777 down

[Geary]

With the previous damage to the wing tip, I'm betting the wing came off entirely. Too much of a coincidence to ignore. That could explain why no mayday call .. too busy wondering which way is up.

[Head416]

It's driving me crazy that they haven't found any debris yet, it's been at least 36 hours since the reported oil slick. You would think they could practically pinpoint the last reported location from the transponder.

Regarding the passports, I found this interesting:

But Clive Williams, a counterterrorism expert at Australia's Macquarie University and a former military intelligence officer, said he doubted the stolen passports were related to the disaster. As of December, Interpol's databases contained 39 million lost or stolen passports.

"Any flight of that size in Asia would be carrying a couple of people with false passports," he said. "When you think about the number of passports that have been stolen or gone missing around the world ... it could be related, but it's probably not."

Air force chief: Malaysia jet may have turned back

[creaturecat]

Would not a terrorist proudly proclaim the deed?
I am not convinced of the terrorism angle, yet.
Not checking for stolen passports? Seams like dereliction of duty, to me. There IS a data base. They DO have computers. WTF?
Talk about a red flag. Jeez.
You can't even get on the plane to America, if you stole a pack of gum, when you were a teenager, and charged accordingly.
(note: i never got caught. )

[Neilk]

Some what off topic to this plane crash, but gotta love Google ad-words.





Still surprised they haven't found any wreckage. If it was terrorism, could they have flown 3000 miles off track without detection and ditched the plane in the middle of the Pacific?

[911_Dude]

Originally Posted by tabs

The plane went KABOOM...

If it had suffered a mechanical or structural failure the crew would have had a bit of time to send off some kind of message.

There is a possibility of the plane suffering some kind of explosive mechanical failure which would have vaporized them in an instant. However with the 2 stolen passport people on Board the odds go way down that both events would occur on the same flight.

Odds are approaching 90% + that this was an act of Terrorism in one form or another.

Vaporized an airliner? Not likely.

[Baz]

The persons with the 2 stolen passports bought consecutive tickets?

That's too much of a coincidence to ignore.

No communication from the plane before it vanished?

Connect the dots folks.....this is a terrorist act!

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Baz

The persons with the 2 stolen passports bought consecutive tickets?

That's too much of a coincidence to ignore.

No communication from the plane before it vanished?

Connect the dots folks.....this is a terrorist act!

Terrorists want you to see it not search for it. If there's a lot of stolen passports, it's a couple family members flying together or something. That part of the world isn't as "legal" as it is here per some of the posts above.

[ossiblue]

These are my questions after learning of the facts, so far (and yes, those facts may/will change.)

1. If the plane exploded/disintegrated at 35,000 feet, there may be little debris found, but why would there be an oil slick? (My thought would be the slick is not related to the plane.)

2. If the slick is related to the plane, why is there no debris in the area?

3. The pictures of the slick I've seen look like bunker fuel, not the rainbow sheen of jet fuel. Does jet fuel look like that when exposed to salt water?

4. There is indication the plane may have made a turnabout. If so, could that indicate a breach of the cockpit/hijack attempt which also precluded any communication from the plane?

Anyone who can shed some light on these questions is welcome to offer up their responses for the good of all.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

Would not a terrorist proudly proclaim the deed?

Didn't happen after Pan Am 103 or 9/11 or when N. Korea blew up KAL 858. Plenty more examples of terrorists keeping quiet about their deeds, letting affected government decide when and how to make it public.

[Gogar]

You would think a terrorist organization would claim and advertise it if it was a terrorist act.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by Gogar

You would think a terrorist organization would claim and advertise it if it was a terrorist act.

I think the key here is the word "organization." Lone terrorists who operate without organized control but out of personal radicalization are rampant and of the greatest threat to everyone (remember the Boston Marathon bombings--lone wolves and no terrorist claims then.) Evidence, so far, is pointing in the terrorist direction, IMO, but it is still very early in the investigation. It is a possibility that must remain on the table.

[speeder]

If we've learned anything from the last 20 years it's that he who postulates first is usually 100% looking up his own ass canal. In fact, there seems to be an inverse relationship between speed of speculation and blowing one's self for being right later.

[Rick Lee]

Well, I'm gonna speculate that, if this whole thing turns out to be a result of the stolen passports, governments will start getting serious about flagging stolen passports in some database. I just sent mine in for renewal last week, so this is fresh in my mind. I didn't like dropping my current and valid passport into that mailbox.

[varmint]

Originally Posted by speeder

If we've learned anything from the last 20 years it's that he who postulates first is usually 100% looking up his own ass canal. In fact, there seems to be an inverse relationship between speed of speculation and blowing one's self for being right later.

correct. the easiest way to look smart is to keep your mouth shut for the first 24 hours.



i imagine the airports have surveillance footage of all the passengers walking through. the spy types have to be running facial recognition software and using all other means to identify the ones running on stolen passports.

i don't want to use the word terrorism. but having a plane just fall apart mid air is only slightly more likely than a meteor strike.

[Por_sha911]

First of all, it is sad to hear about the loss of lives.
Second, the passport issue combined with NO communication from the pilots does raise a big honking red flag.
Third, if it is terrorism, the govt may want to bury it so as to avoid a panic in the public which would result in economic problems. Yeah, I know, it does have a shade of foil hat conspiracy theories but you can't possibly believe that we haven't buried fact before (army testing drugs and diseases on humans...).
Capt Obvious says if it walks like a duck...


Finally, anyone else seeing this as a plot out of The Blacklist?

[Gogar]

Gosh I hope I haven't embarrassed myself by postulating. I feel so stupid.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Gosh I hope I haven't embarrassed myself by postulating. I feel so stupid.

Fixed it for you...sarcastic font mode engaged!

[varmint]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Gosh I hope I haven't embarrassed myself by postulating. I feel so stupid.

look up the threads on the tucson shooting or boston bombing to see some truly embarrassing wild ass speculation.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Gosh I hope I haven't embarrassed myself by postulating. I feel so stupid.

You are funny.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Third, if it is terrorism, the govt may want to bury it so as to avoid a panic in the public which would result in economic problems.

There are a lot of governments involved in this investigation and few of them have mutual motivations. I can't see any two of them cooperating in a cover up, no matter the cause.