Malaysian Airlines MH370 contact lost

[ricfly744]

Lithium battery fire ,

Why no one takes this in consideration?
These fires cannot be extinguished with halon, and if in the cargo hold, it can take, as we know it had before, a large aircraft down in a few minutes.

IATA and ICAO allows lithium battery cargo, and I repeat Cargo, and not some spare pax luggage containing one battery here or there, I mean a or a few pallets of lithium battery cargo in PAX flights.

Take a look at UN3480 as an example, and it's drill code ERG 9FZ.

[techgeek]

Rolls Royce engine data

This article indicates only 2 data reports were received by RR.

"One was broadcast as MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the other during the 777's climb out towards Beijing."

Unless there was a 3rd report in cruise flight after loss of radar contact this information is insufficient to justify new claims of continued flight for 5 hours.

[armchairpilot94116]

This incident has become unprecedented. How can a 777 fly for hundreds of miles invisibly?

Taiwan is sending another frigate to join search


Second Taiwanese warship to join search for missing Malaysian jet - Taiwan News Online



Taiwan only has one citizen onboard

[MG23]

Originally Posted by physicus

Of course the ACARS downlink only works within VHF range of a downlink station. That would limit where they flew to.

This is what puzzles me. If they were talking about VHF ACARS, surely they'd be able to figure out which station received it, and hence get a good idea of where the plane went?

[SMOC]

Lithium battery fire ,

Why no one takes this in consideration?
These fires cannot be extinguished with halon, and if in the cargo hold, it can take, as we know it had before, a large aircraft down in a few minutes.?

For one reason they don't cause a complete comm shutdown, there is time to take action and notify someone, if it was so sudden and catastrophic they would be a huge debris field.

[ana1936]

VHF range is under 160 km so the engine data was not sent from the middle of the Indian Ocean. Why can't we know where the data was received?

Some ACARS is sent to satellites though. Is that the case here?

[Neogen]

Clearly, we cant trust any information that is coming from Malaysian authorities. Their command and control structure seems to be non-existent.

Its high time that some other country should take charge of SAR. Also, all the other countries that are participating in SAR should now share all the information that they have. Else, their credibility will also be questionable.

[Australopithecus]

Two things:

1. I cannot open the link to Rolls Royce's blurb on how they get their data packets, and how much info each contains. They may be limited to engine parameters only, and just get added to a file for each powerplant, attracting no attention until someone goes looking for them.

2. Regarding the theory of stealing the aircraft: if it was the captain, there is nothing to say he was limited to seven hours of fuel. With sinister intent he could have taken several hours more.

3. OK, three things: It is still possible that the acars was disabled subsequent to the fourth hour if it occurred to the pilot.

4... While this aircraft did not have the satcom antenna that was the subject of the AD it still may have had one, allowing the ACARS to make its scheduled engine health update.

[jugofpropwash]

Captain Zaharie Shah's you tube channel with 5 videos he made. zaharie shah - YouTube

and a tribute page, with pictures of the extraordinary home made sim.
TRIBUTE: Who exactly is Malaysia Airlines Captain Zaharie Shah of MH370?* - Sharelor

That sim has been bothering me since the first time I saw the photo. $10,000 worth of equipment, maybe? That's an awful expensive toy, for someone who flies the real thing every day.

[Rabbitwear]

This link shows the article about the 20 Freescale employees , the Captain also shared a keen interest in electronics.

Freescale Semiconductor Employees Behind Missing Malaysia Airlines Plane? One of Many Conspiracy Theories

[Australopithecus]

The theories that include an unconscious crew and an aircraft in HDG mode flying on until fuel starvation remain valid BTW, and seem still more likely to me.

[techgeek]

Rolls Royce EHM uses ACARS

From the RR web site:

EHM = Engine Health Monitoring

"A critical aspect of the EHM system is the transfer of data from aircraft to ground. Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) digital data-link systems are used as the primary method of communication. This transmits the Aircraft Condition Monitoring System (ACMS ) reports via a VHF radio or satellite link whilst the aircraft is in-flight.

A worldwide ground network then transfers this data to the intended destination. The positive aspect of this system is its robust nature and ability to distribute information worldwide. On the other hand, the Airplane Condition Monitoring Function (ACMF) reports are limited to 3kB, hence the acquisition systems need to work within this limitation. Future systems are being deployed to increase data volumes through wireless data transmission as the aircraft approaches the gate after landing. This will enable more data to be analysed, but will not be as immediate as ACARS, where data can be assessed well before the aircraft lands again."

[nitpicker330]

Just looked at the Captains site.

A true Aviation enthusiast like a lot of the Malay crews I had the pleasure of flying with, they have a passion for the job and it showed.

I'd be confident in saying that whatever went terribly wrong that night he was not responsible.

[Wantion]

Press Conference @5pm KL local time today

Press Conference scheduled for 5pm KL local time today...bet it runs late again ! See it here:


Live TV | Astro Awani

[Mark in CA]

Is it reasonable to assume that someone who builds a sim like that with malicious intent would publicly display it and discuss it in an open forum on the Internet? I think not.

[underfire]

From this article on the 787 real time Operations Center, while it is for the 787, right at the end of the video, they note that the Center also monitors the 777 real time, but just not as much data...

Boeing operations center tracks 787 flights in real time | KING5.com Seattle

[jugofpropwash]

If the plane was snatched, I don't think it was terrorism related. But I'd sure like to know what was in the cargo.

[training wheels]

Originally Posted by jugofpropwash

Most people I know, regardless of how much they like their job, don't want to go home and recreate it. Now, I know a lot of airline pilots fly gliders and such in their free time - but recreating their day job? Especially for someone who''s been doing that job for years? Just seems odd.

Jeez, mate, he's probably set it up for his kids and friends as well to share his passion for flying. Nothing wrong with that. Actually I'd be more worried about pilots who don't have the passion anymore, than one who did.

[nitpicker330]

Seems it may be time to 100% monitor the position of all Airline Aircraft with independent power supplies so they cannot be tampered with.

Such as this.

Welcome | spidertracks

[Dai_Farr]

SAR question

I asked much the same in post http://www.pprune.org/8363027-post1109.html.

Since the responses were in the negative, I suggested a UN regional approach in http://www.pprune.org/8363132-post1130.html.