Mar 17, 2014, 3:08 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
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FlyerTalk members come from all walks of life and all parts of the world. We are as diverse in our makeup as we are alike in our passion for frequent flyer programs. Because we all bring a unique perspective to the forum, our collective experience is broadened, and we gain new insights.
Our diversity demands that we respect each other. Due to the inherent constraints of the Internet, humor, sarcasm, language and slang can be easily misinterpreted - especially when crossing cultural boundaries.
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MH370 Discussion and Speculation Thread
Mar 17, 2014, 5:38 am
#46
Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Mar 17, 2014, 6:18 am
#47
Join Date: May 2004
Location: LON UK
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Can't speak for the credibility but check it out (picked up from IBT): Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 ‘Cyber Hijack’ Theory Emerges
Mar 17, 2014, 6:18 am
#48
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: sheffield
Posts: 51
Must say I'm moving closer to the Cargo and theft hypothesis,.....
I didn't know until recently those seats were 'blocked' and couldn't be filled..... just thought the plane wasn't full. Very different situations.
So there was probably a dense cargo on board.... or something more dense than usual luggage.
The mangosteen release is a terrible move by the Malaysians..... there's something afoot!
I didn't know until recently those seats were 'blocked' and couldn't be filled..... just thought the plane wasn't full. Very different situations.
So there was probably a dense cargo on board.... or something more dense than usual luggage.
The mangosteen release is a terrible move by the Malaysians..... there's something afoot!
Mar 17, 2014, 6:22 am
#49
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 6
@sumishanaidu 27m
More contradictory statements today from KL.but now we know "alright, good night" msg probably from co-pilot..after ACARS turned off #MH370
More contradictory statements today from KL.but now we know "alright, good night" msg probably from co-pilot..after ACARS turned off #MH370
This is why there is so much misinformation in the wider community and so easy for some to question the investigation without really knowing facts.
Mar 17, 2014, 6:34 am
#50
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Several outlets/blogs have reported the theory that MH370 "flew in the shadow" of another airliner to avoid radar detection after reaching the Strait of Malacca... some have pinpointed a Singapore Airlines flight to Barcelona that was also a 777 and that the flight path through the waypoints was identical at the exact time MH370 would have reached the Straits.
I wont post a link here so as not to be banished to the tinfoil conspiracy thread, but in a more technical sense I was wondering when its implied a flight is shadowing another, how close vertically/horizontally would MH370 have to have been to go undetected? Could it have been at 5000ft while another plane was at 35,000ft? Could it follow just a mile behind or so? I know with the transponder off it could go undetected by another flight, but it just seems incredible it could be so close to another plane and go undetected.
I wont post a link here so as not to be banished to the tinfoil conspiracy thread, but in a more technical sense I was wondering when its implied a flight is shadowing another, how close vertically/horizontally would MH370 have to have been to go undetected? Could it have been at 5000ft while another plane was at 35,000ft? Could it follow just a mile behind or so? I know with the transponder off it could go undetected by another flight, but it just seems incredible it could be so close to another plane and go undetected.
Mar 17, 2014, 6:54 am
#51
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So let's say 8000lbs of Mangosteens (yum) in the hold. That would equate to 50 pax x 160 lbs per. Or in metric 50 pax x 72kg.
So the question now is: What was really in the cargo and why the reticence to release the manifest? Is this normal during the course of an investigation?
So the question now is: What was really in the cargo and why the reticence to release the manifest? Is this normal during the course of an investigation?
Last edited by aBroadAbroad; Mar 17, 2014 at 10:03 am Reason: Redacted quote of deleted post and meta
Mar 17, 2014, 7:14 am
#54
Join Date: May 2009
Location: GLA
Posts: 1,214
If each seat is worth ~$290, that means they are spending $14,500 to ship 6000-8000 pounds of mangosteens, or $1.80-$2.40 per pound. I don't know the going rate for mangosteens in China, but this doesn't make sense to me.
Mar 17, 2014, 7:30 am
#56
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Evidence of a plot by Malaysian Islamists to hijack a passenger jet in a 9/11-style attack is being investigated in connection with the disappearance of Flight MH370.
An al-Qaeda supergrass told a court last week that four to five Malaysian men had been planning to take control of a plane, using a bomb hidden in a shoe to blow open the cockpit door.
Security experts said the evidence from a convicted British terrorist was “credible”. The supergrass said that he had met the Malaysian jihadists – one of whom was a pilot – in Afghanistan and given them a shoe bomb to use to take control of an aircraft.
An al-Qaeda supergrass told a court last week that four to five Malaysian men had been planning to take control of a plane, using a bomb hidden in a shoe to blow open the cockpit door.
Security experts said the evidence from a convicted British terrorist was “credible”. The supergrass said that he had met the Malaysian jihadists – one of whom was a pilot – in Afghanistan and given them a shoe bomb to use to take control of an aircraft.
Link to story from the Telegraph.
Mar 17, 2014, 7:31 am
#57
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 81
It is worth noting that NST is wholly owned by UMNO, the party that had led the Malaysian government for 57 years. It is therefore to some extent the English language mouthpiece of the government and it is heavily edited/censored to suit the ruling party's agenda.
Having said that, if they really did get sources from inside Malaysian military, the 5000 feet figure might be true. Worth noting also that on the second day itself we had reports of people in Kota Bharu seeing a large plane flying very low so that adds credence to this.
http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general...radar-1.516965
Mar 17, 2014, 7:37 am
#59
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 155
Mangosteens!
Can someone help me with my numbers here - the Mangosteens aren't adding up to me.
Malaysia 777 says 47,380 US Gallons max fuel capacity. That's somewhere just under 145,000 kg.
The burn rate of one of these things is somewhere around 8,100 kg per hour across a given flight, giving up to 18 hours of flight time.
Lets just push it a little bit for comfort and say that the plane took-off with even so much as 10 hours of fuel, that's 81,000kg. That leaves 64,000kg of payload available because of fuel.
How does "3-4 tonnes" of Mangosteens add up to a cargo that requires a 54 seat block being unoccupied? That's the "3-4 tonnes" of Mangosteens on it's own covered, what about the remaining 64 tonnes of payload capability?
There are underlying assumptions here, that the earlier statement about the standby passengers being let on when there were 5 no-shows is accurate...
Malaysia 777 says 47,380 US Gallons max fuel capacity. That's somewhere just under 145,000 kg.
The burn rate of one of these things is somewhere around 8,100 kg per hour across a given flight, giving up to 18 hours of flight time.
Lets just push it a little bit for comfort and say that the plane took-off with even so much as 10 hours of fuel, that's 81,000kg. That leaves 64,000kg of payload available because of fuel.
How does "3-4 tonnes" of Mangosteens add up to a cargo that requires a 54 seat block being unoccupied? That's the "3-4 tonnes" of Mangosteens on it's own covered, what about the remaining 64 tonnes of payload capability?
There are underlying assumptions here, that the earlier statement about the standby passengers being let on when there were 5 no-shows is accurate...
Mar 17, 2014, 7:38 am
#60
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 39
This Tomnod image is being bandied about on PPRuNe.
http://www.tomnod.com/nod/challenge/...014/map/637975
http://www.tomnod.com/nod/challenge/...014/map/637975
From the location and direction, I'd say it's probably a scheduled 737 - JetKonnect? - on approach to Port Blair.