Plane missing with 236 people on board

[freakiness]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-08/malaysia-airlines-lost-contact-with-plane/5307888

Malaysia Airlines says one of its planes has gone missing on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

A statement from the airline says flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic controllers at 2:40am local time, just over two hours into the flight.

The plane, a Boeing 777-200, left Kuala Lumpur at 12:41am on Saturday, and had been due to arrive in Beijing at 6:30am local time.

The company says the plane was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members.

The airline says it is contacting the next-of-kin of all passengers and crew, which includes people of 13 different nationalities.

In a statement on the airline's website, group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the airline was working with authorities to locate the aircraft.

"Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilise its full support," the statement said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

The airline says it will provide regular updates on its website.

The ABC understand Malaysia Airlines will hold a press conference on the incident shortly.

[icyfroth]

Update:

Investigators searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reportedly now fear the aircraft is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

Chinese state media is reporting that researchers detected a “seafloor event” near the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam 90 minutes after flight MH370 disappeared nearly a week ago.

They say that the seafloor event could have been caused by a plane plunging into the ocean, 116km north-east of where the final contact was made with the missing flight MH370.

Fom Here

But even if a plane plunges into an ocean there's a certain amount of debris isn't there? I believe a plane breaks up when it hits the ocean, I doesnt just slip in.

[jimmy*part4]

Possible proof the plane landed elsewhere......

An aviation industry source tells CNN that the flight's automated communications system appeared to be intact for up to five hours, because pings from the system were received after the transponder last emitted a signal.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/

And the engines were reported to have ran 4 more hours.....

U.S. investigators suspect that 3786.KU in Your Value Your Change Short position 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.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579434653903086282

[monman12]

Why do people think, in the absence of hard evidence, that the flight remained airborne for hours after its last position report? The large aircraft that I flew were not equipped with ACARS but for those grabbing at a most unlikely scenario I suggest you study the basics of the technology. Outside of admin/operational  messages, the automatic side of the system operates when there is a fault or equipment  is operating outside of its parameters:

"monitoring engine exceedance conditions during flight (such as checking whether engine vibration or oil temperature exceeds normal operating conditions). Upon detecting such an event, the Flight data acquisition and management system's message system automatically creates an engine exceedance condition message, with applicable data contained within the body of the message."

Engine information outside/nearing  limits is in this case transmitted to the manufacturers Rolls Royce and airframe ancillary systems to the manufacturer (Boeing) and also the operator.

"Services such as Boeing’s “are not designed to be inflight advisory systems,”

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari said that he had contacted Boeing and Rolls-Royce, and that they "did not receive any further transmission beyond the transmission that was received at 1:07."

The system is not continuous, operates when there is a systems "problem", is handled (over ocean) by satellite (sometimes HF radio) via ARINC communication network, then the Internet and various routing networks. Thus leaving an easily identifiable and recorded trail,  which there is not.

There is absolutely no evidence that ACARS transmitted data after 1:07, all that there we "know" is  from uninformed media speculation,  "anonymous sources" and a few conspiracy nuts with very little aeronautical operations knowledge. So I will accept the companies statement (above),  together with the fact that those handling and receiving ACARS data would have no reason whatsoever to withhold  whether they received any.

nɥºɾ

[ca04]

Icy

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Not always,It depends on the angle it hits the water at.

You may remember the pilot that "landed" an airliner on the Hudson river.

It floated while they got the passengers out on boats.

There are numerous accounts of aircraft Landing in the sea intact and 

the people getting out before it sank.

[jimmy*part4]

Why do people think,

I don't "think" anything, just posting a link I thought was interesting. Is it true? I'll reserve my opinion until I hear more reports.

in the absence of hard evidence,

Right! But you'll give me some....right?

that the flight remained airborne for hours after its last position report?

That's what it said.

The large aircraft that I flew were not equipped with ACARS

In that case I'll wait to see what someone who's aircraft was has to say.

but for those grabbing

Who grabbing? I don't grab.....I listen.....when I have time and the will.

at a most unlikely scenario I suggest you study the basics of the technology. <<<<stated twice in one thread....or was the other on the same subject? No matter....

Yeah....I don't think so. I'll stick to studying things related to my field.....then read the papers/watch the news tomorrow.

I'll fill you in then.....and have a cup!

[monman12]

"Yeah....I don't think so. I'll stick to studying things related to my field"

I  agree, and which field are you in?

"I don't "think" anything, just posting a link....."

We have another point upon which we agree"

nɥºɾ

[colic2bullsgirlore]

monman wrote Why do people think, in the absence of hard evidence, that the flight remained airborne for hours after its last position report?

##############################################################################

Not hard...but hardening up. The pings/messages are not designed or meant for tracking however it may be possible

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/world/asia/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-370.html?_r=0

SEPANG, Malaysia — As the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet expanded into the vastness of the Indian Ocean, a satellite communications company confirmed on Friday that it had recorded electronic “keep alive” ping signals from the plane after it disappeared, and said those signals could be analyzed to help estimate its location.

David Coiley, a vice president of Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications provider, said the missing plane had been equipped with an Inmarsat signaling system that sends out a “keep-alive message” to establish that the plane’s communications system is still switched on.

The plane sent out a series of such messages after civilian radar lost contact, he said.

Those messages later stopped, but he declined to specify precisely when or how many messages had been received. Mr. Coiley said Inmarsat was sharing the information with the airline and investigators.

http://www.inmarsat.com/

[debra9275]

Big news conference coming up about the plane in a few minutes, belief the plane was hijacked.

???

[cherry*135]

Yes, I just read that deb

INVESTIGATORS have concluded that one or more people with significant flying experience hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, switched off communication devices and steered it off-course, a Malaysian government official involved in the investigation said this afternoon.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/malaysia-confirms-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-was-hi...

[twyngwyn]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2014/03/15/12/13/jet-piracy-theory-gains-more-credence