missing plane

[saundra]

its very odd no trace of it
im sure somebody knows something
so many conflicting reports
it must be a terrible nightmare for everybody concerned

[Workingman]

It is odder than odd.

There are military satellites watching the skies for "unannounced" events and none was identified in this case. There was no Mayday call. As of yet there has been no wreckage found, no black boxes, and no black box transmissions. It is also very strange that it was on radar till the moment it disappeared in the Gulf of Thailand, between Malaysia and Vietnam, and yet the search has been extended to the Straits of Malacca, the other side of Malaysia. I wonder if the rumours of hijacking are anything to do with that, but it still doesn't explain how the plane could have got there "unseen", either on radar or visually.

[saundra]

its very odd frank like you say nothing from saterllites
unless it flew under radar cover
as was suggested today

[Diflower]

I've copied this from someone who's interested and trying to keep up with all the reports:

"The post from Aviation Herald has been amended..... it was seen!!!! On Mar 11th 2014 Malaysia's Air Force reported their primary radar data suggest, the aircraft may have turned west over the Gulf of Thailand at about 1000 meters/3000 feet below the original flight level (editorial note: another possible interpretation could be: at 1000 meters of height compared to 10000 meters original level) and flown past the east coast near Khota Baru and the west coast of Malaysia near Kedah, the radar return was last seen at 02:40L near Pulau Perak in the Straits of Malacca, about 285nm westsouthwest of the last known (secondary) radar position. Local Police at the city of Bharu confirmed a number of locals reported lights and a low flying aircraft at Bharu at an estimated height of 1000 meters/3000 feet"

It's a mystery

[debih]

It was the little green men.

[Workingman]

The report from Di, thanks Di, is now coming through on the main news sites, but what is not explained is the reason the Malaysian Military has kept this information quiet for so long.

[Kaz]

It is bizarre, hopefully the authorities will get to the bottom of it, so that the relatives will know the truth. It must be horrendous for them

[victor]

why were the military tracking? is this usual practice? were they treating it as unidentified ?did they know it was a civilian aircraft?

[Workingman]

Good questions Vic. The military can track aircraft all the way down to the ground, so it would not be unusual to track an unidentified low-flying aircraft; but it would also be SOP to send something up to have a look, especially if it was not transponding or responding to ATC.

Things do not stack up here. It was apparently the Chinese who reported the plane on a heading of 333 - N'west. The civil sightings over Kota Bharu say the plane seen was at about 1000 m, but I can say, from having sat many hours on runway duty, that it is impossible to tell a plane's height and distance at night. Also, a plane at only 1000 m would have hit the higher land of the Malay peninsula. If it, a B777, was still flying over Pulau Perak at 02:40 and was fuelled for a non-stop trip to Beijing it had enough range left to potentially reach Somalia.

[victor]

another thought --could this be a "shot down" as unidentified /not responding to radio calls--a.k.a. 9/11?