Missing Malaysian Airliner thread

[cabiness42]

If this was a heist, then there was something valuable on that plane besides the people.

 

No matter what, this is some crazy stuff. Poof, gone.

 

Not necessarily. Could just be some deranged genius wanting to become infamous.

 

It still baffles me that a country as developed as Malaysia is so bad at dealing with airline security.

[Kyyle23]

Not necessarily. Could just be some deranged genius wanting to become infamous. It still baffles me that a country as developed as Malaysia is so bad at dealing with airline security.

 

Dont you think by now we would have heard about this genius though? That is why they have pretty much ruled out terrorism, nobody is claiming anything, no demands.

 

The amount of information that is coming out and being refuted back and forth is just mind boggling.

[cabiness42]

Dont you think by now we would have heard about this genius though? That is why they have pretty much ruled out terrorism, nobody is claiming anything, no demands.

 

The amount of information that is coming out and being refuted back and forth is just mind boggling.

 

Maybe his plan is to keep the plane hidden as long as possible. In his mind, he "wins" if he isn't found for 10 days or whatever. Clearly, if the plane is intact, this isn't the normal hijacker making demands type of situation. This guy is just getting off on avoiding detection.

 

 

[Brian]

I know a pilot at the gym and was asking him how a plane can disappear. Said it's not hard to drop off the radar if a pilot wanted yo. Said it's possible the plane could be intact and being fixed up for something like being a weapon but he was just speculating saying it's a possibility.

[Balta1701]

As with anything else reported on this, who knows, but worth noting.

Two U.S. officials tell ABC News the U.S. believes that the shutdown of two communication systems happened separately on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. One source said this indicates the plane did not come out of the sky because of a catastrophic failure.

 

The data reporting system, they believe, was shut down at 1:07 a.m. The transponder -- which transmits location and altitude -- shut down at 1:21 a.m.

 

This indicates it may well have been a deliberate act, ABC News aviation consultant John Nance said.

 

U.S. investigators told ABC News that the two modes of communication were "systematically shut down."

 

That means the U.S. team "is convinced that there was manual intervention," a source said, which means it was likely not an accident or catastrophic malfunction that took the plane out of the sky.

[cabiness42]

I know a pilot at the gym and was asking him how a plane can disappear. Said it's not hard to drop off the radar if a pilot wanted yo. Said it's possible the plane could be intact and being fixed up for something like being a weapon but he was just speculating saying it's a possibility.

 

It seems like airlines and/or governments would have a vested interest in making it very difficult, if not impossible, for a pilot/hijacker to deliberately shut off communications.

[StrangeSox]

Pilots can shut off equipment as necessary because it might be malfunctioning, causing a fire, etc.

 

Planes can still always be picked up on primary radar (classic, military-style radar that sends out high-energy radio waves and looks for reflections) because its a passive response, and nobody has ever tried to hijack a large jet liner in order to make it vanish. They're typically trying to get to a specific country or, in the case of 9/11, use them as a weapon.

[southsider2k5]

Dont you think by now we would have heard about this genius though? That is why they have pretty much ruled out terrorism, nobody is claiming anything, no demands.

 

The amount of information that is coming out and being refuted back and forth is just mind boggling.

 

Gru.

[Kyyle23]

Gru.

 

 

I will steal.......THE MOON!!!!!!

[SoxAce]

Artificial. Intelligence. *lifts eyebrows*

[NorthSideSox72]

Thing about this stolen plane theory is... where it was headed, in that direction, there are only so many places to land. Andaman Islands have only 4 airports, and the Indian Military has a heavy presence, so it seems impossible a giant plan could land there without them knowing.

 

So, going that general direction, where else is there within the range of that plane as-fueled that it could land?

 

I'll throw out one theory - Sri Lanka. Semi-lawless parts of that area, militant groups, little central control, and a big enough island that it has lots of airstrips. Might be able to land a plane there without the Indian military being aware.

 

But I still think there is a 99% chance it is sitting in the Indian Ocean somewhere, what's left of it.

 

[southsider2k5]

Thing about this stolen plane theory is... where it was headed, in that direction, there are only so many places to land. Andaman Islands have only 4 airports, and the Indian Military has a heavy presence, so it seems impossible a giant plan could land there without them knowing.

 

So, going that general direction, where else is there within the range of that plane as-fueled that it could land?

 

I'll throw out one theory - Sri Lanka. Semi-lawless parts of that area, militant groups, little central control, and a big enough island that it has lots of airstrips. Might be able to land a plane there without the Indian military being aware.

 

But I still think there is a 99% chance it is sitting in the Indian Ocean somewhere, what's left of it.

 

There is a lot of land in that cone of uncertainty that belongs to terror organizations, such as the Tamil Tigers and Al Qaeda.

[StrangeSox]

There is a lot of land in that cone of uncertainty that belongs to terror organizations, such as the Tamil Tigers and Al Qaeda.

 

The Tamil Tigers were basically wiped out a few years ago.

[StrangeSox]

From this French aviation site, plotting the course of the plane based on the latest info

 

 

 

[Jenksismyhero]

Maybe hijacked and then it crashed.

[bmags]

The Tamil Tigers were basically wiped out a few years ago.

yep.

[Balta1701]

Thing about this stolen plane theory is... where it was headed, in that direction, there are only so many places to land. Andaman Islands have only 4 airports, and the Indian Military has a heavy presence, so it seems impossible a giant plan could land there without them knowing.

 

So, going that general direction, where else is there within the range of that plane as-fueled that it could land?

 

I'll throw out one theory - Sri Lanka. Semi-lawless parts of that area, militant groups, little central control, and a big enough island that it has lots of airstrips. Might be able to land a plane there without the Indian military being aware.

 

But I still think there is a 99% chance it is sitting in the Indian Ocean somewhere, what's left of it.

Hiding >200 people and a plane somewhere near an airport with a runway capable of handling a 777 would be really tough.

[LittleHurt05]

If the plane was stolen and someone was planning on flying it again, how easy is it to procure thousands of gallons of gas on the black market?

[Balta1701]

If the plane was stolen and someone was planning on flying it again, how easy is it to procure thousands of gallons of gas on the black market?

I think that hiding it from radars worldwide would be much more troublesome (again, only large airports could handle a 777 coming in).

[RockRaines]

A 777 would be one of the last planes you would want to steal. HUGE, hard to hide.

[LittleHurt05]

I think that hiding it from radars worldwide would be much more troublesome (again, only large airports could handle a 777 coming in).

 

I agree. Now had there been enough fuel to make it to the African desert or Somalia, then maybe I would find it a bit more feasible.

 

The fuel thing was just a side thought I had about what such a crazy plot would entail.

[ptatc]

If the plane was stolen and someone was planning on flying it again, how easy is it to procure thousands of gallons of gas on the black market?

You can buy avgas at any airport. You wouldn't need the blackmarket. As was said though it's the radar of countries that would be to evade. Unidentified signals on radar make the military vary nervous.

[cabiness42]

You can buy avgas at any airport. You wouldn't need the blackmarket. As was said though it's the radar of countries that would be to evade. Unidentified signals on radar make the military vary nervous.

 

Well, every military except Malaysia's, apparently.

[NorthSideSox72]

Yeah, finding some Jet-A is easy. Landing that monster at an airport within range with no one noticing, that would be awfully tough.

 

[Balta1701]

Well, every military except Malaysia's, apparently.

Alarms didn't go off in the U.S. when planes started turning off their transponders until those planes started running into buildings. (to first order).