Malaysia airlines B777 missing

Oberon · 03-07-14, 07:38 PM

Quote:

MEDIA STATEMENT released at 7.24am/8 Mar 2014 MH370 Incident

Sepang, 8 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 has lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am, today (8 March 2014).

Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on 8 March 2014. MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members.

Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.

Let's hope it's a maintenence fault that's caused loss of communication...but it doesn't look promising.

CCIP · 03-07-14, 08:10 PM

Hoping for the best!

Here is the flightaware log for this flight: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/MAS370

Oberon · 03-07-14, 08:17 PM

Looks like the track ends over land, that increases the chance of finding something, even if it's just...well...

CCIP · 03-07-14, 08:30 PM

Yeah, and it also ends right at cruise level (where the plane just got) and full speed, so whatever it was, it seems rather sudden.

krashkart · 03-07-14, 08:37 PM

No bueno.

CCIP · 03-07-14, 08:51 PM

Also worth pointing that this plane can't simply "disappear" because of a small fault. No ADS-B, no SSR, no ACARS, no radio comms - slim chances all of those would go off from a maintenance fault (even a major one) without alarm immediately being raised, and it should've been also on radar where it was.

TarJak · 03-09-14, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

Which is why them only having found an oil slick is so strange. You'd think they'd have found something other then that by now.

Only if they are looking in the right place and there's something afloat to find. Speculation is pointless uunless there is evidence to back it up.

Admiral Halsey · 03-09-14, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarJak

Only if they are looking in the right place and there's something afloat to find. Speculation is pointless uunless there is evidence to back it up.

Do you realize how much stuff in planes float? Heck even bits of the fuselage can float. If it exploded in mid-air there should be wreckage everywhere including in that oil slick.Heck even if it crashed into the water whole there should still be a nice amount of wreckage.

GoldenRivet · 03-09-14, 02:18 AM

They keep calling it an oil slick. Those engines don't need that much oil that it would cover a 6+ mile swath of ocean as reported. Most likely it's jet fuel.

If it is jet fuel. The plane came down in big pieces I would think, because an explosive large enough to disentegrate the airplane in flight probably would have resulted in most of the fuel burning up I would imagine.

They are going to start finding bits of her soon. Insulation. Plastics. Luggage. Debris. Possibly folks in rafts if lucky. That stuff floats. And Boeing can look at most small debris and determine if it's a 777 part.

Whatever it was probably happened fast. Think of the Alaska flight that had the elevator jack screw issue off the California coast. Those guys even had time to transmit their situation. And they were in a steep dive.

Double engine failure would have killed electrics. But they would have had RATs to generate power. In that scenario, would the RATs generate sufficient power to broadcast mayday over long distances? Perhaps they were calling and nobody heard them.

Catastrophic structural failure due to metal fatigue associated with pressurization issues

Volcanic ash

Terrorism

Flight control malfunction or failure

Lots of possibilities on the chalk board, now begins the long task of ruling them out one by one and determining the cause of the accident.

GoldenRivet · 03-09-14, 02:28 AM

Just read that new information indicates military radar tracked the aircraft and that the aircraft may have tried to turn back to its departure point.

http://news.yahoo.com/air-force-chie...060410114.html

If they lost power, the transponder would have stopped transmitting, the ATC radar would have lost tracking except for a "primary" target. Depending on the range, civilian radar might not have picked up the primary target without a working transponder.

Defense radar might have though... Hmmmmm

EDIT**

Appears to be confirmed. Defense radar indications at this point are said to have shown the aircraft making a turn back towards its departure point.

Admiral Halsey · 03-09-14, 03:17 AM

So the jet was trying to turn back? Ok somethings really not right here. That little air-powered generator they have should be powerful enough to give full radio broadcast strength. So if it was a double engine failure the question becomes why didn't the pilots send out a mayday?

TarJak · 03-09-14, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

Do you realize how much stuff in planes float? Heck even bits of the fuselage can float. If it exploded in mid-air there should be wreckage everywhere including in that oil slick.Heck even if it crashed into the water whole there should still be a nice amount of wreckage.

I do. I worked for an airline for over 16 years.

Is there any evidence at present that the oil slick is from the aircraft? None mentioned in any of the media I've seen. Given the latest revelation about the military radar, it is just as likely that the oil slick came from a ship as from an aircraft and that they've been looking in the wrong place. As I said, unless there is evidence, speculation is pointless.

Based on this, they are looking into another two passengers as well as the ones with the stolen passports: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-0...arance/5308688

Skybird · 03-09-14, 06:36 AM

They already were almost above the coast of Vietnam when contact disappeared. If they turned back there (south) because there was a technical problem, this would have meant to cross all that open ocean again in search for that emergency landing site. Makes little sense.

Possible maybe that what appears to be a turn, was an involuntary turn already, with any kind of a problem present and having taken out comms and rudder already before.

Jimbuna · 03-09-14, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

They already were almost above the coast of Vietnam when contact disappeared. If they turned back there (south) because there was a technical problem, this would have meant to cross all that open ocean again in search for that emergency landing site. Makes little sense.

Possible maybe that what appears to be a turn, was an involuntary turn already, with any kind of a problem present and having taken out comms and rudder already before.

My thoughts also...that 'turn' could have been the start of an uncontrolled steep dive.

TarJak · 03-11-14, 03:03 AM

The lack of wreckage found so far is most likely because they have not found the crash site yet because they've been looking in the wrong place. The delay due to the false lead on the oil slick means the chance of finding floating wreckage over the crash site is diminishing with every day that passes.

We're not going to know until we do. Once something of substance is found we'll hear about it soon enough.

03-07-14, 08:10 PM	#2
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Hoping for the best! Here is the flightaware log for this flight: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/MAS370 __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

03-07-14, 08:30 PM	#4
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Yeah, and it also ends right at cruise level (where the plane just got) and full speed, so whatever it was, it seems rather sudden. __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

03-07-14, 08:51 PM	#6
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Also worth pointing that this plane can't simply "disappear" because of a small fault. No ADS-B, no SSR, no ACARS, no radio comms - slim chances all of those would go off from a maintenance fault (even a major one) without alarm immediately being raised, and it should've been also on radar where it was. __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

03-09-14, 02:18 AM	#9
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,712 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	They keep calling it an oil slick. Those engines don't need that much oil that it would cover a 6+ mile swath of ocean as reported. Most likely it's jet fuel. If it is jet fuel. The plane came down in big pieces I would think, because an explosive large enough to disentegrate the airplane in flight probably would have resulted in most of the fuel burning up I would imagine. They are going to start finding bits of her soon. Insulation. Plastics. Luggage. Debris. Possibly folks in rafts if lucky. That stuff floats. And Boeing can look at most small debris and determine if it's a 777 part. Whatever it was probably happened fast. Think of the Alaska flight that had the elevator jack screw issue off the California coast. Those guys even had time to transmit their situation. And they were in a steep dive. Double engine failure would have killed electrics. But they would have had RATs to generate power. In that scenario, would the RATs generate sufficient power to broadcast mayday over long distances? Perhaps they were calling and nobody heard them. Catastrophic structural failure due to metal fatigue associated with pressurization issues Volcanic ash Terrorism Flight control malfunction or failure Lots of possibilities on the chalk board, now begins the long task of ruling them out one by one and determining the cause of the accident. __________________

03-09-14, 02:28 AM	#10
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,712 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	Just read that new information indicates military radar tracked the aircraft and that the aircraft may have tried to turn back to its departure point. http://news.yahoo.com/air-force-chie...060410114.html If they lost power, the transponder would have stopped transmitting, the ATC radar would have lost tracking except for a "primary" target. Depending on the range, civilian radar might not have picked up the primary target without a working transponder. Defense radar might have though... Hmmmmm EDIT** Appears to be confirmed. Defense radar indications at this point are said to have shown the aircraft making a turn back towards its departure point. __________________ Last edited by GoldenRivet; 03-09-14 at 03:07 AM.

03-07-14, 08:17 PM	#3
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Looks like the track ends over land, that increases the chance of finding something, even if it's just...well...

03-07-14, 08:37 PM	#5
krashkart Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5,292 Downloads: 100 Uploads: 0	No bueno.

03-09-14, 03:17 AM	#11
Admiral Halsey Best Admiral in the USN Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: USS Enterprise (CV-6) Posts: 1,740 Downloads: 298 Uploads: 0	So the jet was trying to turn back? Ok somethings really not right here. That little air-powered generator they have should be powerful enough to give full radio broadcast strength. So if it was a double engine failure the question becomes why didn't the pilots send out a mayday?

03-09-14, 06:36 AM	#13
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 40,571 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	They already were almost above the coast of Vietnam when contact disappeared. If they turned back there (south) because there was a technical problem, this would have meant to cross all that open ocean again in search for that emergency landing site. Makes little sense. Possible maybe that what appears to be a turn, was an involuntary turn already, with any kind of a problem present and having taken out comms and rudder already before. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

03-11-14, 03:03 AM	#15
TarJak Fleet Admiral Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 17,052 Downloads: 150 Uploads: 8	The lack of wreckage found so far is most likely because they have not found the crash site yet because they've been looking in the wrong place. The delay due to the false lead on the oil slick means the chance of finding floating wreckage over the crash site is diminishing with every day that passes. We're not going to know until we do. Once something of substance is found we'll hear about it soon enough.