Malaysia airlines B777 missing

krashkart · 03-07-14, 09:26 PM

No bueno.

swamprat69er · 03-07-14, 09:51 PM

Not good at all.

CCIP · 03-07-14, 09:53 PM

meanwhile, the BBC has a terrible taste in choosing their front page ads

fireftr18 · 03-07-14, 09:55 PM

Prayers for the families.

GoldenRivet · 03-07-14, 10:07 PM

for starters, as great as flight aware is, its not always that accurate. I have reviewed flights of my own that have suddenly zigged out into then ext state when i canceled IFR or flight following. Other times i have seen places where my route just completely stopped tracking (usually with a change from one ARTCC to another ARTCC while en route) giving the appearance that my flight vanished at cruise altitude.

I wouldnt jump to the conclusion that just because the flightaware.com route ends at a specific point that this is an accurate indication as to where the aircraft went down.

We can observe one thing though, it theoretically reached cruise altitude.

In that region of the world i would assume volcanic ash to be a culprit if there was recent volcanic activity (speedbird 9 anybody?)

another culprit, especially in the 200 series would be the un-commanded turbine rollback. however its unlikely as it should have been fixed through service bullitins and Airworthiness Directives requiring installation of fuel pump heaters if i remember correctly.

Super cooled water/ice formation which overwhelmed the aircraft's anti-ice de-ice systems a la Air France a few years ago could be to blame.

or an act of terrorism is always to be considered.

that said, it is rare that a plane crashes in the cruise phase of flight unless some sort of mid-air collision or major mechanical malfunction takes place. As these crashes tend to occur during takeoff or approach/ landing.

Im sure updates will begin to stream in soon as search efforts proceed.

03-07-14, 10:10 PM

We probably all know where it is. We just don't want to be the one to say it first.

GoldenRivet · 03-07-14, 10:12 PM

with luck, they encountered volcanic ash which overwhelmed the engines and they ditched intact and we get a "miracle on the hudson" event

CCIP · 03-07-14, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

for starters, as great as flight aware is, its not always that accurate. I have reviewed flights of my own that have suddenly zigged out into then ext state when i canceled IFR or flight following. Other times i have seen places where my route just completely stopped tracking (usually with a change from one ARTCC to another ARTCC while en route) giving the appearance that my flight vanished at cruise altitude.

I wouldnt jump to the conclusion that just because the flightaware.com route ends at a specific point that this is an accurate indication as to where the aircraft went down.

Yeah, definitely. Both flightaware and flightradar24 rely on volunteers with receivers to get their data, in this case ADS-B data, and so often they'll only track the aircraft as far as those receivers (which are mostly consumer-level hardware) and publically-available data will allow. They also can only track flights with filed plans and their software assumes that the aircraft is flying as filed.

That rough map location seems reasonable though, because reports say the plane never contacted the Vietnam ARTCC.

And I am concerned because even with engines out or other similar failures, at least one of their communication systems should've given a report. Even Air France 447 was sending automated ACARS reports as it was going down (though there was no engine failure there, to be fair). The fact that nearly 7 hours after losing contact the airline still didn't know where the aircraft was is very troubling to say the least.

03-07-14, 10:21 PM

I'd think there were so many Eyes on flights in that area of the Globe that someone has a pretty good clue.

Admiral Halsey · 03-07-14, 11:05 PM

How long can the bird stay in the air fully fueled? If nothing is heard from her when that time is up THAT'S when you should really start worrying.

Oberon · 03-07-14, 10:00 PM

Dang, and at cruising altitude it does not bode well for survivors, not that miracles don't happen, but the odds are against it.
It'll be the first 777 to be lost whilst at altitude, the other hull-loss incidents have all been on landing or on the ground. If there was no indication of trouble before loss of contact then it must have been a massive structural failure...deliberate or otherwise.

Unfortunately Flightradar24s coverage has the aircraft contact lost half-way between Malaysia and Vietnam, in the sea:

There should be a press conference shortly.

03-07-14, 09:51 PM	#2
swamprat69er Aceydeucy Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ontario,Canada Posts: 1,889 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Not good at all. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. We the willing, led by the unsure, have done so much with so little, for so long, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

03-07-14, 09:53 PM	#3
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	meanwhile, the BBC has a terrible taste in choosing their front page ads __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

03-07-14, 09:55 PM	#4
fireftr18 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Kentucky Posts: 2,528 Downloads: 77 Uploads: 0	Prayers for the families. __________________ Of all the forms of Martial Arts, Karaoke causes the most pain!

03-07-14, 10:07 PM	#5
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	for starters, as great as flight aware is, its not always that accurate. I have reviewed flights of my own that have suddenly zigged out into then ext state when i canceled IFR or flight following. Other times i have seen places where my route just completely stopped tracking (usually with a change from one ARTCC to another ARTCC while en route) giving the appearance that my flight vanished at cruise altitude. I wouldnt jump to the conclusion that just because the flightaware.com route ends at a specific point that this is an accurate indication as to where the aircraft went down. We can observe one thing though, it theoretically reached cruise altitude. In that region of the world i would assume volcanic ash to be a culprit if there was recent volcanic activity (speedbird 9 anybody?) another culprit, especially in the 200 series would be the un-commanded turbine rollback. however its unlikely as it should have been fixed through service bullitins and Airworthiness Directives requiring installation of fuel pump heaters if i remember correctly. Super cooled water/ice formation which overwhelmed the aircraft's anti-ice de-ice systems a la Air France a few years ago could be to blame. or an act of terrorism is always to be considered. that said, it is rare that a plane crashes in the cruise phase of flight unless some sort of mid-air collision or major mechanical malfunction takes place. As these crashes tend to occur during takeoff or approach/ landing. Im sure updates will begin to stream in soon as search efforts proceed. __________________

03-07-14, 10:12 PM	#7
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	with luck, they encountered volcanic ash which overwhelmed the engines and they ditched intact and we get a "miracle on the hudson" event __________________

03-07-14, 09:26 PM	#1
krashkart Navy Seal Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 5,292 Downloads: 100 Uploads: 0	No bueno.

03-07-14, 10:10 PM	#6
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	We probably all know where it is. We just don't want to be the one to say it first.

03-07-14, 10:21 PM	#9
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	I'd think there were so many Eyes on flights in that area of the Globe that someone has a pretty good clue.

03-07-14, 11:05 PM	#10
Admiral Halsey Best Admiral in the USN Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: USS Enterprise (CV-6) Posts: 1,740 Downloads: 317 Uploads: 0	How long can the bird stay in the air fully fueled? If nothing is heard from her when that time is up THAT'S when you should really start worrying.

03-07-14, 10:00 PM	#11
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Dang, and at cruising altitude it does not bode well for survivors, not that miracles don't happen, but the odds are against it. It'll be the first 777 to be lost whilst at altitude, the other hull-loss incidents have all been on landing or on the ground. If there was no indication of trouble before loss of contact then it must have been a massive structural failure...deliberate or otherwise. Unfortunately Flightradar24s coverage has the aircraft contact lost half-way between Malaysia and Vietnam, in the sea: There should be a press conference shortly.