaining cue points, based on their timestamp (feel free to interpolate the points where seconds are replaced by XX).




T[UTC];LAT[°];LONG[°];HDG[°];ALT[ft];SPD[kts];RoC[ft/mn];Squawk;ADS-B feeder;Data Source
16:42:22;2,7983;101,6890;328;1500;183;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:42:26;;;;1543;185;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:29;2,8033;101,6860;327;1575;188;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:42:32;;;;1603;190;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:33;;;;1622;194;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:35;2,8083;101,6830;327;1650;196;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:42:38;;;;1682;199;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:39;;;;1687;199;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:XX;2,8100;101,6800;327;1700;200;896;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:42:42;2,8129;101,6800;327;1725;201;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:42:45;;;;1757;203;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:46;;;;1789;206;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:48;2,8184;101,6760;327;1825;207;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:42:52;;;;1879;209;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:54;;;;1888;207;;;;FR24 Gr
16:42:57;2,8245;101,6730;327;1950;210;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:43:06;;;;2108;213;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:11;;;;2214;228;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:XX;2,8444;101,6604;333;2400;235;0;;;FA
16:43:20;2,8473;101,6590;336;2375;237;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+GE
16:43:23;;;;2424;240;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:24;;;;2427;239;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:27;*;*;346;2475;240;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:43:29;;;;2517;241;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:31;;;;2522;240;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:33;2,8600;101,6600;353;2600;242;1280;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Gr+Pb
16:43:41;;;;2872;248;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:46;;;;3016;252;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:XX;2,8751;101,6607;024;3100;257;1980;;;FA
16:43:54;*;*;024;3350;258;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:43:56;;;;3446;260;;;;FR24 Gr
16:43:58;;;;3560;259;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:00;*;*;024;3675;260;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:44:03;;;;3810;261;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:04;;;;3844;260;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:07;*;*;025;3975;261;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:44:XX;2,8953;101,6698;026;4000;262;2820;;;FA
16:44:10;;;;4124;262;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:12;;;;4209;263;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:15;*;*;026;4375;264;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:44:17;;;;4499;265;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:18;;;;4585;265;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:21;*;*;026;4700;265;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:44:24;;;;4835;265;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:25;;;;4866;266;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:28;2,9203;101,6822;026;5000;266;2760;;;FR24 Gr+Pn+FA
16:44:35;;;;5326;267;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:XX;2,9300;101,6900;026;5400;267;3072;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:44:38;;;;5521;268;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:XX;2,9342;101,6891;026;5800;270;2820;;;FA
16:44:45;*;*;026;5850;269;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:44:50;;;;6101;270;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:53;;;;6175;269;;;;FR24 Gr
16:44:58;*;*;026;6450;270;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:45:03;;;;6725;271;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:XX;2,9638;101,7035;026;6900;273;2940;;;FA
16:45:06;;;;6970;272;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:11;*;*;025;7225;273;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:45:16;;;;7460;274;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:18;;;;7473;276;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:23;*;*;025;7675;277;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:45:28;;;;7893;278;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:31;;;;8030;278;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:36;*;*;025;8275;279;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:45:XX;3,0000;101,7200;025;8475;280;3072;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:45:41;;;;8520;280;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:43;;;;8645;280;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:XX;3,0097;101,7254;026;8800;282;2820;;;FA
16:45:49;*;*;025;8900;281;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:45:53;;;;9135;282;;;;FR24 Gr
16:45:56;;;;9265;283;;;;FR24 Gr
16:46:01;*;*;025;9500;284;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:46:XX;3,0334;101,7367;026;9700;285;1620;;;FA
16:46:05;;;;9715;285;;;;FR24 Gr
16:46:07;;;;9907;284;;;;FR24 Gr
16:46:12;*;*;025;10025;286;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:46:24;;;;10357;288;;;;FR24 Gr
16:46:30;;;;10408;304;;;;FR24 Gr
16:46:XX;3,0800;101,7600;025;10600;314;512;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:46:43;*;*;025;10625;318;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:46:55;;;;10848;332;;;;FR24 Gr
16:47:02;;;;10795;345;;;;FR24 Gr
16:47:XX;3,1119;101,7740;026;11000;347;1440;;;FA
16:47:14;*;*;025;11125;355;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:47:28;;;;11485;366;;;;FR24 Gr
16:47:XX;3,1337;101,7844;025;11500;332;1980;;;FA
16:47:35;;;;11791;365;;;;FR24 Gr
16:47:XX;3,1600;101,8000;025;11950;367;2560;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:47:49;*;*;025;12350;369;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:47:XX;3,1807;101,8068;026;12500;369;2220;;;FA
16:48:02;;;;12861;373;;;;FR24 Gr
16:48:09;;;;13215;373;;;;FR24 Gr
16:48:21;*;*;025;13800;375;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:48:XX;3,2351;101,8325;026;14000;376;2640;;;FA
16:48:34;;;;14385;377;;;;FR24 Gr
16:48:XX;3,2500;101,8400;025;14475;377;2816;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:48:40;;;;14769;375;;;;FR24 Gr
16:48:53;*;*;025;15275;377;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:49:XX;3,2828;101,8554;026;15400;378;2400;;;FA
16:49:18;;;;16239;379;;;;FR24 Gr
16:49:XX;3,3302;101,8781;026;16500;385;2160;;;FA
16:49:30;;;;16570;386;;;;FR24 Gr
16:49:XX;3,3500;101,8900;025;16925;387;2304;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:49:XX;;;025;17425;391;;2157;;PF
16:49:54;*;*;025;17475;391;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:50:XX;3,3878;101,9058;026;17800;394;2220;;;FA
16:50:18;;;;18380;396;;;;FR24 Gr
16:50:XX;3,4286;101,9253;026;18700;396;2160;;;FA
16:50:31;;;;18927;395;;;;FR24 Gr
16:50:XX;3,4500;101,9400;025;19225;399;2432;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:50:55;*;*;024;19800;400;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:51:XX;3,4807;101,9496;025;19800;402;2160;;;FA
16:51:20;;;;20687;405;;;;FR24 Gr
16:51:XX;3,5325;101,9736;025;20900;408;1980;;;FA
16:51:32;;;;21065;411;;;;FR24 Gr
16:51:XX;3,5500;101,9800;025;21275;410;1920;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:51:57;*;*;025;21875;416;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:52:XX;3,5924;102,0018;026;22000;418;1740;;;FA
16:52:21;;;;22685;421;;;;FR24 Gr
16:52:XX;3,6466;102,0276;025;22800;426;1800;;;FA
16:52:XX;3,6600;102,0300;025;23100;426;2560;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:52:34;;;;23134;420;;;;FR24 Gr
16:52:59;*;*;025;23850;424;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:53:XX;3,7073;102,0563;025;24000;427;1800;;;FA
16:53:23;;;;24554;428;;;;FR24 Gr
16:53:XX;3,7630;102,0825;025;24800;433;1560;;;FA
16:53:35;;;;24840;432;;;;FR24 Gr
16:53:XX;3,7700;102,0900;025;24850;434;1536;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:53:59;*;*;025;25425;438;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:54:XX;3,8187;102,1087;025;25600;440;1380;;;FA
16:54:24;;;;26010;444;;;;FR24 Gr
16:54:XX;3,8740;102,1346;025;26200;448;1260;;;FA
16:54:36;;;;26220;447;;;;FR24 Gr
16:54:XX;3,8800;102,1400;025;26300;448;1280;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:54:XX;;;025;26475;451;;2157;;PF
16:55:00;*;*;025;26775;452;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:55:XX;3,9316;102,1618;025;26900;454;1380;;;FA
16:55:25;;;;27330;457;;;;FR24 Gr
16:55:37;;;;27645;457;;;;FR24 Gr
16:55:XX;4,0000;102,1900;025;27675;459;1536;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:55:XX;3,9968;102,1926;025;27700;458;1320;;;FA
16:56:01;*;*;025;28200;461;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:56:XX;4,0740;102,2289;025;28600;465;1320;;;FA
16:56:XX;4,0700;102,2300;025;28625;464;1280;2157;F-WMSA2;FR24 Pb
16:56:25;;;;28755;465;;;;FR24 Gr
16:56:38;;;;29039;467;;;;FR24 Gr
16:57:XX;4,1430;102,2615;025;29400;469;1260;;;FA
16:57:02;*;*;025;29550;470;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:57:XX;4,2042;102,2904;025;30000;472;1200;;;FA
16:57:27;;;;30069;473;;;;FR24 Gr
16:57:XX;4,2200;102,3000;025;30175;473;1280;2157;T-WMSA8;FR24 Pb
16:57:39;;;;30301;473;;;;FR24 Gr
16:58:04;*;*;025;30775;476;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:58:28;;;;31241;479;;;;FR24 Gr
16:58:XX;4,3300;102,3500;025;31275;481;1152;2157;T-WMKP2;FR24 Pb
16:58:40;;;;31290;485;;;;FR24 Gr
16:59:05;*;*;025;31900;485;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
16:59:32;;;;32580;485;;;;FR24 Gr
16:59:XX;;;025;32800;480;;2157;;PF
16:59:XX;4,4600;102,4100;025;32825;480;2176;2157;T-WMKP2;FR24 Pb
16:59:45;;;;33341;476;;;;FR24 Gr
17:00:13;*;*;025;34000;472;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
17:00:XX;4,5800;102,4700;025;34475;470;1536;2157;T-WMKP2;FR24 Pb
17:00:37;;;;34591;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:00:XX;4,7015;102,5251;025;35000;468;960;;;FA
17:00:XX;4,7000;102,5200;025;35000;467;0;2157;T-WMKP2;FR24 Pb
17:00:49;;;;35025;467;;;;FR24 Gr
17:01:13;*;*;025;35025;467;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
17:01:39;;;;35025;467;;;;FR24 Gr
17:01:52;;;;35000;467;;;;FR24 Gr
17:02:18;*;*;025;35000;467;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
17:02:43;;;;35000;467;;;;FR24 Gr
17:02:XX;4,7073;102,5278;025;35000;468;0;;;FA
17:02:XX;4,7900;102,5700;025;35000;468;0;2157;T-WMKP2;FR24 Pb
17:02:55;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:03:20;*;*;025;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
17:03:45;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:03:XX;4,9400;102,6400;025;35000;468;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:03:57;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:04:22;*;*;025;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
17:04:48;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:04:XX;5,0400;102,6800;025;35000;468;0;2157;T-WMKN1;FR24 Pb
17:05:01;;;;35000;467;;;;FR24 Gr
17:05:27;*;*;025;35000;467;;;;FR24 Gr+Pn
17:05:XX;5,1700;102,7400;025;35000;468;-128;2157;T-WMKN1;FR24 Pb
17:05:53;;;;35000;467;;;;FR24 Gr
17:06:06;;;;35000;468;;;;FR24 Gr
17:06:33;;;;35000;468;;;;FR24 Gr
17:06:XX;5,2900;102,8000;025;35000;468;-128;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:06:59;;;;35000;468;;;;FR24 Gr
17:07:12;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:07:38;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:07:XX;5,3900;102,8500;025;35000;469;0;2157;T-WMKN1;FR24 Pb
17:08:03;;;;35000;469;;;;FR24 Gr
17:08:15;;;;35000;470;;;;FR24 Gr
17:08:39;;;;35000;470;;;;FR24 Gr
17:08:XX;5,5300;102,9200;024;35000;471;-128;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:09:04;;;;35000;470;;;;FR24 Gr
17:09:16;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:09:XX;5,6500;102,9700;025;35000;471;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:09:41;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:10:06;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:10:18;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:10:XX;5,7700;103,0300;025;35000;472;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:10:43;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:11:07;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:11:19;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:11:XX;5,8900;103,0900;025;35000;472;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:11:44;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:12:09;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:12:21;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:12:XX;6,0000;103,1400;025;35000;472;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:12:46;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:13:10;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:13:22;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:13:XX;6,1300;103,2000;025;35000;472;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:13:46;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:14:11;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:14:24;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:14:XX;6,2400;103,2600;025;35000;472;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:14:48;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:15:13;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:15:25;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:15:XX;6,3600;103,3100;025;35000;472;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:15:49;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:16:14;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:16:26;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:16:XX;6,4800;103,3700;025;35000;473;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:16:51;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:17:05;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:17:12;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:17:26;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:17:XX;6,5800;103,4100;025;35000;473;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:17:50;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:18:02;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:18:26;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:18:41;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:18:49;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:18:XX;6,6800;103,4600;025;35000;473;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:19:04;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:19:08;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:19:10;;;;35000;474;;;;FR24 Gr
17:19:15;;;;35000;474;;;;FR24 Gr
17:19:XX;6,8000;103,5200;025;35000;474;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:19:35;;;;35000;474;;;;FR24 Gr
17:19:45;;;;35000;473;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:05;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:11;;;;35000;472;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:XX;*;*;028;35000;472;;;;FR24 Pn
17:20:15;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:22;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:33;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:49;;;;35000;471;;;;FR24 Gr
17:20:XX;6,9300;103,5900;040;0;471;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb
17:21:XX;6,9700;103,6300;040;0;471;0;2157;F-WMKC1;FR24 Pb







A BONUS QUESTION :
It has probably been asked several times, so i will check, but i'm curious : What is, exactly, the "information flow" of ADS-B ? When a cue point seems weird, i can't figure if i'm reading a bad approximation by the ADS-B receiver, the exact number that appeared in 9M-MRO's cockpit, or some GPS data relayed by 9M-MRO then by the ADS-B receiver.
Examples :
- is it KIAS ? GS ?
- the point at 16:47:XX where speed suddenly drops to 332kts
- the final 2 points, where altitude drops to zero, but everything else continues normally

It's also interesting to see that the last 3 HDG figures seem to indicate that the plane was following the flight plan, at least until ADS-B data was disrupted.

The plot shows segments of a route from Penang thru a danger area direct to VAMPI and further on N571 to IGOGU. This is the last recorded segment West of Malaysia. The LKP is East of Malaysia. Penang is about 220 NM from IGARI or 30 flying minutes.

The plot was shown on a presentation to the relatives. The route had been announced earlier albeit with a Z turn southwest of Penang which can not be seen here. This may have been another airplane that was identified in the meantime.

The Prime Minister had addressed during his press conf that the determination that the trace would belong to flight 370 was made independantly by Malaysian and several foreign agencies.

The plot is from raw primary data therefore no tags or so. The map is overlaid for the presentation.

There are holes in primary radar coverage which speak about the quality of the Butterworth radar. The radar can be seen here 5.462348, 100.387213. It looks more like an elevated ASR than a long range defense radar. The quite long radar traces also speak in favour of a fast turning device, also the cone of silence above Penang. The 4 people sitting in the radar room of Butterworth that night probably had no defense duties but were approach controllers, my guess

Those plots aren't just primary radar. Zoom in and you can see lots of overlapped labels. Of course, these could be SSR labels or air defence tags allocated to primary returns.

This is curious. One of the notable features here is that the track does not match the original description in the media. You can't really make out the letters, but there's good agreement between lines in the picture and waypoints. The one near the top is GIVAL. The track never goes near it. The one under the left side of the white circle is VAMPI. The track goes from VAMPI along route N571 to MEKAR and NILAM. (You can sorta make out the label for MEKAR, look for white pixels near the left edge of the pic, under the track.)

Though the comment says "200nm from Butterworth AB", this is clearly wrong. MEKAR is ~235nm from either Penang or Butterworth and last known is past MEKAR. I'd estimate that it's about 250nm from Penang.

This also seriously undermines the "hiding under SIA68" theory, since, if this is the correct track, it was nowhere near SIA68 when it was lost. (According to FR24, the closest aircraft was UAE343, Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, same route but about 5 minutes behind.)

P.S. By the way, if you assume that it's stuck in heading mode at this point (which would be heading 285 give or take a few degrees) and you extrapolate the course for 6 hours, you get Yemen. Which is nowhere near Inmarsat arcs. So there had to be at least one additional change of heading. N571 is pretty much a straight line from MEKAR all the way to Dubai, but there's a small turn at MEKAR and it's impossible to tell if it was executed by MH370. Dubai (heading 300) is far from the arcs as well. If we assume Indian ocean, the only way to get to the area where Australians are searching (above 40 degrees of latitude) is to to take a 90 degree left turn within 1/2 hour after going off Penang radar.

There have been questions about the rate of climb shown in the transcript to be 'wrong'.

Bad as the double translated transcript is I believe it shows a normal climb departure with an initial clearance to FL180, a further clearance to FL250, and a final clearance to FL350. In each case the revised clearance being issued before the aircraft had reached the cleared level. As a continuous climb to FL350 in 19 minutes it looks perfectly normal.

Things get worse.

This so called transcript appears to be nothing of the sort but someones interpretation of the comunications. It is riddled with flaws like using altitude instead of flight level and not one single readback. Either the authorities need to ensure information is accurate or Malaysian need a huge education programme in ICAO phraseology

This is only going to lead to more speculation as people will be commenting on something that is not accurate. If they cannot get this right, what else can we believe?

Sky news reporting that the Chinese aircraft arriving today to assist in the search landed in Perth instead of Pearce, despite the protests of ATC.

"They then took off straight away and headed to Pearce, where the deputy PM was waiting for them."

:confused:

Any truth in that? Clearing customs or something?

Forensic experts find nothing suspicious in pilot’s flight simulator, says report' on Yahoo News Malaysia. As the search for missing MH370 enters the third week, forensic experts examining the home flight simulator which was seized by police from the home of Malaysia Airlines pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah have found nothing suspicious, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported.

I'm trying to get something clear. The media circus that has evolved around this incident makes it difficult to know what is confirmed and what is conjecture.

What I am trying to get clear is the last known position of MH370.

It was lost to ATC at about 0122L.

Then there are the claims that it was tracked on radar and / or that ACARS 'pings' had it in different locations, which led to claims it had been flown north-west or south-east for up to 7 or 8 hours flying time.

Have the radar tracking or ACARS data been confirmed i.e. not "it might be" but rather "it is definitely" ?

I believe that the last confirmed position was at 0122 and everything else is maybe / possible / could be, etc.

Is this correct?

Uncomfortable as it is to consider this, it's something that will have to faced eventually:

how much is this costing?

And who is paying for it?

At some time, someone is going to have to ask the uncomfortable question: how long do we continue the search, or at least when do we scale it back to something even halfway sustainable? The military - or certainly the Australian military - don't have six to eight crews per aircraft like most airlines do. One point something crews per aircraft is what they aim for - and they don't always achieve that. The huge expenditure in hours can be taken from the training budget - but only for so long. The servicing schedule of every airframe and component carried on that airframe will need to be brought forward. Planned budgets are already out the window - the money will have to be found somewhere, and that means some other area of Defence will have to suffer. (They won't dare try to take that money from any politically 'vital' area like Welfare.)

Now to the really uncomfortable bit... It's now completely immaterial whether this was done by terrorists or a rogue pilot. It doesn't matter if it was a technical fault, (any one of the theories currently out there). The uncomfortable fact is that, having seen the way the world has reacted to the disappearance of this aircraft, the Bad Guys, even if they had absolutely nothing to do with this, will without doubt now know that they are on a real winner if they can pull off another one (perhaps their first).

In my first post on this thread, I said it was all about the money. Airlines and regulatory authorities will now have to revise their procedures to cover a terrorist attack along similar lines to the one that MAY have happened in regard to MH370. Any such procedures are going to be damned expensive - and if a second attack even halfway similar to what some suspect happened to MH370 was to occur over the next few months, it will have a crippling effect on the whole aviation industry, to the point where it may send some major airlines to the financial wall.

Not at all unrelated to the question of the industry remaining viable, how long before some ambulance-chasing lawyer gets some of the families of the passengers on MH370 together to launch a class action suite claiming billions against MAS, Boeing, right down to the manufacturer of the toilet rolls carried on the flight?

XUE LONG is a survey vessel and is heading to the search area

XUE LONG - Research/survey vessel: current position and details | IMO 8877899, MMSI 412863000, Callsign BNSK | Registered in China - AIS Marine Traffic

Andu, I heard your lawyer in question on the BBC this morning. He is already in China, and lining the families up for a class action. And he won't be the last, that is for sure.

The last primary plot at 18:22 UTC (02:22 LT) seen on the Chinese picture is past MEKAR which is 248 NM/R-295 from Butterworth (courtesy Skyvector). Around N6.533 E96.383

The "letters" seems to be the time of plot, not a tag.

UAE343 was executing the turn over VAMPI at 18:17 UTC, ground speed 488 kts, FL340.

Its position at 18:22 UTC (02:22 LT) was N6.4 E96.86. This is just 29 NM in trail of the supposed MH370. Given that this is straight out from the Butterworth radar there must be a lot of confidence in the equipment that those two targets were not mixed up.

http://i61.tinypic.com/2lwoc3k.jpg

Tracks between IGARI and VAMPI are just hypothetical. The ground speed should have been around 470 kts in the area with that track. Given the delay of a wide turn at IGARI the timing should be about correct, though.

Not sure of the political answer (although I'd suggest political pressure in the democracies would demand the search continues until it's found...it hasn't 'disappeared'...it's missing), but I'm pretty sure the RAAF crews will keep going until they either find something or the area is cleansed.

MH370 search latest
 

BREAKING

At KL press conf today, message received that China has identified a 22 x 30 metre sized object in Southern corridor (not specified where in that area) identified by their satellite(s).

This message was passed to deputy transport Minister during the conf. he was unable to give further details.

Later officially corrected by Malaysian Govt to 22.5 x 13 m

Good example of the truth of "facts" being bandied about. Even Official govt agencies make errors!

Andu asked:

Australia has a population of only 22 million but is the 12th largest economy in the world (17th by some measures). We are rich. I stand to be corrected here, but would think Australia will bear the cost of the rescue, being in our search and rescue zone 'n all. Australia will also take into account the benefits of treating this search as a training & learning exercise. The Chinese contribution has been deliberately described as "volunteered" so their contribution won't be charged. All of the contributions will be on a goodwill basis I would think - with eg the Norwegian car carrier chatting with its own government re its costs. Re whether to recover any costs from Malaysian Airlines - that would be pretty diplomatically nuanced, you would think, even if a viable proposition.