OT: Plane Lost Malaysia - You can help

[TulliusDetritus]

"The satellite imagery company ************, which owns an advanced constellation of commercial satellites, is encouraging citizens to comb through satellite images in response to the disappearance of the plane.

******* today activated its crowdsourcing platform in an effort to locate the Boeing 777 jetliner that mysteriously disappeared on Saturday while in flight from Malaysia to Beijing. If you would like to volunteer your time to support the rescue mission, please visit ******* Tomnod platform to begin combing through satellite imagery for clues that may help locate the missing aircraft"

http://www.tomnod.com/nod/challenge/malaysiaairsar2014

[Jim D Burns]

Two things really trouble me about this incident. First it is pretty obvious now that this wasn’t a non-intentional act. Second if it is terror related the terrorists now have the ability to deliver a very large payload up to 4000+ miles radius from wherever they stashed the aircraft. Imagine a dirty bomb or worse an actual nuclear device, the potential for real disaster looms heavy.

Jim

[Terminus]

I'd like to know what you base those assumptions on, fact-wise.

No, wait a minute, actually I don't.

[Aurelian]

The jet's size and weight limit where it can land. It can stop in 5,000 feet, but most runways of that length would buckle under its weight. Taxiways at those small airports aren't wide enough for its landing gear...options for a jet that big are limited....

[Jim D Burns]

Someone went to a lot of trouble and planning to take the aircraft, I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have already had a runway in mind when they took it.

If it is a terrorist hijacking, the one thing really puzzling is no one called out on a cell phone from the plane. Even if you had 10 guys watching the passengers, the plane is so big someone would have gotten a call out. That could mean the passengers were somehow rendered unconscious perhaps with gas?

With the current data showing the plane was in the air for a good 4 hours after the transponder was turned off, I think it’s pretty safe to say this is an intentional act. The engines get pinged by satellites periodically. It isn’t something that tracks the plane, the satellite is simply checking to see if a connection for data transfer exists, and the data showed it did exist for 4+ hours after the plane vanished, so the engines were running for that period of time. The WSJ reporter who broke the story on this also seemed to indicate the data showed the plane was at a normal cruising altitude during the 4+ hour time period.

Jim

[Aurelian]

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

Someone went to a lot of trouble and planning to take the aircraft, I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have already had a runway in mind when they took it.

You're assuming someone took it. Who? Motive? Where would it land? This isn't a drug runner's Cessna you can land on almost any grass strip carved out in the boondocks.

[histgamer]

Furthermore there's no evidence thus far even if it was hijacked that the plane was taken or rather didn't just crash at some point during the hijacking.

ORIGINAL: Aurelian

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

Someone went to a lot of trouble and planning to take the aircraft, I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have already had a runway in mind when they took it.

You're assuming someone took it. Who? Motive? Where would it land? This isn't a drug runner's Cessna you can land on almost any grass strip carved out in the boondocks.

[Twotribes]

Anyone every read the paranoid delusional stuff from 911 truthers? Perhaps the Malaysian jet is where ever the 4 Jets, crew and passengers are from 9-11.

[Curtis Lemay]

I still think something akin to what happened to Payne Stewart could account for it. Like maybe after a collision of some sort - perhaps with a drone or other small craft.

[Twotribes]

They were at 35000 feet how many drones or small craft can go that high?

[Gilmer]

I just chalk it up to a weird incident. It will probably turn up.

[JWW]

I think the evidence is leading more and more toward a hijacking or at least a malicious act by the crew. I kept siding with an accident and immediate crash, but that seems less likely now. Looks like it most likely crashed in the Indian Ocean, though I'm not sure anything would surprise me at this point.

Either that or China is in contact with Romulans and testing a cloaking device.

[Aurelian]

ORIGINAL: JW

I think the evidence is leading more and more toward a hijacking or at least a malicious act by the crew. I kept siding with an accident and immediate crash, but that seems less likely now. Looks like it most likely crashed in the Indian Ocean, though I'm not sure anything would surprise me at this point.

Either that or China is in contact with Romulans and testing a cloaking device.

Hold on just one minute........

The Klingons have those too you know. [:)]

[Zorch]

I think they landed on Fantasy Island.

"Da plane! Da plane, boss!"

[danlongman]

I worked in aviation for 30+ years. The only thing I know is that every story I ever read about an aviation occurrence in the mainstream
press had one or more ridiculous errors in it. I mean stupid, stupid mistakes and misstatements made by people who did not even know what
they were saying was stupid. Like most people talking about climate issues. I have read nothing about this presumed crash except that the
aircraft disappeared. There have been many rumours which may or may not be true and lots of conflicting information most of which is mutually
exclusive because it has to be. Until I see a coherent report from a credible source most is simply idle speculation.

[z1812]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

I think they landed on Fantasy Island.

"Da plane! Da plane, boss!"

Apparently this is confirmed by Malaysian authorities.

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Zorch

I think they landed on Fantasy Island.

"Da plane! Da plane, boss!"

warspite1

[:)]

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

Someone went to a lot of trouble and planning to take the aircraft, I can’t imagine they wouldn’t have already had a runway in mind when they took it.

warspite1

You write like that is fact. Remember the Helios aircraft crash in 2005? There may be a simple - but tragic - reason for the loss of the plane. You may be right - but its just speculation at this point.

[danlongman]

Here is a fairly straightforward article. Note the sparsity of non-speculative info:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/could-malaysia ... 29828.html

[Capt. Harlock]

If it is a terrorist hijacking, the one thing really puzzling is no one called out on a cell phone from the plane. Even if you had 10 guys watching the passengers, the plane is so big someone would have gotten a call out. That could mean the passengers were somehow rendered unconscious perhaps with gas?

If the plane did in fact fly west over the Indian Ocean, that would be out of cell phone range for everyone who didn't have a satellite-enabled phone -- and there aren't many of those in private hands as yet. Remember that even in the U. S. there are places not covered by cell phone service.

My $.02 is that this is a hijacking that went wrong. One of the pilots may have been in on it, (transponders are not easy to shut off) and a struggle may have broken out with the other pilot or some of the passengers.