'Contact lost' with Malaysia Airlines plane

[Russinating]

A little food for thought as we wait for more outlandish theories:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26609687

I do like number seven.

7 is indeed awesome.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

or the plane becoming self aware

Skynet

 

[MooMoo444]

If the transponder is so vital to aircraft operation and general tracking, why does the pilot have the ability to 'turn it off'? Seems a bit of a flaw.

 

[sbi5ar]

I'd discount pilot suicide... You could just drop it to the sea... no need to turn transponders off etc...

 

[Cosimo]

or the plane becoming self aware

It is in the realms of possibility that the plane developed some Romulan tendencies, developed its own cloaking device and just went poof!!!!

 

[Lysander]

I'd discount pilot suicide... You could just drop it to the sea... no need to turn transponders off etc...

I think the "ride of his life" theory has been discounted now seeing as the plane's course was programmed.

 

[Destination]

I think the "ride of his life" theory has been discounted now seeing as the plane's course was programmed.

only the first turn

 

[Outcast]

Assuming this hasn't been posted !

Found it

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

If the transponder is so vital to aircraft operation and general tracking, why does the pilot have the ability to 'turn it off'? Seems a bit of a flaw.

They turn them off when on the ground, as they are un-needed, and create confusion for controllers with ground radar. If every aircraft on the ground had them turned on, it would be very busy on the screens.

I see this all the time when I watch aircraft with ADS-B transponders. As soon as they turn off the runway, they soon disappear from my screen.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Also

I looked up the airframe information, and it has been claimed as "Written off"
http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/777/28420,9M-MRO-Malaysia-Airlines.php

Crashed 08-03-2014 enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing as flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board. Contact was lost over the Gulf of Thailand about 1 hour into the flight.

 

[nick.lidgett]

I don't even know who Diego Garcia is.

He plays for Manchester City

 

[Lysander]

Also

I looked up the airframe information, and it has been claimed as "Written off"
http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/777/28420,9M-MRO-Malaysia-Airlines.php

You just want your 17-1 win!

I'm sure it has been effectively written off but there is no evidence that it crashed.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

You just want your 17-1 win!

I'm sure it has been effectively written off but there is no evidence that it crashed.

Which raises an interesting possibility...
Perhaps the airline is short of cash, and has landed it secretly, stripping it for parts, and selling it back to the trade for cash

 

[haaammit]

Assuming this hasn't been posted !

Found it

That's a 727-200 not a 777-200ER

 

[MooMoo444]

They turn them off when on the ground, as they are un-needed, and create confusion for controllers with ground radar. If every aircraft on the ground had them turned on, it would be very busy on the screens.

I see this all the time when I watch aircraft with ADS-B transponders. As soon as they turn off the runway, they soon disappear from my screen.

Well in that case, let me rephrase

Why can they turn them off in flight?

 

[Werewolf]

They turn them off when on the ground, as they are un-needed, and create confusion for controllers with ground radar. If every aircraft on the ground had them turned on, it would be very busy on the screens.

I see this all the time when I watch aircraft with ADS-B transponders. As soon as they turn off the runway, they soon disappear from my screen.

Don't they also have the ability to turn virtually any electric system off for fault finding and fire prevention type reasons.

 

[AJK]

Well in that case, let me rephrase

Why can they turn them off in flight?

This has been answered repeatedly and isn't a difficult question. Pretty much everything can be turned on or off by the pilots in case of a malfunction of some kind. This is, on balance, a good thing.

 

[Lysander]

Which raises an interesting possibility...
Perhaps the airline is short of cash, and has landed it secretly, stripping it for parts, and selling it back to the trade for cash

Or selling the passengers for a Hostel-type exploit.

 

[Outcast]

That's a 727-200 not a 777-200ER

lol

There's always one !!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Or selling the passengers for a Hostel-type exploit.

They made them into vegetables by high altitude decompression, using a second oxygen supply the pilot landed, and are now selling their organs/stem cells, passports and documents on the black market to further fund the loss making airline.