To the guy who wondered if an AD was every issued in response to the Egpytair cockpit fire. Yes, there appears to be one on record.

The Boeing Company Airplanes

Was this airframe in compliance with this AD? :confused:

9M-MRO
 

The B777-200 aircraft that operated MH370 underwent maintenance 10 days before this particular flight on 6 March 2014. The next check is due on 19 June 2014. The maintenance was conducted at the KLIA hangar and there were no issues on the health of the aircraft.

The aircraft was delivered to Malaysia Airlines in 2002 and have since recorded 53,465.21 hours with a total of 7525 cycles. All Malaysia Airlines aircraft are equipped with continuous data monitoring system called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) which transmits data automatically. Nevertheless, there were no distress calls and no information was relayed.

Well it explains why the search is now to the west.

I'm sure the Airforce know more than they are admitting.

If you plot the possible track from Kl towards IGARI then a left turn to Pulau Perak it forms a partial anti clockwise turn around the air defence base at Gong Kedak.

What exactly do the Malaysians know.....

The most likely reason we know so little
 

Anyone wondering why there is so little information on this lost a/c should look to the recent admission by Malaysian civil aviation chief "There are some things that I can tell you and some things that I can't."

In this part of the world, which I know well, one of the key priorities for any investigation is to ensure that national loss of face is minimized. This means that if the Malaysians have a better idea of where to to look they are going to do their utmost to find the a/c before they share any of this information with the public, let alone the other countries participating in the search. It would be a huge embarrassment to them if say a Chinese frigate were to find the plane first. If there is any hint of error on behalf of the Malaysian flight crew, say from an ACARS message, then I am sure this will not be shared until the a/c is found.

It is all very well to try to dream up scenarios where a plane vanishes without visible debris, but the most likely explanation to my mind is that the SAR are not coordinated internationally.

The same goes for the Vietnamese and Chinese. If they have promising leads, then there is a strong possibility they will not share this information, at least not in a timely manner. Furthermore, if something is found, the information must flow all the way to the top before it is shared, even within an individual agency.

As flagged earlier, the Malaysian authorities HAVE been withholding information.

Pulau Perak (Pulau means "island") is approximately 85 NM WNW of Penang Airport.

The terrorism theory is fast losing traction so what we are left with is a, currently inexplicable, action by the flight crew.

Anyone else noticed that Pulau Perak doesn't exist at its lat/long on Google Earth? There's a 16km square of different - blurred - resolution image.

Its obviously an island of some strategic importance with radar installation and military activity (military chopper crash there last year).

Hijacking
 

The complete lack of traces, debris or witnesses can only mean one thing, hijacking. Turn off the transponder, pull the ACARS cb's, and you are invisible to all but military primary radar. Descend low and not even they will see you. You are now in a fully functioning aircraft with astounding navigational capability, but invisible to the world. Where do you want to go?

The search area should be a seven hour fuel endurance radius of last known position. Since no ELT has gone off means it didn't crash, it landed. Remote airfields in China? Indonesia? Philippines? It means you must know how to navigate and land a 777. How many pilots in the world have undergone 777 training? Even just simulator training would suffice. 5000?

Looking forward to your thoughts.

http://www.wildasia.org/images/380/RG_GreenPlPerak.jpg

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Pulau+Perak

Note not visible with satellite view, use map view.

Missing flight MH370: Co-pilot entertained Melbourne woman and friend on a previous i
 

A CO-PILOT at the controls of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 invited a Melbourne tourist and her friend into the cockpit where he smoked, took photos and entertained the pair during a previous international flight.
In a worrying lapse of security, it’s been revealed pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid and his colleague broke Malaysia Airline rules when they invited passengers Jonti Roos and Jaan Maree to join them in the cabin for the one-hour flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur.
Ms Roos, who is travelling around Australia, told A Current Affair she and Ms Maree posed for pictures with the pilots, who smoked cigarettes during the midair rendez-vous.
“Throughout the entire flight they were talking to us and they were actually smoking throughout the flight which I don’t think they’re allowed to do,” Ms Roos said.


More here: Missing flight MH370: Co-pilot entertained Melbourne woman and friend on a previous international flight | The Mercury

Question for 777 pilots
 

What does the MEL say about one PACK inop? Altitude restrictions? Bear with me on this...

Being tracked over this area is no indication that it crashed there or was hijacked. If correct, this report changes the whole scenario.

Like I said earlier.....6 hours of fuel at 450kts.......it could be anywhere within about 2,700nm of Malaysia......

Indeed the whole scenario is changed, apparently officially. But it does beg the question as to why so much effort was expended elsewhere?

1:10 flight time makes sense from last location to Pulau Perak? What would the average speed be, considering they might have been flying low (but not too low as apparently military radar saw them)?

How much more flying time would they at that point have (min/max taking above average speed) and what airports would be reachable (where you can put down a 777) taking the initial computed average speed from last location to Pulau Perak?

Re Pulau Perak. Plenty of snaps of it online (including some aerial ones), but interesting that GE has erased it completely.

So IF it's changed course at IGARI, then that gives the remaining original planned range of around 2100nm, or around 2600nm until dry.

Well, that's here..

http://www.gcmap.com/map?P=PEK,+KUL,...0&RC=%23000080

Reuters must be feeling pretty special, getting exclusive intel direct from a "military source" now...

Seems like the leaks are starting, and the picture may begin changing. Note to people who a running the press conferences.....standing in front of microphones, with a chest full of medals, and saying things, does not necessarily make it so.

Malaysian Airlines MH370 contact lost
 

Well I guess this was to be expected given the SAR operations there over the past days. That being said it makes things even more bizarre. A crash in the Malacca straight would have most likely be spotted or at the very least generated some debris by now. And if they did not crash there where on earth is this aircraft ?!

Yep, who has it and for what purpose???