> U.S. counterterrorism officials
This is a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing... why is this a matter for US counterterrorism officials?
Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
131–140 of 215 posts
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#132This begs the question: why on earth is it even possible to turn off a transponder mid-flight on a commercial plane carrying hundreds of human beings? I also don't understand why, if we can send bursts of engine data every 30 minutes from the middle of the ocean, we can't send a GPS location every couple of minutes. Maybe even throw some GPS data in with the engine data - at least we would know where it was within a…
If it malfunctions you don't want it to overheat and burn the plane down. Thus the ability to cut power.
One might say the same about all of the electronic devices on planes. Cellphones and the like.
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
Impossible. The consequence of hiding the truth is an international shame. And do you really think any country launching a missile can go unnoticed? You know that area is under dispute and nearby countries are claiming ownership, meaning they are actively monitoring all military actions. There are satellites watching that area too. No. No. And why China? I think this is more of an anti-China/China conspiracy. You got…
I don't disagree with you, but this part got me: "And do you really think any country launching a missile can go unnoticed?" A few days ago... no, I didn't think so. But apparently a massive xxx ton airliner can go for hours unnoticed, so...
If anyone saw an airliner on their radar, they probably wouldn't even try to confirm what it was. If they saw an unidentified object, then they'd call someone.
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#134Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Impossible. The consequence of hiding the truth is an international shame. And do you really think any country launching a missile can go unnoticed? You know that area is under dispute and nearby countries are claiming ownership, meaning they are actively monitoring all military actions. There are satellites watching that area too. No. No. And why China? I think this is more of an anti-China/China conspiracy. You got…
I don't disagree with you, but this part got me: "And do you really think any country launching a missile can go unnoticed?" A few days ago... no, I didn't think so. But apparently a massive xxx ton airliner can go for hours unnoticed, so...
Are we 100% certain that it did travel for extra hours?
And you also can't just launch any missile in South China Sea.
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#136> U.S. counterterrorism officials This is a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing... why is this a matter for US counterterrorism officials?
Because Boeing?
Because they have the resources?
Because a re-appropriated civilian Airliner is a potential attack vector?
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it malfunctions you don't want it to overheat and burn the plane down. Thus the ability to cut power.
One might say the same about all of the electronic devices on planes. Cellphones and the like.
Hey man what are you doing! We can finally use our devices during take off and now you hint at keeping them off permanently! Eek! :P
I'm sure the first battery meltdown/fire on a plane is going to cause a riot in the news but the odds...
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#138Can India, China, and Australia be confidently dismissed as destinations, given that they're going to have pretty good air defense radar that would notice a 777 at altitude, and a 777 flying at low altitude wouldn't have nearly as much range?
Australia can. We've apparently got radar coverage that can detect light aircraft take-off and landings in much of this area: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/JOR...
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#139This begs the question: why on earth is it even possible to turn off a transponder mid-flight on a commercial plane carrying hundreds of human beings? I also don't understand why, if we can send bursts of engine data every 30 minutes from the middle of the ocean, we can't send a GPS location every couple of minutes. Maybe even throw some GPS data in with the engine data - at least we would know where it was within a…
It's probably less of an issue on larger/more modern planes where your squawk code is entered with a numeric pad - but on older/less complex planes you have to switch off the transponder when changing codes since it's a series of rotary dials and you don't want to accidentally broadcast an emergency code (7500/7600/7700) even for a second as it would trigger all sorts of alerts for the controller.
Re: Missing Airplane Flew On for Hours
#140Reminds me of Lost, I never thought that was a plausible plot even in 2004. I thought our technology has made losing aircraft, impossible. Very strange that the transponders were turned off. Very strange that the Rolls-Royce data wasn't released days ago. Was this an oversight?
If it wasn't for the truly awful reality that many real people are missing, presumed dead, there would be room for a joke about Lost 2 viral marketing.