'shadowing'
....It was suggested that MH370 was shadowed until its demise at 1:30, and the shadow then turned west on a flight path that shadows the ATC boundaries exactly. The suggestion was that the pings are generated by the shadow, not MH370.
This has been laid to rest though by yesterday's announcement that the pings have been tied to MH370 definitely. Unfortunately they didn't explain how, which would then have to pass peer review by PPRune.
I am glad that this forum is not confined to jet jockeys, most of which are not rated on 777's anyway.