777 down

[nostatic]

this doesn't look good - god speed

Beijing-bound MAS flight carrying 239 people lost contact with Subang air traffic control

[Baz]

Doesn't look good.

Don't these planes have some kind of homing signal that allows their location to be known at all times?

And if so, can't airline management simply follow the homing signal to locate the missing plane?

[Tishabet]

I lived in Kuala Lumpur for 18 months in 2011 and 2012 and have flown that route on that airline multiple times... At least 5 or 6. Godspeed to all on board.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Baz

Doesn't look good.

Don't these planes have some kind of homing signal that allows their location to be known at all times?

And if so, can't airline management simply follow the homing signal to locate the missing plane?

Malaysian Jet's Disappearance Sets Off Echoes of 2007 Crash - NBC News

[Baz]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Malaysian Jet's Disappearance Sets Off Echoes of 2007 Crash - NBC News

OK........taken from your link:

If the plane went down, an emergency locator transmitter should automatically switch on to help rescuers pinpoint the site of the crash. Such signals are meant to alert aircraft flying overhead, and should continue broadcasting for 30 days, Curtis said. However, the case of Adam Air illustrates what can go wrong: Investigators suspect that the 737's locator beacon was damaged by the crash or affected by interference.

The device is called an emergency locator transmitter and can be damaged in a crash. Thus a glitch in finding the aircraft.

Thanks Todd...I understand now.

[mreid]

Seems three Americans were on that flight. God bless them all.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by mreid

Seems three Americans were on that flight. God bless them all.

Hard to imagine what their families are going through.

[Head416]

They're reporting that the Vietnamese Navy has confirmed it crashed in the ocean.

Vietnam media: Navy confirms flight MH370 crashed into the sea

[Don Plumley]

Oh no....

[HardDrive]

They didn't make it very far. The location given is only 200-300 miles from Kuala Lumpur

[nostatic]

They were at 35K', no distress signal or odd messages. Gotta be some catastrophic failure (Boeing is scrambling right now - wonder if MAS used the AHMS), or maybe foul play. Sounds like the first officer was experienced - don't see something like the Air France incident, especially since there wasn't bad wx.

[cantdrv55]

Is there turbulence at 35k?

[slodave]

Of course there can be!

[Baz]

Here's the latest....

There were no reports of bad weather and no sign why the Boeing 777-200ER, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines, would have vanished from radar screens about an hour after it took off.

By nightfall in the region, there were no signs of the plane or any wreckage, some 17 hours after it went missing.

A large number of planes and ships from several countries were scouring the area where the plane last made contact, about halfway between Malaysia and the southern tip of Vietnam.

"The search and rescue operations will continue as long as necessary," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters in Kuala Lumpur. He said 15 air force aircraft, six navy ships and three coast guard vessels had been pressed into service by Malaysia.

China and the Philippines have sent ships to a region near the South China Sea to help. The United States, the Philippines and Singapore also dispatched military planes to help in the search.

Malaysia Airlines plane missing at sea off Vietnam, presumed crashed | Reuters

[berettafan]

So horrible. Really don't understand how there isn't a device on planes that senses an impending crash and jettisons just before impact. Heck for $300 or so I bought a handheld beacon that could put rescue planes/boats right on top of me anywhere in the ocean.

For some interesting related reading check out the wiki pages on Malaysia, Straights of Malacca, etc.

[gamin]

Read on a pilots board that an Italian national living in Thailand had his passport stolen last August in Thailand. Someone using that passport reportedly boarded the missing aircraft. Italian guy is reported to have called his family in Italy to tell them he was not on the missing aircraft. Media not reporting this. Terrorism?

[Baz]

[Baz]

"Modern aircrafts are beautifully built and incredibly safe.

"If the engines were to fail because of some kind of interruption to the fuel flow, they can glide with no problems whatsoever for about 40 minutes at that height."

Mr Learmount said the time which the Malaysia Airlines plane went missing may be significant.

He said: "Between midnight and 2am you're not at a mental or physical performance high - you're at the lowest performance standard in the 24-hour cycle."

The failure to locate the plane so far was not unusual, he added, with investigators taking two years to find the missing Air France 447 plane.

However, Mr Learmount admitted he was "puzzled" why authorities had not divulged a more accurate location of where the aircraft went missing.

"They may not know precisely but they know pretty accurately," he said.

Missing Malaysia Airlines flight: Live updates as it emerges one of 227 passengers 'was using STOLEN passport' - Mirror Online

[HardDrive]

777 has an excellent safety record (when not piloted by Asiana pilots). I find it very hard to believe that mechanical failure caused it to fall from the sky. Same goes for turbulence.

[flatbutt]

The 777 has been my first choice whenever possible. This is disturbing.