Originally Posted by
jehrler
If it did have such capability and these systems need to ping the satellites (even when not transmitting any data) ala a cell phone, then why has it taken this long for anyone to notice that these satellite signals lasted for 4 extra hours after the last communication?
I'm sure anyone who may have received a communication from the aircraft was checking their logs on Sunday, but any relevant information takes time to percolate through the investigation.