FE Hoppy
What is the elapsed time from the last known position (Malaysian/Vietnamese FIR boundary) to the nearest point on the 'arc inducing, satellite-based ping'?
What is the distance from the last known position (Malaysian/Vietnamese FIR boundary) to the nearest point on the 'arc inducing, satellite-based ping'?
Do the facts suggest that the aircraft 'flew in a circle'?
If the flight crew, a member of it or a knowledgable intruder into the flight deck were trying to make the aircraft 'disappear', why would they fly around in circles inside airspace that has SSR & Primary radar capability? Isn't the airspace around there fairly busy at that time of night?
The flight had NO crew-actioned communication whatsoever, post the 'Goodnight' sign off at handover. The transponder & ACARS were manually selected OFF. If the aircraft had a bonafide emergency, the crew still had 2 or 3 VHF radios & probably a pair of HF radios & maybe even a SATPHONE on the flight deck, depending on the MAS fit, in order to communicate a problem. Lots of communications methods available, none were utilised.