Malaysia Airlines loses contact with passenger jet

JV130312

A passenger flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing is missing and would likely have run out of fuel, Malaysia Airlines said Saturday.

"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji said on CNN's "AC360."

Subang Air Traffic Control lost contact with Flight MH370 at about 2:40 a.m. local time (1:40 p.m. ET Friday), Sharuji said.

"We tried to call this aircraft through various means," he said.

The Boeing 777-200 departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12:41 a.m. and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m., a 2,300-mile (3,700 kilometer) trip. It was carrying 227 passengers, two of them infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said.

At the time of its disappearance, the plane was carrying about 7.5 hours of fuel, Sharuji said.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," the statement said. The public can call +603 7884 1234 for further information.

Efforts to contact the plane were fruitless.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane-missing/index.html

Thirty Bills Unpaid

If the worst has occurred, this is awful.

The thoughts of going down cross my mind every time we fly. Scary thoughts.

brianlux

It doesn't look good:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/08/us-malaysiaairlines-flight-idUSBREA2701720140308

Bronx Bombers

(CNN) -- As mystery surrounds the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370, which was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing early Saturday, CNN's aviation expert Richard Quest said the airliner would have been at the safest point in the flight.

"It was two hours into the flight -- this would have been classed as the 'cruise portion of the flight,'" he said. "You break down the flight into taxi, take-off, climb out and then cruise.

"So in that particular point of the flight, this is the safest part, nothing is supposed to go wrong. The aircraft is at altitude on auto-pilot, the pilots are making minor corrections and changes for height as the plane burns off fuel -- the plane will be going higher and higher -- so this is extremely serious that something happened at this point in the flight."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/travel/malaysia-airliner-analysis/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

The weather was supposedly good so you have to wonder if this is something more especially considering the recent terrorist attacks.

mj61

Oceanic 815, eh?

Byrnzie

Two of the passports used were confirmed as having been stolen a couple of years ago.

Planes don't lose radio communication at 35,000 ft unless they've been blown out of the sky.

This has all the markings of a terrorist attack. I'm just surprised no group has come forward yet to claim responsibility. It could well be linked to the Xinjiang region in the West of China, where the Chinese are doing to them what they've been doing to the Tibetans all these years: squeezing them hard, and trying to destroy their culture. The difference being that the Uighurs (native Muslim people's of Xinjiang) will not just roll over and accept getting fucked by the Chinese. It's not in their nature, or their history.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Byrnzie said:

Two of the passports used were confirmed as having been stolen a couple of years ago.

Planes don't lose radio communication at 35,000 ft unless they've been blown out of the sky.

This has all the markings of a terrorist attack. I'm just surprised no group has come forward yet to claim responsibility. It could well be linked to the Xinjiang region in the West of China, where the Chinese are doing to them what they've been doing to the Tibetans all these years: squeezing them hard, and trying to destroy their culture. The difference being that the Uighurs (native Muslim people's of Xinjiang) will not just roll over and accept getting fucked by the Chinese. It's not in their nature, or their history.

The stolen passport information is interesting. I'm curious to know why stolen passports weren't flagged before boarding? I would have though this would be within the spectrum of possibilities. How explosives could board a plane is another matter.

Although not confirmed... I tend to side with you here, Byrnzie. The portion of the flight they were on is the safest and when you account for the sudden stop communication without any indication something was wrong and the lengthy experience the pilot had... it begins to look really suspicious.

Fak.

Byrnzie

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Byrnzie said:

Two of the passports used were confirmed as having been stolen a couple of years ago.

Planes don't lose radio communication at 35,000 ft unless they've been blown out of the sky.

This has all the markings of a terrorist attack. I'm just surprised no group has come forward yet to claim responsibility. It could well be linked to the Xinjiang region in the West of China, where the Chinese are doing to them what they've been doing to the Tibetans all these years: squeezing them hard, and trying to destroy their culture. The difference being that the Uighurs (native Muslim people's of Xinjiang) will not just roll over and accept getting fucked by the Chinese. It's not in their nature, or their history.

The stolen passport information is interesting. I'm curious to know why stolen passports weren't flagged before boarding? I would have though this would be within the spectrum of possibilities. How explosives could board a plane is another matter.

Although not confirmed... I tend to side with you here, Byrnzie. The portion of the flight they were on is the safest and when you account for the sudden stop communication without any indication something was wrong and the lengthy experience the pilot had... it begins to look really suspicious.

Fak.

The plot thickens. The two with stolen passports bought their tickets together, but they also had tickets for an onward journey from Beijing to Amsterdam, scheduled to leave Beijing at midday yesterday.

mickeyrat

Byrnzie said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Byrnzie said:

Two of the passports used were confirmed as having been stolen a couple of years ago.

Planes don't lose radio communication at 35,000 ft unless they've been blown out of the sky.

This has all the markings of a terrorist attack. I'm just surprised no group has come forward yet to claim responsibility. It could well be linked to the Xinjiang region in the West of China, where the Chinese are doing to them what they've been doing to the Tibetans all these years: squeezing them hard, and trying to destroy their culture. The difference being that the Uighurs (native Muslim people's of Xinjiang) will not just roll over and accept getting fucked by the Chinese. It's not in their nature, or their history.

The stolen passport information is interesting. I'm curious to know why stolen passports weren't flagged before boarding? I would have though this would be within the spectrum of possibilities. How explosives could board a plane is another matter.

Although not confirmed... I tend to side with you here, Byrnzie. The portion of the flight they were on is the safest and when you account for the sudden stop communication without any indication something was wrong and the lengthy experience the pilot had... it begins to look really suspicious.

Fak.

The plot thickens. The two with stolen passports bought their tickets together, but they also had tickets for an onward journey from Beijing to Amsterdam, scheduled to leave Beijing at midday yesterday.

pure speculation but maybe they learned from AQ's seeming mistake in buying one way tix.

Major failing on interpols part or whatever aggancy had at least one passport flagged but more to the point the gate person tasked with running these. Was that even done or was it a move along kind of thing?


Way to little factual info to go on right now. What is out , raises all sorts of questions.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

mickeyrat said:

Byrnzie said:

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

Byrnzie said:

Two of the passports used were confirmed as having been stolen a couple of years ago.

Planes don't lose radio communication at 35,000 ft unless they've been blown out of the sky.

This has all the markings of a terrorist attack. I'm just surprised no group has come forward yet to claim responsibility. It could well be linked to the Xinjiang region in the West of China, where the Chinese are doing to them what they've been doing to the Tibetans all these years: squeezing them hard, and trying to destroy their culture. The difference being that the Uighurs (native Muslim people's of Xinjiang) will not just roll over and accept getting fucked by the Chinese. It's not in their nature, or their history.

The stolen passport information is interesting. I'm curious to know why stolen passports weren't flagged before boarding? I would have though this would be within the spectrum of possibilities. How explosives could board a plane is another matter.

Although not confirmed... I tend to side with you here, Byrnzie. The portion of the flight they were on is the safest and when you account for the sudden stop communication without any indication something was wrong and the lengthy experience the pilot had... it begins to look really suspicious.

Fak.

The plot thickens. The two with stolen passports bought their tickets together, but they also had tickets for an onward journey from Beijing to Amsterdam, scheduled to leave Beijing at midday yesterday.

pure speculation but maybe they learned from AQ's seeming mistake in buying one way tix.

Major failing on interpols part or whatever aggancy had at least one passport flagged but more to the point the gate person tasked with running these. Was that even done or was it a move along kind of thing?


Way to little factual info to go on right now. What is out , raises all sorts of questions.

Sure makes you think...

I'm not a conspiracist by any stretch, but the core of such an investigation can really disseminate any information they want and we would be powerless to refute it- accepting it with blind faith. We could be sold anything with so little to go on for this event.

Knowing how it has been shown that we have been misled by government or corporate purpose from the truth so many times in the past... it's scary to think how vulnerable we ultimately are to treachery and deceit when trying to understand the tragedies we encounter.

lukin2006

I find it odd that with all the aircraft and vessels searching ... other than an oil slick, no signs of debris.

gimmesometruth27

yeah this is pretty crazy.

something happened so fast that the pilots could not even send a mayday message.

i am wondering if it broke apart in flight. but wouldn't somebody have seen something and wouldn't things like the seats be floating in the ocean?

i just don't see this one being solved for quite awhile.

i am pretty sad for the families.

polaris_x

they are saying the oil slick doesn't have anything to do with the plane ...

is it possible that the plane was hijacked; radar disabled and has already landed somewhere?

gimmesometruth27

it is possible the transponder was turned off. that would make it invisible to radar.

brianlux

Here's an excerpt from article that gives the possible cause of the loss. Seems like the ones listed toward the bottom are most likely:

http://news.yahoo.com/why-malaysia-airlines-jet-might-disappeared-213133681.html

Why Malaysia Airlines jet might have disappeared

— A CATASTROPHIC STRUCTURAL FAILURE. Most aircraft are made of aluminum which is susceptible to corrosion over time, especially in areas of high humidity. But given the plane's long history and impressive safety record, experts suggest that a failure of the airframe, or the plane's Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines, is unlikely.

More of a threat to the plane's integrity is the constant pressurization and depressurization of the cabin for takeoff and landing. In April 2011, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff from Phoenix after the plane's fuselage ruptured, causing a 5-foot (1.5-meter) tear. The plane, with 118 people on board, landed safely. But such a rupture is less likely in this case. Airlines fly the 777 on longer distances, with many fewer takeoffs and landings, putting less stress on the airframe.

"It's not like this was Southwest Airlines doing 10 flights a day," Hamilton said. "There's nothing to suggest there would be any fatigue issues."

— BAD WEATHER. Planes are designed to fly through most severe storms. However, in June 2009, an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed during a bad storm over the Atlantic Ocean. Ice built up on the Airbus A330's airspeed indicators, giving false readings. That, and bad decisions by the pilots, led the plane into a stall causing it to plummet into the sea. All 228 passengers and crew aboard died. The pilots never radioed for help.

In the case of Saturday's Malaysia Airlines flight, all indications show that there were clear skies.

— PILOT DISORIENTATION. Curtis said that the pilots could have taken the plane off autopilot and somehow went off course and didn't realize it until it was too late. The plane could have flown for another five or six hours from its point of last contact, putting it up to 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) away. This is unlikely given that the plane probably would have been picked up by radar somewhere. But it's too early to eliminate it as a possibility.

— FAILURE OF BOTH ENGINES. In January 2008, a British Airways 777 crashed about 1,000 feet (300 meters) short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport. As the plane was coming in to land, the engines lost thrust because of ice buildup in the fuel system. There were no fatalities.

Loss of both engines is possible in this case, but Hamilton said the plane could glide for up to 20 minutes, giving pilots plenty of time to make an emergency call. When a US Airways A320 lost both of its engines in January 2009 after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York it was at a much lower elevation. But Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger still had plenty of communications with air traffic controllers before ending the six-minute flight in the Hudson River.

— A BOMB. Several planes have been brought down including Pan Am Flight 103 between London and New York in December 1988. There was also an Air India flight in June 1985 between Montreal and London and a plane in September 1989 flown by French airline Union des Transports Aériens which blew up over the Sahara.

— HIJACKING. A traditional hijacking seems unlikely given that a plane's captors typically land at an airport and have some type of demand. But a 9/11-like hijacking is possible, with terrorists forcing the plane into the ocean.

— PILOT SUICIDE. There were two large jet crashes in the late 1990s — a SilkAir flight and an EgyptAir flight— that are believed to have been caused by pilots deliberately crashing the planes. Government crash investigators never formally declared the crashes suicides but both are widely acknowledged by crash experts to have been caused by deliberate pilot actions.

— ACCIDENTAL SHOOT-DOWN. There have been incidents when a country's military unintentionally shot down civilian aircraft. In July 1988, the United States Navy missile cruiser USS Vincennes accidently shot down an Iran Air flight, killing all 290 passengers and crew. In September 1983, a Korean Air Lines flight was shot down by a Russian fighter jet.

Jason P

The Langoliers maybe?

norm

how long before foxnews claims that this was obama's fault?

polaris_x

you would think with all the vessels looking for this plane that if it did crash ... they would hear the beacon or that there would be at least some wreckage somewhere ...

brianlux

Seems I read somewhere that finding wreckage in the ocean is way harder than finding a needle in a hay stack. It's such a vast expanse.

gimmesometruth27

wouldn't somebody have seen something if there was an explosion? would there be any visible debris that the crew of any ship in the area might have seen falling to earth?

rival.

let's say the plane exploded at 35,000 feet. that is a lot of debris that would get sprinkled over a very large radius of an area after it finally fluttered down to sea level. obviously some of the debris would be heavy enough to sink, but some of it would also be light enough to float. you figure after a couple days of combing this radius (they have an general idea of where the plane lost communication, right?) they would have found SOMETHING.

bizarre. makes me lean towards:

PILOT SUICIDE. There were two large jet crashes in the late 1990s — a SilkAir flight and an EgyptAir flight— that are believed to have been caused by pilots deliberately crashing the planes. Government crash investigators never formally declared the crashes suicides but both are widely acknowledged by crash experts to have been caused by deliberate pilot actions.

turned off all communications, devices and did a nose dive right into the water.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

rival. said:

let's say the plane exploded at 35,000 feet. that is a lot of debris that would get sprinkled over a very large radius of an area after it finally fluttered down to sea level. obviously some of the debris would be heavy enough to sink, but some of it would also be light enough to float. you figure after a couple days of combing this radius (they have an general idea of where the plane lost communication, right?) they would have found SOMETHING.

bizarre. makes me lean towards:

PILOT SUICIDE. There were two large jet crashes in the late 1990s — a SilkAir flight and an EgyptAir flight— that are believed to have been caused by pilots deliberately crashing the planes. Government crash investigators never formally declared the crashes suicides but both are widely acknowledged by crash experts to have been caused by deliberate pilot actions.

turned off all communications, devices and did a nose dive right into the water.

Pilot suicide makes me hope there's a Hell.

Bronx Bombers

I'd' be surprised if this was pilot suicide, the stolen passports point to terrorism especially considering the country of origin and the recent terror attacks in china.

gimmesometruth27

this is very interesting. all we know is that we don't know at this point.

Bronx Bombers

As for the missing passports and the connecting flights

Beijing has a policy whereby some passengers in transit to third countries can stay in the Chinese capital for 72 hours without a visa, so the two men may have not needed to apply for a Chinese visa if they had tickets to another destination.

brianlux

Strange as it may sound, we may never know what happened.

rival.

just read a terrifying scenario (not that any of the ones already mentioned aren't terrifying)...

the plane experienced catastrophic mechanical failure, made an emergency landing similar to the "miracle on the hudson" landing, the mechanical failure also caused complete loss of communications, unable to send out an SOS the plane just eventually sank whole explaining the lack of debris.

the thought of being stranded out in the middle of the ocean with 250 people on a sinking plane makes me dizzy. scary scary stuff
.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

rival. said:

just read a terrifying scenario (not that any of the ones already mentioned aren't terrifying)...

the plane experienced catastrophic mechanical failure, made an emergency landing similar to the "miracle on the hudson" landing, the mechanical failure also caused complete loss of communications, unable to send out an SOS the plane just eventually sank whole explaining the lack of debris.

the thought of being stranded out in the middle of the ocean with 250 people on a sinking plane makes me dizzy. scary scary stuff
.

So does the thought of high speed plummeting to the sea. Looking at your loved ones and knowing this is it. Any scenario is bleak to put it lightly. Just awful. I'm flying in four days. Guess what I'll be entertaining more times than normal? Might have to medicate myself.

Bronx Bombers

rival. said:

just read a terrifying scenario (not that any of the ones already mentioned aren't terrifying)...

the plane experienced catastrophic mechanical failure, made an emergency landing similar to the "miracle on the hudson" landing, the mechanical failure also caused complete loss of communications, unable to send out an SOS the plane just eventually sank whole explaining the lack of debris.

the thought of being stranded out in the middle of the ocean with 250 people on a sinking plane makes me dizzy. scary scary stuff
.

Highly unlikely

Back-up power

Greg Feith, a former investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States, suggested the pilots should have been able to report in, even if power on the aircraft had failed.

"The airplane by certification has to have battery back-up power -- they still have to be able to utilize certain flight instruments and communication tools to complete the flight safely.

"So you could lose all the generators, you could have both engines out, but the battery back-up -- which will only work for a certain time -- is intended for emergency situations."

Asked whether it was likely the airliner could have made an emergency landing, Quest said it was possible but unlikely.

"You're not talking about a Cessna here. You're talking about a long-haul, wide-bodied aircraft and that puts it into a completely different league."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/travel/malaysia-airliner-analysis/

callen

Thirty Bills Unpaid said:

rival. said:

just read a terrifying scenario (not that any of the ones already mentioned aren't terrifying)...

the plane experienced catastrophic mechanical failure, made an emergency landing similar to the "miracle on the hudson" landing, the mechanical failure also caused complete loss of communications, unable to send out an SOS the plane just eventually sank whole explaining the lack of debris.

the thought of being stranded out in the middle of the ocean with 250 people on a sinking plane makes me dizzy. scary scary stuff
.

So does the thought of high speed plummeting to the sea. Looking at your loved ones and knowing this is it. Any scenario is bleak to put it lightly. Just awful. I'm flying in four days. Guess what I'll be entertaining more times than normal? Might have to medicate myself.

Just think about how much safer flying is to driving car.

Godfather.

Ok, so I've been keeping up with the Malaysia Airlines aircraft that vanished three days ago, it was lost in the area of the Dragons triangle, very similar to the Bermuda triangle, I'm curious as to why no one has brought this up. The Dragon's and Bermuda Triangles align point to point through the center of the Earth, with the same latitude and longitude. Both are located at the eastern end of large continental masses, where the sea's currents are colliding with warm and cold water, over volcanic areas. Deep trenches are another commonality, with the triangle in the Pacific Ocean featuring the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point in all the seas. The Dragon's Triangle in particular, reports an ever-changing seascape with professionally charted landmasses and islands literally forming and disappearing overnight. The Japanese call it the Ma-no Umi: the Sea of the Devil. Often compared to the Bermuda Triangle, the Dragon's Triangle is an area where sea-going vessels and aircraft allegedly mysteriously disappear. Besides disappearing planes and ships, phenomena that are linked to the Dragon's Triangle include ghost ships, USOs, lapses in time, and electronic equipment malfunctions. Some writers, including Charles Berlitz3, even link the Dragon's Triangle to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Hmmmmmm, VERY interesting!