Missing Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 triggers Southeast Asia search

[JDGRUEN]

A 60 year old airstrip --- good enough condition to land on?

If one is speaking of a non maintained old military airstrip - then I doubt that any aircraft could safely land on it unless a large crew had been sent in earlier to clear obstacles and repair damage - which could become very extensive. I just visited my old Special Forces camp in North East Thailand in the Phu Phan mountains. There were two airstrips there ... one over 2000 feet and was usable 40 years ago. It was just laterite dirt originally when built back in the early 1940's and either used by the Free Thai movement or by the Japanese or both. Americans used it between 40 and 45 years ago. I know, I landed on in a C-123 back in the day. Today is difficult to see even when standing on it. It shows up using Google Earth but basically just a shadow. The other airstrip was built inside the camp. A road paving crew built it using high grade asphalt about 8 inches thick. This airstrip was about 1200 ft. and around 20 ft wide. Last month I stood on it and could barely find major parts of it. The only real usable parts were areas that had been marked and maintained for helicopter landings. Using Google Earth this airstrip looks to be very usable -- but not. Not without extensive renovation. So for any 10,000 ft. ocean island or jungle airstrip of old that has not been maintained or renovated ... Good luck landing a king sized airliner on it.

Edited March 17, 2014 by JDGRUEN

[coma]

If it was the pilot behind this it should be easy to log into his computer and flightsimulator at home to find the logs that will show where he tried to land the plane, maybe some remote islands in the Indian ocean ?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

The press conference which is airing live now stated that the flight simulator has been seized by police and is now being analysed by 'experts'.

It actually said it had been taken and reasembled by there experts and now was being tested.

WoW ! Splitting hairs a bit here aren't we ?

[coma]

NY Times reported the pilot's wife and kids moved out the day before the flight.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

This question was asked and quickly denied by members of yesterday's press conference in the pm.

[JXXXL]

I haven't seen anyone mention the possibility of an air marshal being on board. This person would have been armed and potentially had access to the cockpit. Had the pilot and or crew hijacked the flight, there could have been an altercation that brought down the plane. It would explain the wild changes in altitude.

[Carmine6]

I haven't seen anyone mention the possibility of an air marshal being on board. This person would have been armed and potentially had access to the cockpit. Had the pilot and or crew hijacked the flight, there could have been an altercation that brought down the plane. It would explain the wild changes in altitude.

Is there an international air marshal system? I know the US operates one, but would there be one on a Malaysian airliner flying to China?

[thailampang2012]

Sorry I do not remember the link, but there is a report on the Internet indicating that 20 Chinese passenger on the plane were working in a project for the Chinese military in connection with an American company, and also explaining theories about a US military conspiracy.

In the world we live now, everything is possible, even the killing of so many innocent people for military or political porpoises.....Unfortunately many very bad things are happening beyond common people imagination.....

http://illuminatirev...-patent-issues/

[webfact]

Malaysia leaves no stone unturned on MH370 probe
By Digital Content

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian authorities leave no stone unturned in their investigation of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370, which now enters its ninth day, since the aircraft disappeared on March 8.

The background checks of all the 239 MH370 passengers and crew, including the engineers, who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off, could help the police to establish a motive behind its disappearance.

It could probably shed some lights to the authority on where the plane might have gone after the plane diverted twice from its original route to Beijing, China.

Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said police had spoken to family members of the MH370 pilot, Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and experts were examining the pilot's flight simulator.

He said the police also searched the home of the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard vanished from the radar about an hour after leaving the KLIA at 12.41am on March 8. It was scheduled to arrive in Beijing, China at 6.30 am the same day.

The fate of the passengers is still unknown as the search and rescue (SAR) operations have yet to locate the missing aircraft.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Flight MH370 had deviated from its original path and flew in a westerly direction back over peninsular Malaysia before turning northwest.

The aircraft's last communication with the satellite was in one of two possible corridors - northern or southern.

Based on the flight projection, Malaysian authority believed the plane could have gone into one of the flight corridors which was a northern corridor stretching approximately from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

On the SAR, Hishammuddin said Malaysian officials were liaising with 15 countries along the northern and southern corridors for assistance in relation to the missing aircraft.

"Malaysian officials are currently discussing with all partners how best to deploy assets along the two corridors," he said. (BERNAMA)


-- TNA 2014-03-17

[webfact]

25 countries now involved in search for MH370



KUALA LUMPUR: -- The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is now in a deep and remote ocean and the number of countries involved has increased from 14 to 25, said Malaysia's Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Sunday.

Malaysia is asking US, China, France for satellite data in the hunt for the missing plane, Mr Hishammuddin said, as he said the search has become “even more difficult”.

“The number of countries involved in the search and rescue operation has increased from 14 to 25, which brings new challenges of coordination and diplomacy to the search effort,” he said at a daily press conference.

The search for the missing plane entered a dramatic new phase on Saturday after Prime Minister Najib Razak acknowledged for the first time that the plane was deliberately diverted, and that it could have gone as far north as Kazakhstan in Central Asia or southwards towards the Indian Ocean.

The revelation refocused attention on the background of the 239 passengers and crew, while sparking both outrage and relief among anxious family members in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.

The government said earlier on Sunday that police had searched the homes of the two pilots of the missing plane and were examining the captain’s home flight simulator, but cautioned it was “normal” procedure.

Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand have ended their search for MH370 in the South China Sea while India on Sunday suspended its search around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Bay of Bengal.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/25-countries-now-involved-search-mh370/


-- Thai PBS 2014-03-17

[webfact]

Australia to lead southern search for MH370: PM

SYDNEY - Australia will take responsibility for the "southern vector" of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, with 25 countries now involved in a huge operation to locate the plane, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Monday.

The Malaysian government has revealed an investigation indicates the jet was deliberately diverted and flew for several hours after leaving its scheduled flight path -- either north towards Central Asia, or towards the southern Indian Ocean.

Abbott, who earlier Monday told journalists he had no information that the flight may have come close to Australia, said he was responding to a request from Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

"He asked that Australia take responsibility for the search on the southern vector, which the Malaysian authorities now think was one possible flight path for this ill-fated aircraft," Abbott told parliament.

"I agreed that we would do so. I offered the Malaysian prime minister additional maritime surveillance resources which he gratefully accepted."

Abbott said the defence chiefs of Australia and Malaysia were discussing how to implement the arrangement.

AFP


-- The Nation 2014-03-17

[webfact]

Royal Thai Air Force denies detecting MH370 before it went missing



BANGKOK, 17 Mar 2014 -- The Royal Thai Air Force has denied that its radar detected the missing Malaysia Airline Flight MH 370 before it went missing, as claimed by Malaysia.

Air Force spokesperson Air Marshal Monton Sachikorn, made the announcement, reiterating that the 777-200ER Boeing jet showed up only once in the Air Force radar system when it left the airport in Kuala Lumpur on March 8th. The information has since been passed to the Malaysian officials, said the spokesperson.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak earlir made assumptions that the flight had either flown over the northern corridor, stretching from the northern part of Thailand toward the areas along the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan or over the southern corridor, ranging from Indonesia to the south of the Indian Ocean.

The Spokesperson stressed that the Royal Thai Air Force would have been able to pick up the aircraft signal if it had entered the nation’s territory and that the Aeronautic Radio Of Thailand (AEROTHAI) would also have informed the Air Force if any plane had been trespassing into Thailand' s airspace.


-- NNT 2014-03-17

[MK1]

The Malaysian Pm is the one who said anything is possible to such an extent that they even suggested in so far that MH370 could have been hijacked using a mobile-phone. http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/security-it/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-could-have-fallen-victim-to-worlds-first-cyberhijack-20140316-hvji3.html

Another crack pot also laid the blame directly on a 3 letter agency using AWACS to hijack the A/C because it’s the only thing on the planet with the capacity to do so. http://www.jimstonefreelance.com/

Therefore, if you believe the mobile-phone cyber hijacking theory which the media published; then you won’t rule out the Jim Stone theory neither, like the Malay Pm said " anything is possible now".

Edited March 17, 2014 by MK1

[Skipperau]

My son came up with a very plausible theory tonight.

Sometimes it takes a child with clear undisturbed vision to see what could have really happened.

He asked if anyone had checked the moon yet.

He should apply for a job at the Daily Mirror immediately. They're looking for people of that calibre.

Noooo, he is obviously overqualified to be a reporter, he is exhibiting rational thought. :-)

Seriously though, the mention of the Mirror reminded me that they mentioned that an Al-Quaeda operative had reported last week that a plot to hijack a plane was being planned by a group of Malay nationals, more disinformation taking advantage of the situation or is it true I wonder, I tend to lean towards disinformation but noting is impossible at the moment.

[sunshine51]

Here's a couple links with info as of today on MH370...some seen a bit far fetched...however with nothing positive still known,

save for a possible hijacking....we're all still in the dark.

http://mobile.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/search-for-missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-enters-its-10th-day-with-no-sign-of-plane/story-fnizu68q-1226856429922

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100263838/could-a-four-year-old-thriller-hold-the-key-to-unlocking-the-mystery-of-malaysian-airlines-flight-370/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581817/Doomed-airliner-pilot-political-fanatic-Hours-taking-control-flight-MH370-attended-trial-jailed-opposition-leader-sodomite.html

http://mobile.news.com.au/world/malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-expands-after-plane-diverted-by-deliberate-action-amid-hijack-fears/story-fndir2ev-1226855986042

And this from yesterday...

http://news.sky.com/story/1226767/missing-plane-may-have-sent-signals-on-ground

At 1300 I heard on Radio Australia, a news feature about MH370, where this person knowledgable

about aircraft investigations stated that the investigation of MH370's disappearance is the most

botched investigation in modern aviation history....or words to that effect. If interested you could

go to RA's website & see if there's a podcast available for download. I'd do it meself but we in

the foreign press corps covering this fiasco in KL reckon the government has slowed down

internet connections to a creep.

Edited March 17, 2014 by sunshine51

[Showbags]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I would say wait until their is some credible evidence, other than speculation, before disparaging the 370 pilots.

I do know pilots , and in fact am one. I am not disparaging anyone. I had simply said early on

in this thread that the pilots were an obvious object of concern, and that the house of the chief

pilot should have been searched. And specifically go through sim scenarios on his computer

and see if there were any clues there. Indeed, that is what Malaysia did a few days later. The

very last thing that Malaysia Air wants to admit is that rogue pilots are involved somehow in

this hijacking. Yet that is what they have in essence admitted. So will certainly be interesting to

see what evidence drew them to that conclusion....

My brother owned and operated a small airline in rural Alaska. He ended up with about 30,000 hours

of bush time, which is not easy to do and keep alive. He likened flying to operating a bus with wings,

cannot imagine him spending one second on a simulator. Maybe the big boys are different.....

Sims cheaper to operate than the real thing when it comes to the big ones....so no choice really in building experience and knowledge.

[nottocus]

It's obvious that an alien tractor beam took them up to the mother ship.

[3NUMBAS]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqFi8FCbkAQSQ63qyNo_W_nC1f7Q?docId=59a581d8-c814-4a34-9ab1-574f8d0615ef

pilots under scrutiny ^

[Basil B]

I would say wait until their is some credible evidence, other than speculation, before disparaging the 370 pilots.

I do know pilots , and in fact am one. I am not disparaging anyone. I had simply said early on

in this thread that the pilots were an obvious object of concern, and that the house of the chief

pilot should have been searched. And specifically go through sim scenarios on his computer

and see if there were any clues there. Indeed, that is what Malaysia did a few days later. The

very last thing that Malaysia Air wants to admit is that rogue pilots are involved somehow in

this hijacking. Yet that is what they have in essence admitted. So will certainly be interesting to

see what evidence drew them to that conclusion....

My brother owned and operated a small airline in rural Alaska. He ended up with about 30,000 hours

of bush time, which is not easy to do and keep alive. He likened flying to operating a bus with wings,

cannot imagine him spending one second on a simulator. Maybe the big boys are different.....

There are pilots,

and then there are pilots...

30,000, he must have been flying every day, but then there is a bit of a difference between a WWII era Dakota and state of the the art fly by wire 777.

I had a work colleague who's farther was 777 bus driver, a senior captain who flew long haul, as I recall he was restored to fly about 4 times a month.

Given that the only time pilots tend to get into a pro Flight Simulator is for an assessment witch is not normal flying but high stress problem after problem, I would not be surprised a high flying pilots looking for to impress would have their own FS even if it was more mock up than reality.

Not only that he may have been assessing the FS software for bugs and reality for the software developers, or offering extra training for other pilots with up coming FS assessment.

[coma]

Australia to lead southern search for MH370: PM

Finally some potential professionalism.

[harrry]

He is a SImulator Examiner so may have used it to revise scenarios he tested on. Also as a pilot he probably uses the computer more on the plane to fly and uses the simulator to do what he wants to do and fly the damn thing.

[Chicog]

Once the Daily Mail get hold of this picture, he will become a "knife-wielding fanatic".

Edited March 17, 2014 by Chicog

[bkkjames]

Once the Daily Mail get hold of this picture, he will become a "knife-wielding fanatic".

i assume that's beef?

[Hulkster]

I said a week ago it was a hijacking either by crew or passengers and was laughed at as being a conspiracy theorist despite it being the only theory that made sense.

Maybe the pilot just snapped with his wife and child leaving him. When the co-pilot went to the toilet he locked the door in a moment of madness. Sometimes people drive into oncoming traffic. He locked the door, then maybe panicked, changed his mind, but didn't know what to do because he'd almost certainly be arrested and jailed for having locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit.

Now he's thinking, the wife and child has left, his job is his life and he's going to lose that for locking his co-pilot out, and he'll probably be arrested and jailed. Then he panics some more turning the communication equipment off, etc. He's in such a panic he's reverting to some child like state where he thinks if they can't see me I can't get into trouble. Who knows.

There's that, or a hijacker or multiple hijackers managed to enter the cockpit, lock the door, threatened the pilot with weapon (we can all attest to having got scissors or something past airport screening), and forced him to turn off one by one the transponder and other communication devices. The "all right good night" message where he breaks protocol was maybe the pilot trying to tell air traffic that he's not following protocol because he's under duress (ie. an Islamist hijacker has a knife to his throat).

They're saying the plane is off the west coast of Australia. Maybe the hijacker wanted to fly the plane to Perth and commit a 9/11 style attack. When it became apparent to the pilot that it was a suicide mission he deliberately took the plane off course into the Indian Ocean. The Islamist hijacker was lost flying in the expanse of the Indian Ocean, the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in the water.

[pattayamick]

Cant help but think.. If ground crew is somehow involved, maybe some unknown persons were smuggled on board and hiding before departure??

[EyesWideOpen]

"The "all right good night" message where he breaks protocol was maybe the pilot trying to tell air traffic that he's not following protocol because he's under duress (ie. an Islamist hijacker has a knife to his throat)."

There is a secret word pilots use in radio transmissions to indicate they have been hijacked. I cannot say what it is, but can tell

you that " all right good night" is not it....

[BKKBrit]

I said a week ago it was a hijacking either by crew or passengers and was laughed at as being a conspiracy theorist despite it being the only theory that made sense.

Maybe the pilot just snapped with his wife and child leaving him. When the co-pilot went to the toilet he locked the door in a moment of madness. Sometimes people drive into oncoming traffic. He locked the door, then maybe panicked, changed his mind, but didn't know what to do because he'd almost certainly be arrested and jailed for having locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit.

Now he's thinking, the wife and child has left, his job is his life and he's going to lose that for locking his co-pilot out, and he'll probably be arrested and jailed. Then he panics some more turning the communication equipment off, etc. He's in such a panic he's reverting to some child like state where he thinks if they can't see me I can't get into trouble. Who knows.

There's that, or a hijacker or multiple hijackers managed to enter the cockpit, lock the door, threatened the pilot with weapon (we can all attest to having got scissors or something past airport screening), and forced him to turn off one by one the transponder and other communication devices. The "all right good night" message where he breaks protocol was maybe the pilot trying to tell air traffic that he's not following protocol because he's under duress (ie. an Islamist hijacker has a knife to his throat).

They're saying the plane is off the west coast of Australia. Maybe the hijacker wanted to fly the plane to Perth and commit a 9/11 style attack. When it became apparent to the pilot that it was a suicide mission he deliberately took the plane off course into the Indian Ocean. The Islamist hijacker was lost flying in the expanse of the Indian Ocean, the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in the water.

He did not break protocol by saying 'Alright; good night'. You think they all speak as they do in the movies, with 'Roger this' and 'roger that?' Jeesh.

[Cobragold]

Earlier it was reported that there was 2 navy seals on board the aircraft. Is there any possibility that they may be involved as they would be trained to do a lot of things and flying could be one of them. It won't be difficult for them to over power the civilian and take over the plane. It was never fully stated why they were on board. Could they be another angle to look at.

[chotthee]

Once the Daily Mail get hold of this picture, he will become a "knife-wielding fanatic".

i assume that's beef?

Looks like human brain to me.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies have been deleted. Also posts violating fair use policy. Please only quote the first 3 sentences of a news article and then post a link to the article.

[pmugghc]

"The "all right good night" message where he breaks protocol was maybe the pilot trying to tell air traffic that he's not following protocol because he's under duress (ie. an Islamist hijacker has a knife to his throat)."

There is a secret word pilots use in radio transmissions to indicate they have been hijacked. I cannot say what it is, but can tell

you that " all right good night" is not it....

It was the co-pilot who said it according to the latest press conf.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[goatfarmer]

Perhaps I've missed something, but what is the message in the Daily Mail article about the pilot's political loyalties?

If it is true (I know it was the Daily Mail, but stranger things have happened..) they seem to be suggesting that he may have taken the plane as a revenge for Anwar Ibrahim's conviction. OK, but what did he hope to achieve with this?

Unless there is some message to the world, the action of the hijack is empty, it just leaves us guessing. And if the pilot crashed the plane in revenge or suicide, why deviate from the planned course?

Even if the idea was to negotiate for Ibrahim's release, using the plane and hostages as bargaining chips, there was no need to fly back across Malaysia towards the west.

Also, why wait for so long before dumping the plane? If you're on a suicide mission, flying around for 7 hours doesn't really add much to your cause does it?

I'm thinking that those hours of prolonged flight were for a reason. Some bargaining was going on, possibly the political asylum or freedom of Ibrahim. When it didn't work out, the pilot stuck to his word...

That would also explain why it took so long for any news to come out. A failed negotiation which could have saved over 200 lives is not something anyone would want to explain. Ever.

I doubt this motive. It would not help Ibrahim's cause to be released by duress.