Just cant believe some of the questions/accusations being asked/made here.


1. Transit passengers don't need a visa to pass through China.


2. Why go via anywhere else to go from KUL to AMS ? Obviously only asked by someone who has never used an online booking system. Most of the cheapest prices (and in some cases, a lot cheaper) are via 3rd countries.


3. Many Europeans don't look like Europeans looked 50 years ago. 50 years of mass immigration means that telling nationality from looking at someone doesn't work anymore.


What hasn't been mentioned for a while is the report that 5 PAX had their luggage removed before take off as they didn't show. Seems a very high number, esp. in conjunction with the 2 stolen passports.

If they held other credentials, they could have reboarded in PEK using those identities on a new ticket.

NY Times is reporting that the "eye-in-the-sky" U.S. military satellites, that pick up bright flashes, or unexplained bright lights, in the upper levels of the atmosphere, have not picked up any such flashes in the region that MH370 disappeared - thus making it somewhat less likely there has been a terrorist bomb and accompanying explosion.

For the speculator who suggested the aircraft has been hijacked, and is currently sitting in the Australian Outback, I suggest you Google "Jindalee" and "JORN". JORN can pick up strange aircraft (OR even boating) movements within 3000kms of the installation.

Just been going over the '77 tech manual - access to the MEC would allow you to switch off all comms. Left ,right and centre VHF,L & R HF, Txpndr 1 & 2 and Satcom. Thus no ACARS transmission (uses Centre VHF) and no ADS-B (uses selected txpdr) CPDLC -if fitted - disabled due no Satcom.

You would also have access to the power centres thus gaining you entry to the flight deck. (No I'm not going to spell that out)

So you can take command, switch off the nav lights descend 500 feet and away you go.......

As much as it is current to blame terrorism on everything, I don't believe this is the explanation here for one reason: where is the claim of responsibility? Not much point in committing an act of terror (after all, you do so fro a political aim) if nobody knows you did it.

Unless this isn't terrorism - what was on the cargo manifest?

ACARS. Not known to the general public but surely known to the authorities. These plus primary skin paints ought at least to eliminate some outcomes.

Beat me by one minute ETOPS. Was just thinking the same thing, what was in the cargo that someone might have wanted.

More on Vietnamese SAR effort
 

Some additional information from the Thanh Nien :

- Seems my coordinates for the "suspicious objects" were slightly off, should be E082136 N 1031330. The map below has it plotted:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...20ban-do-2.jpg

- The sighting was presumably done by a Singaporean aircraft at 1500 local time (the map even says C130 Singapore)

- There is a report of a "10 meter long fragment" discovered by a USAF aircraft, but the coordinates N664825 E1032921 can't be correct.

- A DHC-6 Twin Otter on floats has joined the Vietnamese search effort. [Could be quite useful if the sea state allows.]

- A forward rescue base is being set up at Phu Quoc island, some 100 NM NNE of the latest sighting and 210 NM NNE of the last known posiion of MH370. Phu Quoc has a regional airport with an approx 1200 metres runway.

"Australia sending two P3C Orions from Darwin to Malaysia to aid with the search for missing Malaysian flight MH370"

Good luck boys (and girls)!

Poor communication is the multiplier here
 

Irrespective of the cause, the aircraft broke up, hit the water and I imagine that the end came quickly for those on board, even if only via time of useful consciousness at that height. In the absence of facts, it's natural for people to want to talk about it - particularly those with an interest in aviation who don't have people willing to discuss it with them in real life. I'm happy to hear it, even if some aren't. It's an upsetting situation so some will want to share, some need to bite. The lack of information is simply due to the lack of communication in that part of the world. It's not like TWA 800 where multiple crews saw the fireball. Facts will emerge at a slower rate than that and it may be that surprisingly salient information from witnesses is yet to emerge. AF447 was a surprise to everyone and a reminder to keep an open mind.

That's terrorism for you. Terrorise us/the world for a few days, not knowing WTF happened, and then claim responsiblity. If they'd claimed immediately, the news would probably be back about Ukraine by now.

I suspect they could, considering they will be hunting for the "pinger" signal which is not daylight dependant...
I also guess they would need 2 flight crews (at least) per aircraft, 1 to transport over there & 1 to start the search. Is this how this sort of mission would work?

9/11, Lockerbie...

It doesn't require Sherlock Holmes to confirm that it is indeed legitimate. ;)

Exactly,, 911 hasn't been claimed by anyone..

not much in it

POM PAX

You misunderstand - aircraft was at 35,000 feet. Descend 500 gets you to 34,500 thus you are flying between the normal ATC levels thus unlikely to hit anything..

See, debris is now being spotted floating on the surface.... Can we please leave this crazy hijack and landed at a remote strip alone now?

Some of you think that people are just glued to radarscopes watching the paint of every aircraft don't you. Just because someone wasn't watching it at the time doesn't mean surveillance data doesn't exist.

Most modern and even semi-modern ATS systems are able to store substantial amounts of surveillance (ADS/SSR/PSR) data and replay. In addition, raw feeds from the radar (PSR/SSR) are usually "processed" to improve accuracy and reliability and may actually show more than a controller could see.

And to those who said "one primary paint is all you'd need to know where the plane is" you obviously have never actually been inside any kind of area control room or watched the screen long enough.

Subject to surveillance coverage, there will be much more data available than on one of those joke websites run by rampant aerosexuals in their pyjamas.