Malaysian Airlines MH370

[davidc95]

Off-topic, but satire news site The Onion made a light-hearted article about MH370:

 

http://www.theonion.com/articles/malaysian-airlines-expands-investigation-to-includ,35524/

 

Funny? Bad taste?

 

 

[rrogerramjet]

Of course, that's the other hypothesis...the plane will pop out of the stretched time continuum in about 100 years and land into Beijing, surrounded by local commuters on hoverboards. http://huvrtech.com/

 

LOL !

 

 

[dutchroll]

This seems probable. Not sure about its direction and final destination but slow decompression is still the most likely explanation at this point.

The B777 like any other modern Boeing will blare very loudly at you if cabin alt goes above 10,000' and there's no indication that the warning system was inoperative. Plus it then would've kept flying on its programmed route with unconscious crew and passengers until within radar range of the Vietnamese/Chinese mainland. I don't see a slow decompression as more plausible than some type of unlawful interference at this point.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Now reporting has been hijacked.

 

 

[djpacro]

TV show Person of Interest last weekend had the plot. Season 3 Episode 13.

Howard would've found the aeroplane long ago.

[PA.]

Last February, 500 tonnes of Chinese gold disappeared.

 

MH370 had 50 empty passenger seats yet it boarded 5 passengers from the standby list to make up for the 5 that didn't turn up. So, 50 passengers + luggage = 5000kg approx. That weight in gold is $220m USD.

 

$220m USD would fund a lot of terrorist activities or a successful venture for organized crime.

 

 

[Downunder]

Nowsaying it climbed to 45000 ft turning west then decended to 23000.......

 

How large a runway for one of those?

 

 

[PA.]

Nowsaying it climbed to 45000 ft turning west then decended to 23000.......How large a runway for one of those?

2000m, maybe less if you don't want to use it again.

 

 

[biggles]

Highjacked ? Couldn't happen here fellas because we've got the ASIC. !!!

 

Bob

 

 

[kgwilson]

From the grapevine....Someone I know has been asked to write a supposition on what occurred... I note clearly this is complete hypothesis, based on general knowledge of the industry, assumptions and thoughts. I don't have any details on the accuracy of these statements, however it seems feasible to me...

 

Boeing had issued a notice of stress fractures on the top of the fuselage (around the aerial?). Malaysia Airlines chose to not act on the advice as it was not a compulsory notice.

 

The supposition is , this part of the aircraft gave way resulting in slow but steady decompression, this also dislodged the GPS and comms for radar identification, thus the airplane 'disappeared'.

 

Auto pilot, without GPS, did it's best to fly on but slowly and surely dove the plane into the ocean some many hours from it's last known/reported position. Guess is to the East, as to the West it probably would have been picked up again on radar, and/or hit land.

 

Because of slow and gradual decompression, both crew and passengers lulled into a slow, progressive sleep. The plane flew on for some hours until it hit the ocean and has sunk, some thousands of miles from the current search area.

 

A hypothesis, nothing more.

 

Ramjet.

See Post 31

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Probably parked at Manbaloo NT

 

 

[kgwilson]

This gets more bizarre by the minute. Now they are saying the communications systems were deliberately switched off & the plane changed course & flew for almost 7 hours after the last known location. Previously they said it had fuel for another 4 hours of flight. Now they think it ran out of fuel somewhere over the Indian ocean. Of course this is only one of the theories. I think I will just go and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

 

[Bluey]

The B777 like any other modern Boeing will blare very loudly at you if cabin alt goes above 10,000' and there's no indication that the warning system was inoperative. Plus it then would've kept flying on its programmed route with unconscious crew and passengers until within radar range of the Vietnamese/Chinese mainland. I don't see a slow decompression as more plausible than some type of unlawful interference at this point.

You may well be right.

 

 

[dutchroll]

Previously they said it had fuel for another 4 hours of flight. Now they think it ran out of fuel somewhere over the Indian ocean.

It had fuel for a 5 1/2 hour flight. It was only airborne for under an hour when contact was lost. This may have been where the "4 more hours" figure came from. I would imagine they carried full alternate fuel too, as this is fairly SOP for asian airlines, plus they had reserves (fixed reserve, variable reserve, possibly weather and/or traffic holding, etc). If it flew for 7 more hours to the last data ping I would think the tanks would be close to empty at that point - which may be exactly why it was the last data ping.

In any case the fuel uplift and total fuel on board are recorded at the point of departure by refuelling and engineering ground staff. They would already know exactly what endurance it had, but given the pretty poor communication from the Malaysian officials so far, the apparently conflicting numbers don't surprise me. I think they just initially plucked the 4 hour figure out of their bum because that's what the remaining flight time was.

 

 

[geoffreywh]

poor bastards onboard.

 

 

[Teckair]

poor bastards onboard.

Yes and their families who still do not know for sure if they are dead or not.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Yes and their families who still do not know for sure if they are dead or not.

I think that there is more of a chance of jesus being resurrected than anybody being found alive from that aircraft.

 

 

[Teckair]

I think that there is more of a chance of jesus being resurrected than anybody being found alive from that aircraft.

Yes true but in that situation people tend to cling to hope however unlikely it maybe.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Yes true but in that situation people tend to cling to hope however unlikely it maybe.

I agree Richard but being 7 or 8 days since it went missing, it is not looking good. But I guess the is a slight chance that "they" put it down on land somewhere.

 

 

[ayavner]

and really what are the odds of at least 1 out of ~300 people not being able to dial from a mobile or cause a fire or *something*?

 

 

[jetjr]

What scope does 777 have to economise fuel?

 

Were at 45000ft, slow down, stretch fuel to extra 2 hrs?

 

 

[facthunter]

Once you descend you are going to use heaps more. There is no real scope to reduce speed near your optimum cruise level. Nev

 

 

[Bluey]

I think that there is more of a chance of jesus being resurrected than anybody being found alive from that aircraft.

I think we need to entertain the possibility that this plane has been essentially stolen and that it may have landed elsewhere. I find it hard to believe that the pilots were not involved in this incident. Given the systematic way systems were switched off it was probably done by experienced professionals. It all unfolded moments after the last friendly communication between mh370 and Malaysian controllers when they entered into no mans land between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace. The pilots would've by far the best equipped individuals on that flight to know when to orchestrate the whole exercise. Seems too well planned for terrorists working on their own.

 

 

[dutchroll]

What scope does 777 have to economise fuel?Were at 45000ft, slow down, stretch fuel to extra 2 hrs?

Climbing up above your optimum altitude may well cost you fuel, not save it, as you get behind the drag curve. Slowing down to max range speed may save you 5 or 10 minutes worth.

Airline flights are already planned in the most fuel-efficient way for obvious reasons. Making up 2 hours of endurance just isn't possible over any sector length. That type of extra endurance has to be loaded into the tanks before you leave. I'd be fascinated to know what his fuel order actually was, though.

 

 

[geoffreywh]

I reckon the 777 has gone south west into the southern Indian Ocean and deliberately run out of fuel. The known duration of the flight puts it's end point in or around Khazakstan or out in the ocean and impossible to find. I guess that latter.....