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Old 7th Jul 2014, 19:34
  #11280 (permalink)  
Ulric
 
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If we accept that the Inmarsat arcs and the radar trace are correct then we have a timing anomaly. If MH370 maintained its last known course - the radar track - then we have a problem because it would cover only about 140NM between two ping arcs which are timed at 1 hour and 12 minutes apart. It is speculated therefore that the aircraft took a large and unexplained northerly diversion (the hook referred to in the Australian report) in order to maintain both a plausible airspeed and the timings of the satellite pings. There is as yet, no reasonable explanation of why this should have happened. This northerly excursion would possibly have taken MH370 as far as Port Blair in the Andamans.

In reality there are an almost infinite number of possible courses which could account for the timings including all sorts of arbitrary "holding patterns" and at present we must accept that there is no evidence which can tell us what the real path of the aircraft was during this period.
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