The Search For MH370, The Plane That Disappeared 10 Years Ago. Will Resume

[OneEyedDiva]

"Malaysia’s government has consistently said it will only resume the hunt if there is credible new evidence. It is now considering an Ocean Infinity proposal for a fresh search with new technology, although it is unclear if the company has new evidence of the plane’s location."
MH370 disappeared ten years ago and search for the plane may be renewed. Here's what we know about one of aviation's biggest mysteries.
While searching for the article about this, I noticed there are a lot of conspiracy theories about what happened. Do you have any theories?

 

[Naturally]

The final voice contact with MH370 was at 01:19:30 and the captain said, "Good night. Malaysian three seven zero."

Two minutes later at 01:21:13, the aircraft's transponder was no longer working. Either malfunctioned or was turned off onboard. The aircraft also began turning away from it's north-easterly course until is was headed in a south-westerly direction.

Then nine minutes later a 01:30, another aircraft tried to contact MH370 and received only mumbling and radio static in reply

MH370 Timeline

The captain was rock solid with over eighteen thousand hours of flight time. He was also an instructor. The co-pilot, a 27yr old was on his final training flight before going for certification on that class aircraft. And the co-pilot was not without prior controversy.

The plane flew for another six hours with little deviation before running out of fuel and landing in the Indian Ocean. Small debris washed up on the French island of Reunion and on the the east coast of Africa, but it took a year and more to do so.

I suspect the aircraft virtually disintegrated on contact with the water at a high rate of speed, having run out of fuel and dropped from the sky. There has been no large debris found and may never be.

The fact that the aircraft that tried to contact MH370 heard at least mumbling and radio static in reply indicates to me that there continued to be the possibility of communication from MH370 had the cockpit chosen to do so. The fact that the aircraft continue for six hours with little deviation until it simply ran out of fuel indicates to me that there was not a complete system failure to the aircraft. All the electrical and hydraulic systems were apparently still functioning.

The plane was either hijacked by passengers or maybe the co-pilot ... the plane could have suffered some sort of malfunction but I can't imagine a malfunction that would slowly turn a plane 180 degrees and then hold a steady course for six hours. It would seem more likely to me that there was intentional deviation.

 

[Naturally]

My imagination allows for one more scenario. Perhaps the plane experienced some sort of catastrophic malfunction at 01:21:13 that not only disabled the transponder but caused both the pilot and co-pilot to begin to lose consciousness. In a desperate effort to "do something", the captain attempted to turn the plane around 180 degrees with an intention of returning to the airport and may have even engaged the auto-pilot in attempting to do so. Then both the pilot and co-pilot lost consciousness and the plane continued on for six hours with little deviation.

The only hitch in that giddy-up is the fact that when the other plane tried to contact MH370 at 01:30, they heard mumbling and radio static in response. So if the plane had a catastrophic malfunction affecting perhaps cabin pressure and oxygen ... why didn't the captain try to communicate that to someone? Apparently communications were still possible nine minutes after the loss of the transponder and change of course.

And still thinking out loud, I might say that the captain and co-pilot may have very quickly lost almost all consciousness and rational thought and were unable to initiate communications and only desperately attempted to rouse themselves and respond when addressed from another aircraft but were unable to function further.

I don't think we'll ever know what exactly happened. It's a mystery.

 

[Capt Lightning]

Just recently there was a very interesting programme on BBC about this. It would appear that by analysing data from various sources, the flight path of MH370 could be calculated and the point at which the aircraft would run out of fuel determined. This was just beyond the original search area and gave rise to speculation that a fresh search would be initiated. One conclusion was that the plane was under human control for the entire duration of its flight.

If you can access the BBC programme, it is well worth the look and explains how investigators calculated the plane's final journey.

 

[Mike]

I understood that the search had been started again.

Mike.

 

[oldman]

After everything I have read and all of the reporting I have listened to, I would lean towards pilot suicide.

If the plane was in trouble and even with radio problems, the pilots could still have been able to broadcast a squawk code. If you don’t know what that is and are interested, please look it up. Besides, there is a total of 2, if not 3 radios that could have been usable. Planes fly with backup radios.

If the plane went into decompression, the pilots could have also donned their masks for air and contacted ATC or again, sent a squawk code. That is what puzzles me most. Why wasn’t a squawk code sent? Either pilot could have dialed 7700 and sent it. That’s the squawk code for “Emergency.” Another code is 7600, which tells ATC that the plane gas radio problems. It only takes a few seconds to send any code.

Bottom line is they had opportunities to reach out for help, but failed to do so. That leaves only the theory of pilot suicide to be debunked.

Someday, that plane shall be located.

Squawk Codes

 

[oldman]

The “transponder” had been turned off. This only happens when it is done voluntarily by someone in the cockpit and the plane never made it to Vietnamese airspace, according to the military’s radar system in the area.

After carefully studying and recreating the tracking of MH-370 and speaking with at least 18 International pilots, I have concluded that this plane was voluntarily flown into the ocean after running out of fuel.

 

[Naturally]

The “transponder” had been turned off. This only happens when it is done voluntarily by someone in the cockpit and the plane never made it to Vietnamese airspace, according to the military’s radar system in the area.

After carefully studying and recreating the tracking of MH-370 and speaking with at least 18 International pilots, I have concluded that this plane was voluntarily flown into the ocean after running out of fuel.

In flight, would the pilot ever leave the cockpit area?
I can't imagine a pilot and co-pilot both intentionally flying off course til fuel expended and hitting the ocean.
Maybe the pilot directed the co-pilot to an area outside the cockpit and then locked the access door to the cockpit and acted alone?
Anything at this point is possible I guess.

 

[oldman]

In flight, would the pilot ever leave the cockpit area?
I can't imagine a pilot and co-pilot both intentionally flying off course til fuel expended and hitting the ocean.
Maybe the pilot directed the co-pilot to an area outside the cockpit and then locked the access door to the cockpit and acted alone?
Anything at this point is possible I guess.

Do we know how many flight crews were onboard? If the flight was less than 12 hours or maybe less than 10 hours, depending on the airline’s policy, there should have been at least three capable pilots onboard. In that case, one pilot at a time could leave the cockpit to use the lavatory or go for a walk, or what pilots call “a stretch.”

There must now be at least one pilot and one other member of the flight crew in the cockpit at all times. That rule became standardized after the Germanwings crash into the Alps when the lone first officer in the cockpit locked out the Captain. When I flew, I always made that a rule. If I left the cockpit and the F/O was alone, I brought the Purser into the cockpit to keep my F/O company, but I seldom left the cockpit in my 33 years. I would guess maybe only three times I left the cockpit.

If you like conspiracies, here’s one story that I heard told. The Captain and First Officer were in the cockpit. There was possibly a third pilot in the cockpit who sat in the jump seat. One of the men, possibly the third pilot left the cockpit. The Captain then locked the access door, pulled his legal pistol and held it on the First Officer, turned off the transponder (tracking device) and turned the plane around.

According to military radar in the area, the plane then just sort of wondered about until it ran out of fuel. The rest is history.
Aljazeera

I would have liked to have been invited to the meeting held in another country with 10 other pilots that were invited to help with the investigation. It was last reported that a few hundred million dollars had been spent on the investigation. It’s still an open case. A lot of people do not like conspiracies. I do. To me, conspiracies are the product of a mind being used for it’s intended purpose. MH-370 was no accident.

I flew to Alaska only one time. We flew into Anchorage, deplaned 200 passengers and flew to Denver. When we got to Alaska, we were put into a holding area in the sky going 30 miles out from the airport. We got a call from somewhere in Russia telling us we were within 25 miles of Russian airspace. I replied, “We are a commercial United States flight. We have no intentions of breaching Russian airspace. Our apology for being so close, but Anchorage has us in a hold.”

The Russian ATC was very polite and he said, “We understand. If you come within 10 miles of Russian airspace, we will send an escort to return you back to U.S. airspace.” I simply said, “Thank you.” That was a great experience. When we landed in Anchorage, I left the plane for maybe 5 minutes because I wanted to stand on Alaska soil.

 

[gruntlabor]

Do we know how many flight crews were onboard? If the flight was less than 12 hours or maybe less than 10 hours, depending on the airline’s policy, there should have been at least three capable pilots onboard. In that case, one pilot at a time could leave the cockpit to use the lavatory or go for a walk, or what pilots call “a stretch.”

There must now be at least one pilot and one other member of the flight crew in the cockpit at all times. That rule became standardized after the Germanwings crash into the Alps when the lone first officer in the cockpit locked out the Captain. When I flew, I always made that a rule. If I left the cockpit and the F/O was alone, I brought the Purser into the cockpit to keep my F/O company, but I seldom left the cockpit in my 33 years. I would guess maybe only three times I left the cockpit.

If you like conspiracies, here’s one story that I heard told. The Captain and First Officer were in the cockpit. There was possibly a third pilot in the cockpit who sat in the jump seat. One of the men, possibly the third pilot left the cockpit. The Captain then locked the access door, pulled his legal pistol and held it on the First Officer, turned off the transponder (tracking device) and turned the plane around.

According to military radar in the area, the plane then just sort of wondered about until it ran out of fuel. The rest is history.
Aljazeera

I would have liked to have been invited to the meeting held in another country with 10 other pilots that were invited to help with the investigation. It was last reported that a few hundred million dollars had been spent on the investigation. It’s still an open case. A lot of people do not like conspiracies. I do. To me, conspiracies are the product of a mind being used for it’s intended purpose. MH-370 was no accident.

I flew to Alaska only one time. We flew into Anchorage, deplaned 200 passengers and flew to Denver. When we got to Alaska, we were put into a holding area in the sky going 30 miles out from the airport. We got a call from somewhere in Russia telling us we were within 25 miles of Russian airspace. I replied, “We are a commercial United States flight. We have no intentions of breaching Russian airspace. Our apology for being so close, but Anchorage has us in a hold.”

The Russian ATC was very polite and he said, “We understand. If you come within 10 miles of Russian airspace, we will send an escort to return you back to U.S. airspace.” I simply said, “Thank you.” That was a great experience. When we landed in Anchorage, I left the plane for maybe 5 minutes because I wanted to stand on Alaska soil.

I don't understand, oldman. Anchorage is nowhere near Russian airspace --Russia is like thousands of miles away.

 

[davey]

thought about this hard and long once - there was other info at the time about the pilot's family relationshops not being so good - I go for the suicide version?? - but I don't think now we will ever know - so its all guessing isn't it even though it could be clever guessing?

 

[oldman]

I don't understand, oldman. Anchorage is nowhere near Russian airspace --Russia is like thousands of miles away.

I don’t think you understand airspace. Airspace exceeds past the boundary of a country’s land mass. This is really difficult to explain.

When you are a pilot and put into a hold or hold pattern, most likely, you will be flying anywhere from 10-50 miles from the airport. Usually, it’s closer, instead of farther away. Russia claims their airspace to be almost everything up to 17 miles from Alaska. It wasn’t too many years ago that NORAD detected Russian aircraft flying over Alaska’s land mass.

When I flew to Anchorage on that day, I was sent 30 miles away from the airport and then begin my “final approach” into the airport. The closest point from Alaska to Russia is somewhere around 50 miles. Russia “claims” their airspace to be whatever they want it to be. IOW, Russia doesn’t abide by International law. They make up their own rules and when they tell you that you are too close, your better off to accept their request to return to Alaskan airspace.

I keep thinking when Russia shot down a Korean 747 over the Sea of Japan that Russia determined to be their airspace. It just makes good sense not to argue while you are in the air with Russia or China about airspace. Leave that up to the Secretary of State to take up that argument.

 

[oldman]

It was in 1983 that Russia shot down the Korean 747. Even though the plane was flying over the Sea of Japan, Russia claimed it to be in prohibited Russian airspace. The Russian pilot later stated that he did fire flares at the commercial plane, but the plane did not respond .

Military aircraft and Commercial aircraft radios are on different frequencies and cannot speak to one another. I always felt that the Russian pilot could have done more before firing his rocket into the Korean plane, but he claims that the Korean plane took evasive action after the flares had been shot. To him, this was suspicious activity and he was given the green light to shoot it down.

I have spoken with a few pilots that fly to Alaska quite often and they tell me that the best way to fly to Anchorage is any way that does not take your plane anywhere near the Behring Sea or Strait.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

It was in 1983 that Russia shot down the Korean 747. Even though the plane was flying over the Sea of Japan, Russia claimed it to be in prohibited Russian airspace. The Russian pilot later stated that he did fire flares at the commercial plane, but the plane did not respond .

Military aircraft and Commercial aircraft radios are on different frequencies and cannot speak to one another. I always felt that the Russian pilot could have done more before firing his rocket into the Korean plane, but he claims that the Korean plane took evasive action after the flares had been shot. To him, this was suspicious activity and he was given the green light to shoot it down.

I have spoken with a few pilots that fly to Alaska quite often and they tell me that the best way to fly to Anchorage is any way that does not take your plane anywhere near the Behring Sea or Strait.

Oldman, thank you for your very interesting information about certain events, what may have happened with Flight MH370 and how things work from a pilot's perspective. I had read about the theory that it was pilot suicide (as well as other theories) but at the time, I didn't know what to think really happened. Your explanation makes pilot suicide seem more likely.

 

[oldman]

Oldman, thank you for your very interesting information about certain events, what may have happened with Flight MH370 and how things work from a pilot's perspective. I had read about the theory that it was pilot suicide (as well as other theories) but at the time, I didn't know what to think really happened. Your explanation makes pilot suicide seem more likely.

You’re welcome.

One more time. If the plane was in trouble and none of their 2 or 3 radios worked, they could have sent a squawk code. A squawk code is four digits that have meaning that the air traffic controllers will understand. This is why I have to believe it was suicide. No squawk code was sent. The squawk code can be sent orally over the radio or surreptitiously via a transponder, so if a hijacker would be in the cockpit, he wouldn’t know what you were doing.

There are codes for hijacking and many other things that can happen while in flight. Look at the codes in red.

Squawk Codes

 

[Mike]

According to a report in the Scottish Daily Record, this
plane has been discovered, it was found using Google
Maps, an expert, reckons that it is in a Cambodian Jungle.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/mystery-mh370-solved-google-maps-32890444

At the time when it vanished, there was a suggestion that it
could be in a jungle, but hidden by the trees.

I hope that this isn't more fake news, I seem to have found
some, several times lately.

Mike.

 

[oldman]

I wish I had at least some International flying experience. It may help me to better understand the geographic of everything described.

According to the Time Line, there was a number of times when MH370 made attempts to log on and/or "shake hands," but no replies came back. At first, I thought there was a total loss of communications, but now I learned that the plane did attempt to log on to the sat com satellite systems. All any of this has done is create confusion.

Looking at the map, it's very possible that it ended up where Wilson thinks it did before running out of fuel. I don't (won't) dispute that.

I will leave it to the engineers and scientists to figure this out, but for now at least, I stick with pilot suicide.

 

[aei]

Will we ever know?