What happened to flight Malaysian Airlines MH370?

[spog]

Its alright. Courtney Love is on the case and found it.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/courtney-love-thinks-shes-found-missing-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370/story-fn907478-1226857897592

Yep,sharp as a bowling ball that girl. No doubt.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Can you use Bowling balls as scalpels...

 

[pk.sax]

There is nothing that aviation loves more than acronyms. It's a toss up between them and the army as to who has more.


I really can't understand how, in this day and age, someone in the cockpit can just flick a switch and make a plane disappear.

I have a GPS tracker at work that can send the office an email via satellite with a current GPS position. It can even be automated to send a position every 15 minutes or so if you so desire. Just turn it on and let it do its thing.
They're so cheap we actually have two.
Costs about 100 bucks and weighs bugger all.
Surely that would be a lot better than using god knows how many man hours and dollars, involving umpteen countries that may or may not get along with each other, searching stupidly large amounts of oceans and causing mass global speculation.

What an absolute clusterfuck of a situation.

My theory, it is something so serious that the governments are keeping it secret while blowing the smokescreen of a search in everybody's face.

Re, gps trackers. Planes actually have those. It's called sat phones. I think any aircraft out of hf freq range is required to have a means to communicate and satphones are it. I won't theorise on what the one on that plane did or didn't but the ones I've seen even on smaller planes had gps built in.

What it doesn't do is stop someone pulling a breaker or if they were intent on it and knowledgeable enough to disconnect power to certain systems. Aircraft systems usually run on a few buses of power and most of the equipment you'd be interested in would be on a main bus with an essential backup. I'll leave explaining that further alone but this is why you don't put weapons on planes and also sort of why violent people are taken off aircraft (amongst other reasons).

 

[Dave70]

Its alright. Courtney Love is on the case and found it.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/courtney-love-thinks-shes-found-missing-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370/story-fn907478-1226857897592

“What are the odds though that it would land right next to a red sign saying ‘plane’?

Bahhh ha ha ha ha..gold.


Seriously though Kurt, we understand why you did it..

 

[Not For Horses]

My theory, it is something so serious that the governments are keeping it secret while blowing the smokescreen of a search in everybody's face.

Re, gps trackers. Planes actually have those. It's called sat phones. I think any aircraft out of hf freq range is required to have a means to communicate and satphones are it. I won't theorise on what the one on that plane did or didn't but the ones I've seen even on smaller planes had gps built in.

What it doesn't do is stop someone pulling a breaker or if they were intent on it and knowledgeable enough to disconnect power to certain systems. Aircraft systems usually run on a few buses of power and most of the equipment you'd be interested in would be on a main bus with an essential backup. I'll leave explaining that further alone but this is why you don't put weapons on planes and also sort of why violent people are taken off aircraft (amongst other reasons).

I'm not talking about Comms though. I just mean a simple GPS tracker that can transmit a position at a given interval.
Nothing to do with the cockpit. Something that can't be just turned off. Along the lines of a black box I guess but incredibly simpler.

 

[flyingbeermat]

Perhaps an electrical fire? http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

 

[Bridges]

 

[pk.sax]

I'm not talking about Comms though. I just mean a simple GPS tracker that can transmit a position at a given interval.
Nothing to do with the cockpit. Something that can't be just turned off. Along the lines of a black box I guess but incredibly simpler.

I'd say everything is connected to a CB, either for operational or maintenance purposes.

Yes, I understand why you'd think there might be a small gps tracker on board but you have to realise that all transmitting devices installed have to be cleared for EMI interference and be able to be controlled/isolated. The emergency locator transmitters are reasonable independent but still could be accessed by a determined person. What's more, foul play on land can 'prepare' an aircraft for uni tended stealth. I'd have to read regulations/design standards to say anything definitive though.

 

[pk.sax]

Now, what I really would like to know is where did I put my clothes this morning. They're not in the shower, not in my room, not in the laundry, I've Becker even the whole kitchen, that takes out everything in my path and relevant I passed through. I definitely didn't go to work in my PJs.

Quite frankly, they've disappeared into thin air and I'm going mad.

 

[spog]

Ahh,the old WTF did I do syndrome ?

 

[andy@67]

On modern aircraft everything electrical will be able to be isolated by a CB. There are some things that are on a "hot" battery bus, ie they will operate even if all the battery switches are off. Usually they are things like emergency lighting and PA systems, stuff that will help the crew evacuate the aircraft in case of an emergency. Some items like the emergency lighting system also have their own internal batteries that are trickle charged while the aircraft is powered so will operate for a time even when the aircraft's electrical system has failed. I am sure that a GPS tracking device is available as an option, but the fact of the matter is that modern airliners do not go missing without a trace very often (usually we know roughly where they are when contact is lost and the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) and FDR (flight data recorder) both emit tracking signals, also the ELT (emergency locator transmitter, which now have internal GPSs) will activate and be picked up by tracking satellites) and airlines are all about affordable safety. Everything that can improve safety is tested against how much it will cost to implement vs how much and how often not implementing it will cause a hull loss.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[shaunous]

Now, what I really would like to know is where did I put my clothes this morning. They're not in the shower, not in my room, not in the laundry, I've Becker even the whole kitchen, that takes out everything in my path and relevant I passed through. I definitely didn't go to work in my PJs.

Quite frankly, they've disappeared into thin air and I'm going mad.

Try being a mechanic and spending half the day (maybe a lil' exaggerated), walking around looking for the spanner you just literally had 5 seconds ago. Fuk i go mental. One minute im using a tool, i turn around, then the tool is magically gone.

Oh look, there it is, behind that piece of steel 7 foot up in the air, WTF did I sit that there for...

 

[bradsbrew]

I am sure there is a Phillips screwdriver land that all my screwdrivers migrate to.

 

[Camo6]

And what's the law of physics that allows a dropped nut or bolt to always land in the most inaccessible place, every goddam time?

 

[pk.sax]

Yep, always that one tool. Walk to the other side of the room for something and it disappears. Still looking for my tape measure.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I often found pliers and screwdrivers in odd places at work. Roof cavities,cable trays etc. Mind you I could never find my own.

 

[spog]

Talk of things going missing ,was working on a site with a bloke who wore glasses as the day wore on he was complaining of a head ache,dizziness etc when he realised one of the lenses had fallen out of his glasses.
A search was made for a good half hour no luck,it was found in the breast pocket of his shirt,it had fallen out and luckily landed in the pocket.

 

[tavas]

And what's the law of physics that allows a dropped nut or bolt to always land in the most inaccessible place, every goddam time?

Tape your nut or bolt to a buttered cat. It will stay in infinite suspension.

 

[shaunous]

Wowzers.

And I couldnt do that to my poor lil grey cat 'Sooty' :huh:

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Was it an unintended consequence due to some technology that may have been carried on the plane?

Newspaper article.

Also on the plane were 20 senior staff from a US technology company who had just launched a new electronic warfare gadget for military radar systems in the days before the Boeing 777 went missing.
Freescale Semiconductor, which makes powerful microchips for industries including defence, released the powerful new products to the American market on March 3.
Five days later, Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board including 20 working for Freescale.
Twelve were from Malaysia, while eight were Chinese nationals.