Malaysia Airlines Loses Contact With 777 en Route to Beijing

[BlueMax]

Perhaps back to decompression - hypoxia of passengers/flight crew theory?

Explosive decompression, which rendered the radios and transponder, as well as the crew O2 inoperable. The crew had a enough useful consciousness to begin a decent and a return heading set into the AP, possibly to a waypoint before becoming incapacitated. Plane on AP descended to the preset altitude and went west for 4 hours finally crashing into the Indian Ocean. Would also explain why no cell phone contact once plane reached lower altitudes as passengers already had irreversible oxygen-deprivation unconsciousness.

[Peter Kesternich]

Perhaps back to decompression - hypoxia of passengers/flight crew theory?

Explosive decompression, which rendered the radios and transponder, as well as the crew O2 inoperable. The crew had a enough useful consciousness to begin a decent and a return heading set into the AP, possibly to a waypoint before becoming incapacitated. Plane on AP descended to the preset altitude and went west for 4 hours finally crashing into the Indian Ocean. Would also explain why no cell phone contact once plane reached lower altitudes as passengers already had irreversible oxygen-deprivation unconsciousness.

Possible, but if you ask me not more probable than a pilots' suicide pact.

[BoeingBobby]

A suicide pact between the Captain and the First Officer? Hmmmmm... would be a first (as far as I know). But then again there's a first time for everything. Remember PSA Flight 1771?

I never said that this was a combined effort, just a theory.

[Brainsys]

Question: At what early stage of a flight would one pilot likely to exit the cockpit for refreshment, rest or a leak? In other words could this be the first point a pilot was alone in the cockpit or the opening of the cockpit door allowed an outsider ingress?

[BoeingBobby]

Want to make it really hard to find?

The Indian Ocean's average depth is 12,990 feet (3,960 meters), and its deepest point, in the Sunda Deep of the Java Trench off the southern coast of Java, is 24,442 feet (7,450 meters).

[James Bond]

Is this the largest SAR operation in history in terms of scale?

CNN confirms that aircraft send data 'hours after it vanished from radar'. They say their source is 'highly credible'.

[Peter Kesternich]

(...)
CNN confirms that aircraft send data 'hours after it vanished from radar'. They say their source is 'highly credible'.

For that, I have only three letters: LOL...

[BlueMax]

WSJ correction update

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
News Alert

Correction: Satellite, Not Engine, Data Drove Investigators’ Suspicions on Malaysia Jet Flying Time
U.S. investigators suspect that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 stayed in the air for up to four hours past the time it reached its last confirmed location, according to two people familiar with the details, raising the possibility that the plane could have flown on for hundreds of additional miles under conditions that remain murky.
The investigators believe the plane flew for a total of up to five hours, according to these people, based on analysis of signals sent by the Boeing 777's satellite-communication link designed to automatically transmit the status of some onboard systems to the ground.
Corrections & Amplifications: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said investigators based their suspicions on signals from monitoring systems embedded in the plane’s Rolls-Royce PLC engines and described that process.
See More Coverage »

[AA 1818]

Wall Street Journal killed it too:

The Journal, citing “two people familiar with the details,” said data automatically downloaded from the plane’s Rolls Royce Trent 800 engines as part of a maintenance program continued to reach the ground for four hours after the flight went off radar.

I mean, we here are all "familiar with the details."

It's the first hyper-connected society smartphone air disaster. People want answers now and rumor and propaganda become pure fact, until they aren't. Can you imagine how much worse the conspiracy theories around TWA800 or EA990 would have been in today's world. It's totally at odds with the way air accident investigation works.

Worse - Imagine the post-crash shows, and the conspiracy theories that will rumble for decades to come. Too much time, too few concrete answers, too much speculation, and too much of that speculation proving to be true; it's most certainly going to be the most spectacular thing in Malaysian and Chinese press for a while. In the U.S., this has eclipsed coverage of Ukraine, the Winter Para-Olympics, Iran, and the non-existent coverage of Venezuela continues silently.

[HalcyonDays]

Want to make it really hard to find?

The Indian Ocean's average depth is 12,990 feet (3,960 meters), and its deepest point, in the Sunda Deep of the Java Trench off the southern coast of Java, is 24,442 feet (7,450 meters).

It's worth remembering the recorders from the South African 747 were recovered from around 16,000 feet in the Indian Ocean, and that was 25 years ago. This was also considerably deeper than the Air France A330 of 2009. So it's well within the realms of possibility to recover.

[AA 1818]

Just posted on The Guardian's website:

"It seems that the White House is better briefed than the Pentagon press office. Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, has just confirmed thata new search area*may be opened in the Indian Ocean, reports the Guardian’s Paul Lewis in Washington.“It is my understanding the one possible piece of information, or pieces of information, has led to the possibility that a new search area may be opened up over the Indian Ocean,” Carney said, without detailing the nature of the new information.He said discussions were ongoing with international partners to “deploy the appropriate assets” in any new search in the Indian Ocean. He added the new search would be based on “additional information” that was not yet “conclusive”.His comments appear to*confirm that earlier story*by ABC’s Martha Raddatz."

Also saw that Nasa has joined the 14-country search effort and is providing their satellite technology.

A new development:

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Natio...h370-pentagon/

What I cannot figure out is; Why is the U.S. repositioning the USS Kidd 24 hours to that location when that area would likely be well traversed (or at least be able to arrive at that area more quickly) by the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force? The new "expanded search area" (as per the shoddy map) looks as if it is extended right to the islands themselves. If so, why not just allow India and even Thai forces (that have access to the Indian Ocean) to coordinate efforts. Superior technology?

[Peter Kesternich]

What I cannot figure out is; Why is the U.S. repositioning the USS Kidd 24 hours to that location when that area would likely be well traversed (or at least be able to arrive at that area more quickly) by the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force? The new "expanded search area" (as per the shoddy map) looks as if it is extended right to the islands themselves. If so, why not just allow India and even Thai forces (that have access to the Indian Ocean) to coordinate efforts. Superior technology?

When it comes to naval technology, there is not much afloat that is more advanced and capable than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

[retox]

For that, I have only three letters: LOL...

Yeah, what was their source, the Wall Street Journal? You have to pay for their website so you KNOW it's top notch $hit!

[James Bond]

Yeah, what was their source, the Wall Street Journal? You have to pay for their website so you KNOW it's top notch $hit!

'Senior U.S. Official At the Pentagon'

[BlueMax]

What I cannot figure out is; Why is the U.S. repositioning the USS Kidd 24 hours to that location when that area would likely be well traversed (or at least be able to arrive at that area more quickly) by the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force? The new "expanded search area" (as per the shoddy map) looks as if it is extended right to the islands themselves. If so, why not just allow India and even Thai forces (that have access to the Indian Ocean) to coordinate efforts. Superior technology?

Someone here a long time & post ago asked the question, what is in the cargo hold. Maybe therein lies your answer?!