Turn?
No one seems to have asked why the original debris reports were in positions that didn't follow any of the basic rules mentioned above.
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I allowed myself to ask in the earlier forum without getting a response - couldn't the crew have decided upon failure of systems (e.g. the WX radar) and given their current environment to turn back to the nearest airfields, i.e. in Southamerica? Someone mentioned this as a wise choice in this case and good airmanship. Thus the latest indicated (transmitted) position would indeed be somewhere else than the actual crash side if a malfunction occurred...?
Disclaimer: Not part of your industry, interested SLF (=annoyance)