Pointless post but can't resist speaking my mind and I'm sure many professionals here are equally puzzled as to how come the debris field is still not found. Considering the number of assets, very crowded waters, commercial sea traffic there are surely on the look out. Based on the last known location on radar, the aircraft couldn't have done a number that defies conventional wisdom and logic. "looking at the wrong area" might be the only explanation now but we are talking about many experienced Navies here.
It's truly bizarre.

It's only 3 or 4 degrees north, so I would assume someone's intelligence agency has a satellite parked on geostationary orbit over the area looking for unusual congregations of anything. When they find it, they won't announce it publicly, but it will be quickly investigated by surface and air assets.

Aterpster, it was not long after the Qantas A380, nearly another terrible statistic, dropped her engine parts onto the country below, that some turned up on ebay. You cannot blame people who have nothing, from trying to get a dollar, can you, not at all.

Coagie, there is a big difference between not knowing what signal they were looking for vs reviewing the tapes afterwards to glean more information.

Anything real time is never going to be as thorough as throwing some bright engineers, time, and decent computing power at the problem. Give them some months to try out whatever clever signal processor techniques they can think of (and experiment through trial and error) and just maybe they can find a signal previously masked by noise, distortion, etc.

That is not a screw up, rather it is following up every possibility.

If you are ignorant of communications engineering (which is ultimately what signal detection is), easy to say they screwed it up the first time...

First confirmation I've seen that the bearers of the stolen passports were Asian in appearance:

Missing Malaysian jet may have disintegrated in mid-air: source

thcrozier, the most sensible blog of the day, so far. A Satellite, of course.

From earlier reports on here there appear to be many assets out there. I have no doubt they are all very busy. But with nothing found at this late stage, they MUST ALL have been looking in the wrong place (or, and this doesn't bear thinking about) someone's search has been compromised.

From a SAR standpoint, is there ONE AGENCY in overall command and control? If you're about to say yes, think very carefully about the question. There are very great difficulties with this particular SAR effort and more so than with any other I have known. It is not only multi-national but the forces also cross ideological divides. Trying to coordinate different forces from ONE nation can be fraught with difficulties, but in this case, in addition to coordinating egos, forces from many nations bring different priorities, manifestos and other differences. The whole operation risks being thwarted by inability and unwillingness to fall in line.

The effort in theory is relatively simple: Construct a grid based on a variety of last known positions, CAREFULLY calculated forward throw ballistics, etc, etc. Then, "You, you and you look HERE... and you lot and you look THERE." etc, etc. With creeping line ahead and expanding square search patterns sweeping into the less plausible grid squares, something must be found soon given a sufficiently large number of suitably-employed assets. And whoever finds something first becomes Scene of Action Commander. Because time has gone by and we're now into replacement of search personnel, a team is needed to compile and maintain a roster. Diplomatic effort, particularly, is needed here to smooth the way for effective command, control and communications. Without a competent central command centre, everyone will continue to rush around like headless chickens.

Sure, under the status quo, eventually, something will be found. It could be better than this.

when he refers to this morning... is that now today as in 10th march?

so means no debris found...

>>>If vertical to surface below in a dive the wings would have stayed attached ... it is indeed probable in this theory that the wings are beneath the water ... Due to the energy and shallow water they could be buried in the mud?<<<

I posted to this possibility many pages back. More than a possibility, perhaps.

Technical data
 

Hi all,

Just curious, in the case of AF 447 the first clues was technical data the plane sent automatically...

Any info about similar data stream from the missing plane?

Interpol say "I told you so" and suggest link between passports and cause of tragedy.
 

Interpol sounds alarm on passenger checks - FT.com

"In a stinging criticism issued on Sunday, Interpol said both passports had been added to its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database almost immediately after they were reported missing in 2012 and 2013, respectively. "

“This is a situation we had hoped never to see. For years Interpol has asked why should countries wait for a tragedy to put prudent security measures in place at borders and boarding gates,” said Ronald Noble, Interpol’s secretary-general.

So the secretary general of interpol is claiming a direct connection between the two passengers and the cause of the tragedy?


Report also says that UK and the US make most use of the Interpol passport database and one billion passengers travelled last year "without passports being checked".

Honestly there have been some really bizarre and batty posts here. Many of the writers have knowledge of the area, some fly the 777. Some have experience of the waters and even recovery methods. On the flip side we have many, many posts from guys that have little knowledge or experience.

One thing we all have in common, - none of us has any idea what happened to the aircraft. We have an interest, most have theories, and without exception we are all awaiting the next step.
How can it possibly take days to find a machine that at the time was apparently flying along perfectly normally ?

Politics, cultures, defence secrecy, media reporting are all working against us in so many ways.
Given the craziness displayed in some of the previous posts I don't see extraterrestrial intervention, of some form, as the most stupid of suggestions.

There are people on this planet that actually do believe in some pretty bizarre stuff. That extends into the aviation industry as well.

Indeed what does happen if there is no trace found of this aircraft ?

If the search has widened as far as the Straits of Malacca (as has been reported on reputable news sources) - does this mean that "saving face" has been happening at the official level for some time now, while they bought time, and that a LOT more has been known than has been reported, all along? Seems likely, given the cultural context ...

Dai_Farr
regrettably the chances of a co-ordinated SAR effort are remote. Given the mutual suspicion verging on hostility and the asian mind-set of not going into a position where they might lose face, I reckon each country is searching it's "patch". Now the USA will arrive, along with Oz patrol planes and they'll probably co-ordinate between themselves, but just tell the locals what they're doing. Don't under-estimate the need to maintain face. I live in Asia and that aspect has to be understood well.

On another idea - is anyone looking on land ? If the plane continued northwards it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that it ended up in the Vietnam/Cambodian mountains.

No technical data i am afraid....that is all being kept from us

It will be found. Even if it takes months or years, requiring the full-court press of all capable countries, they will find it.

I'm of the same opinion that this plane went into the water relatively intact. The 777 is a large aeroplane, but in the context of the Gulf of Thailand, it is but a drop in the bucket...so to speak.

Reward for Turning in Debris
 

Given the large number of low income folks on the water, distributing multi-lingual leaflets promising rewards for any found debris from the flight would get a lot of experienced folks looking for unusual flotsam.

The longer we go without turning up debris, the more other scenarios increase in probability.

You would think a high speed impact would produce waves that would get the attention of boats in the vicinity.

As far as stopping passengers of Asian appearance with European sounding names is concerned, it is really a slippery slope to go down.

I know a number of people from Asian backgrounds, particularly places like the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka, with names that may be construed as French, Spanish or even British, and who are citizens of European or other western countries. Conversely, Oriental and Indian sounding names (particularly female) are now gaining popularity in the west.

Do we really want to add another layer of complexity to airport security by necessitating that anyone who has a name that does not "match" their appearance, in the security officer's opinion, be singled out for greater scrutiny?!

Perhaps, it's time all countries expend the resources required to ensure better co-ordination with Interpol databases, which in this case had flagged both travel documents as stolen shortly after they were reported missing.

In the same vein, IF the plane had turned around, would that mean it's possible the Malaysian authorities are the sole holders of radar/tracking information? I haven't the know-how to track the very technical radar/tracking etc discussions, but if the garnering of that information is "owned back home" in "at home" airspace, perhaps some form of official face-saving might go some way to explaining this "disappearance", and they are bent on having a full explanation when they declare the facts? Remember, there are very fraught stakeholdings here.

Would Malaysian government officials be willing to admit that (a) KLIA security had been compromised (allowing potential weapons of terror on board) and/or (b) the plane had been diverted somewhere (and potentially crashed there or en route)?

The repeated suggestions of a "turn" on radar, a sudden drop, a supposed intent to return towards land, and now the business of searching the Strait of Malacca are leading me to think Malay authorities have a different idea of where the plane was headed than we have been led to believe.

Either that, or they are drawing at straws as much as we are.