So WTH really happened to this Malaysian aircraft??

[ten ocho recon scout]

A hijacking makes little sense at this point. Hijacks are done to make a statement. Not to make something disappear.

agreed. Theres always the possibility it was piracy, its not unheard of in that area of the world. But stealing a plane and landing it would be extremely hard. 9/11 was a lot more simple than people think. They flew in the day, over land, towards an area with lots of landmarks for reference. At night over the ocean would be a lot harder.

[mp170.6]

It should be impossible to turn off tracker of a commercial airplane.

 

I believe just about everything electrical can be disabled at the circuit breaker in the event of a fire. There's so many communication systems on jets that it's hard to imagine they would go silent simultaneously without any hint of trouble.

 

Even something like the on-board entertainment system linked to a satellite should be spitting out data. 

[Don]

I think we can pretty much rule out this being an act of organized terrorism or a hijacking. There would have been a claim of responsibility if it were a terrorist attack, and there would have been demands and a landing if it were a hijacking. So, we've got a few possibilities:

1.) A crazy person (not part of a terrorist organization) blew up the plane mid-flight, perhaps over-doing it a bit by bringing enough explosives to take out an aircraft carrier.

2.) One of the pilots just put the stick down for whatever reason (depression, religion, schizophrenia, hallucinogens).

3.) Pilot disorientation leading to a crash. Perhaps a loss of instruments in the middle of the night over the ocean.

4.) Sudden breakup due to some sort of mechanical or structural issue.

5.) Some sort of slow, unnoticeable fatal issue, such as the gradual depressurization scenario described earlier.

6.) Some country's Air Force shot the plane down without realizing it was a passenger jet, and is a bit embarrassed.

The biggest problem we have now though is all of the conflicting location possibilities. At this point, we're all reasonably confident that this plane is somewhere in a triangle between Madagascar, the Eastern Himilayas, and Fiji.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Don Tomlinson

[Blarg]

So it was all a plot by Dish Network?

 

I believe just about everything electrical can be disabled at the circuit breaker in the event of a fire. There's so many communication systems on jets that it's hard to imagine they would go silent simultaneously without any hint of trouble.

 

Even something like the on-board entertainment system linked to a satellite should be spitting out data. 

[mp170.6]

So it was all a plot by Dish Network?

 

Perhaps

[mp170.6]

I think we can pretty much rule out this being an act of organized terrorism or a hijacking. There would have been a claim of responsibility if it were a terrorist attack, and there would have been demands and a landing if it were a hijacking. So, we've got a few possibilities:

1.) A crazy person (not part of a terrorist organization) blew up the plane mid-flight, perhaps over-doing it a bit by bringing enough explosives to take out an aircraft carrier.

2.) One of the pilots just put the stick down for whatever reason (depression, religion, schizophrenia, hallucinogens).

3.) Pilot disorientation leading to a crash. Perhaps a loss of instruments in the middle of the night over the ocean.

4.) Sudden breakup due to some sort of mechanical or structural issue.

5.) Some sort of slow, unnoticeable fatal issue, such as the gradual depressurization scenario described earlier.

6.) Some country's Air Force shot the plane down without realizing it was a passenger jet, and is a bit embarrassed.

The biggest problem we have now though is all of the conflicting location possibilities. At this point, we're all reasonably confident that this plane is somewhere in a triangle between Madagascar, the Eastern Himilayas, and Fiji.

 

Yes, those are all valid possibilities but any sign of debris is missing in the logical places.

 

Now they're saying the USA thinks it went down in the Indian Ocean.  If true, why didn't Singapore or Indonesia detect it on their radar? 

[notherhalo]

would terrorists make a claim on a failed operation?

[Tank]

electronic signals turned off intentionally.

 

i assume this plane landed at some remote military air strip.

[mp170.6]

electronic signals turned off intentionally.

 

i assume this plane landed at some remote military air strip.

 

Many of these are too short for a 777.  I would check them anyway to see if MH370 ran off the end.

[ten ocho recon scout]

would terrorists make a claim on a failed operation?

meh, thats a good point, but they could always say that was their intention anyway.

Unless (assuming this was a failed terrorist attack) they dont want to burn themselves and try it again.

I dont think it was....and I dont know a whole lot about malaysia....but indonesia is a freakin hotbed of muslim extremists. I would imagine malaysia wouldnt be too different.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Many of these are too short for a 777. I would check them anyway to see if MH370 ran off the end.

and thats the main problem with that scenario.

It would take an airfield not only large enough to give the plane a chance to come to a stop, but also heavy enough to support the weight of a large commercial jet. Then you have to factor in facilities to refuel it (and potentially repair it).

That would take a pretty first rate airport. And an airport like that would be tough to hide. And I dont think any govt would want to be associated with something like this.

Personally, I still think it crashed. People are expecting it to be found right away because they give our technologies too much credit (based on movies). If it went down over land, especially a deceloped country, no problem. But the ocean is huge. And with the delay in even knowing where to look causes huge problems.

Assuming its under water at this point, youre talking about a limited number of maritime patrol aircraft, flying back and forth in a grid pattern with their magnetic anomoly sensors (like hunting a sub). The US has top notch anti sub capabilities. For the sake of argument, lets say the rest of the countries involved in this do too. Well, we dont find subs by flying over the water with that MAD gear. We find them because theyre engines make noise. After that, we fly over with the MAD gear.

I assume it will be found....eventually. but it could be months from now, sadly.

[gotbeer]

7 days now.  Chinese are now saying that they recorded a "seafloor event" some 72 miles ne, about an hour and a half after the last contact with the plane was made.  They think it could have been the plane hitting the ocean since it's a nonseismic area.  

 

US is saying they got unidentified pings in the Indian ocean.  

 

I even hear the Martians are saying the Amazonians or Atlantians did it.

[mtangelsfan]

I still don't see how a hijacking makes any sense.  What do they gain from a plane from Malaysia to China?  Also, do terrorists really want to piss off the Chinese? 

 

Regardless, nobody took responsibility, no statement was made, seemingly nothing was gained.  I still think a failed attempt could somehow be used to make a point or statement.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I dont think it was....and I dont know a whole lot about malaysia....but indonesia is a freakin hotbed of muslim extremists. I would imagine malaysia wouldnt be too different.

 

About 65 percent of Malaysians practice Islam. 

[arch stanton]

Judging by where they now think it went I'm guessing it was headed for Myanmar and didn't make it. Someone planned an inside job and outsmarted himself right to the bottom of the ocean.

[Adam]

I think it has to have crashed. You'd think passengers would turn their electronic devices - phones and tablets on and they would be picked up that way. 

[eaterfan]

I bet the plane is just hiding in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. We'll find it in 8 years.

[gotbeer]

Latest possible CNN theory.  

 

Lithium Batteries might have exploded.  I blame Tesla now.  

[mp170.6]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a recovery operation prohibitive in many parts of the Indian Ocean because of its depth (20,000+ feet down)?

[Adam]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a recovery operation prohibitive in many parts of the Indian Ocean because of its depth (20,000+ feet down)?

 

I would have to have knowledge of the rules of recovery operations and the Indian Oceanography to correct you. 

[gotbeer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a recovery operation prohibitive in many parts of the Indian Ocean because of its depth (20,000+ feet down)?

 

If I remember right, the France plane that crashed was some 12k down.  The hard part apparently is finding the sucker.  

[RallyMo]

I would have to have knowledge of the rules of recovery operations and the Indian Oceanography to correct you.

Don't worry, Tank is having lunch with the foremost experts on this subject and will have everything under control shortly.

[Tank]

i'm having lunch sunday with some guys from the woods hole oceanographic institute. i'll see what they have to say and get back to you.

[DB24]

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Investigators have concluded that one or more people with significant flying experience hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, switched off communication devices and steered it off-course, a Malaysian government official involved in the investigation said Saturday.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysian-investigators-conclude-flight-hijacked-035744022.html

 

How long will it take before Hollywood makes this into a movie?

Edited March 15, 2014 by DB24

[Ray McKigney]

If the pilot wanted to commit suicide, was it really necessary for him to take 238 other people with him?