Malaysian Airlines Plane Missing Over Vietnam

[cavanami]

The radar that I have seen on ships is a recording type that you can "rewind" and view the stored data.

 

No idea what they are using on land

[radioman]

It's usually recorded. RTAF has on site recorders that record all voice and radar plot data, they might also do screen recording. All the radars are connected to the SOC's, one in Surat the other in BKK (actually think there is another in CM or Udon but not sure). The traffic can be seen on overall displays so controllers in the SOC's can see what's going on from all radars fed in to the SOC on a common display. All this traffic is recorded at the SOC as well. The southernmost primary radars, that I know about, are at Hat Yai, civil and military but given they are referring to one in Surat Thani I'm guessing the Hat Yai radars were off, not at all uncommon in Thailand.

 

The radar plot data is easily transferred, usually on a 9600 baud leased line modem connection. There's not a lot of data to transfer just updating the individual targets as they transit the coverage area.

[Flashermac]

A Startlingly Simple Theory About the Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet

 

 

There has been a lot of speculation about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Terrorism, hijacking, meteors. I cannot believe the analysis on CNN; it’s almost disturbing. I tend to look for a simpler explanation, and I find it with the 13,000-foot runway at Pulau Langkawi.

 

We know the story of MH370: A loaded Boeing 777 departs at midnight from Kuala Lampur, headed to Beijing. A hot night. A heavy aircraft. About an hour out, across the gulf toward Vietnam, the plane goes dark, meaning the transponder and secondary radar tracking go off. Two days later we hear reports that Malaysian military radar (which is a primary radar, meaning the plane is tracked by reflection rather than by transponder interrogation response) has tracked the plane on a southwesterly course back across the Malay Peninsula into the Strait of Malacca.

 

The left turn is the key here. Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a very experienced senior captain with 18,000 hours of flight time. We old pilots were drilled to know what is the closest airport of safe harbor while in cruise. Airports behind us, airports abeam us, and airports ahead of us. They’re always in our head. Always. If something happens, you don’t want to be thinking about what are you going to do–you already know what you are going to do. When I saw that left turn with a direct heading, I instinctively knew he was heading for an airport. He was taking a direct route to Palau Langkawi, a 13,000-foot airstrip with an approach over water and no obstacles. The captain did not turn back to Kuala Lampur because he knew he had 8,000-foot ridges to cross. He knew the terrain was friendlier toward Langkawi, which also was closer.

 

Take a look at this airport on Google Earth. The pilot did all the right things. He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make an immediate turn to the closest, safest airport.

 

When I heard this I immediately brought up Google Earth and searched for airports in proximity to the track toward the southwest.

 

For me, the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire. And there most likely was an electrical fire. In the case of a fire, the first response is to pull the main busses and restore circuits one by one until you have isolated the bad one. If they pulled the busses, the plane would go silent. It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire. Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations.

 

There are two types of fires. An electrical fire might not be as fast and furious, and there may or may not be incapacitating smoke. However there is the possibility, given the timeline, that there was an overheat on one of the front landing gear tires, it blew on takeoff and started slowly burning. Yes, this happens with underinflated tires. Remember: Heavy plane, hot night, sea level, long-run takeoff. There was a well known accident in Nigeria of a DC8 that had a landing gear fire on takeoff. Once going, a tire fire would produce horrific, incapacitating smoke. Yes, pilots have access to oxygen masks, but this is a no-no with fire. Most have access to a smoke hood with a filter, but this will last only a few minutes depending on the smoke level. (I used to carry one in my flight bag, and I still carry one in my briefcase when I fly.)

 

What I think happened is the flight crew was overcome by smoke and the plane continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot), until it ran out of fuel or the fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed. You will find it along that route–looking elsewhere is pointless.

 

...

 

 

 

http://www.wired.com...lectrical-fire/

[bust]

I am convinced that nobody really knows.

[Flashermac]

<< Meanwhile, Thailand's air force said on Tuesday a re-examination of its radar data found what may have been the plane travelling west towards the Malacca Straits at 01:28 Malaysia time, shortly after it lost contact with air traffic controllers.

 

This would be consistent with Malaysia's military radar, which spotted the plane over the Malacca Straits - the opposite direction from its planned flight path - early on 8 March.

 

Thai air force spokesman Montol Suchookorn said that the plane did not enter Thai air space and he could not confirm whether it was flight MH370.

 

Thai radar later spotted the plane heading north and disappearing over the Andaman Sea, AFP reported, citing the spokesman. >>

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26624546

[Flashermac]

Maldives probe reports of "jumbo jet" sighting

 

 

Police in the Maldives are probing reports that islanders in the tourism paradise saw a "low-flying jumbo jet" on the day the missing Malaysia Airlines plane vanished.

 

In a statement released late Tuesday, police said they were investigating a report on the Haveeru news website that local residents had spotted a large plane flying over the remote southern island of Kuda Huvadhoo on March 8.

 

"The police are looking into the reports in the media saying that a low-flying airplane was sighted above Kuda Huvadhoo," the statement said.

 

Several alleged sightings of the Boeing 777, which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board, have proved to be false alarms and reports of debris at sea have also turned up nothing.

 

Haveeru said witnesses on Kuda Huvadhoo had seen a white aircraft with red stripes flying towards the southern tip of the Maldives.

 

"I’ve never seen a jet flying so low over our island before. We’ve seen seaplanes, but I’m sure that this was not one of those. I could even make out the doors on the plane clearly," the website quoted one witness as saying.

 

Haveeru journalist Farah Ahmed said several witnesses had given similar accounts.

 

"These people first heard a very loud noise from a plane flying unusually low and they came out to see it," Ahmed told AFP by phone from the Maldives capital Male, whose international airport daily handles dozens of wide-body jets bringing in thousands of tourists.

 

The hunt for the missing passenger jet now focuses on two vast search areas -- a northern one spanning south and central Asia, and a southern corridor stretching deep into the southern Indian Ocean towards Australia.

 

The Maldives, located far from both arcs, is not among the 26 countries currently involved in the massive international search operation.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Maldives-probe-reports-of-jumbo-jet-sighting-30229563.html

[huumlaar]

"it is possible since the signal transmitter on the plane was switched off. Our radar would not pick up a plane if it is not transmitting a signal."

 

Really?

[bust]

So looks like they may have found it about 400 kms off the West Australian coast.

http://mobile.news.com.au/world/possible-wreckage-spotted-in-search-for-missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-raaf-plane-on-its-way-to-identify-objects/story-fndir2ev-1226859680610

[WorldFun]

possibly maybe....so going on the 'smoke' theory it failed to land at langkawi & then flew on 'autopilot' till fuel ran out just outside of the estimated/detected 8hour radious nw of australia?

well good if the plane didnt explode or suffer metallic fatigue, but that must have been some nightmare hell flight

 

very very weird

[Flashermac]

Chinese relatives turn on Malaysian govt officials

 

 

Relatives of Chinese passengers who had been on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vented their fury on Malaysian government officials yesterday in their first meeting in Beijing, denouncing them for wasting time for almost two weeks after the aircraft vanished.

 

The event began in angry fashion, with family members yelling at the group of political representatives and senior military officials to stand up when they were being introduced, rather than nodding while sitting down.

 

"We wanted to see you in the first 24 and 48 hours, so that we wouldn't have had to bear the suffering of the last 13 days," shouted one anguished relative, his voice quivering.

 

"The plane turned around, but you denied this, and because of this you have wasted so much time," he added, questioning why the military originally dismissed reports the plane had deviated from its original flight path before Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed it last weekend.

 

Chinese citizens make up 153 of those on board MH370 - two-thirds of the total - and the meeting took place at a hotel where their loved ones have been waiting for news.

 

Australia released satellite photos of possible debris in the southern Indian Ocean on Thursday, but officials stressed that the sighting was unconfirmed as relevant to MH370.

 

Many of the Chinese relatives continue to believe that the plane is intact and their loved ones are still alive, with some clinging to conspiracy theories that Kuala Lumpur has carried out a huge cover-up.

 

"No matter what the reasons [for the plane going missing], can the Malaysian government leave behind the hatred and their own interests in this, and let our loved ones return home?" one mother asked tearfully, as other relatives applauded.

 

She accused airline officials of not responding when she told them her son had tried to call his uncle three times from an overseas number two days after the plane went missing.

 

"This was obviously a call for help," the highly emotional woman said.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Chinese-relatives-turn-on-Malaysian-govt-officials-30229818.html