Originally Posted by Global Warrior
After finding cracks in the Wings on the 787 production line and added to the 787 Battery issue, this couldn't have come at a worse time for Boeing. The last thing they need is for this to be blamed on the manufacturer.
FWIW, the 777 is a considerably more mature aircraft/program/system than the 787. Don't see how 787 growing pains/issues are relevant to a 777 going missing.
Originally Posted by BDiONU
I would suggest a Pan Am 103 situation but the curious bit is lack of wreckage so far.
If it happened over the ocean, why are you surprised that it's hard to find? Most stuff sinks. (Granted, there is plenty of stuff in an aircraft that floats) Having been involved in two maritime SAR efforts for missing aircraft, I can say that it is a damnably frustrating and time consuming endeavour. At least on the second occasion, one of the two pilots was found alive. (By another asset in the SAR mission, not by my crew).
Originally Posted by joshannon
Surely if the plane was shot down, by Vietnamese or the Malaysian's - both btw have trigger happy MIG fighter pilots, they would come clean.
On what basis do you assert that Malaysian and Vietnamese military pilots are trigger happy? Who have they shot up, or shot down, lately? Not well played.
Regarding Commander Marks of US Seventh Fleet: he overlooked Rule number 1 of a staff officer, which reads "Never overlook a chance to keep your fool mouth shut."
Originally Posted by Ida down
What a high speed stall, surely this aircraft is not capable of a high speed stall? Is this aircraft capable of getting into coffin corner?
Why wouldn't it be? Doesn't every plane in this class have a coffin corner that pilots know to avoid? I don't think any airplane design is able to void the laws of physics, nor the fundamentals of aerodynamics.
Originally Posted by BOAC
but if you knew where the Malacca Straights are you might raise an eyebrow?
I do, and I did. Seems someone is searching based on an ever expanding datum.
I wish to ask about something that got a lot of press after a well publicized incident over cabin pressurization: the private jet carrying Payne Stewart (golfer and US Open champ) and his friends went down after such an incident ... but it flew by itself for quite sometime after the pressurization failure took place.
With this 777:
Q1. If the aircraft gets to FL 350, and levels off, under what set of conditions would an explosive decompression, or other major cabin pressure incident, be related to the AP not being able to maintain cruise altitude, airspeed, and heading?
Q2. What about an event near the change from climb to level off? I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that the 777's AP allows the crew to have already programmed in the altitude and airspeed/Mach Nr desired for the flight to PEK, and that upon reaching the programmed altitude, it would do as selected ... unless WHAT happened?
I realize that I am asking about two major and more or less unrelated systems failures/malfunctions. (Talk about low probability).