MAS B772 9M-MRO Flight MH370 KUL-PEK Missing with All 239 POB Presumed Killed

[KC Sim 2]

From the latest press conference this afternoon, I think I learnt one thing:

 

When the military mentioned that there was a contact detected turning back from where the B777 was ... and that contact may have flown to an area in the northern end of the Straits of Malacca ... I hear the good gentleman cautiously mentioning that "from the recording ... ". It does not appear like anyone was looking at the radar at the time that contact turned back and flew across the northern part of the Peninsula towards the Straits of Malacca and the Andaman Sea. The military only went back to the recording some time later and attempt to make sense of what they see.

 

Is that correct? A question was asked why fighters were not scrambled since an "unidentified flying object" was detected ... but the answer given became lost in a lot of mumbo jumbo about not being sure if it was even the B777.

 

KC Sim

[safril90 0]

True..AFAIK.. if there is a present of an unidentified flying object on the military radar, TUDM will deploy their MiG to intercept and identify it. so what is actually happen here?

[JuliusWong 0]

COPY PASTE YAHOO UPDATE 7:14pm]: Acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and other officials just concluded a press conference with the media. It was an intense affair, with the media far more aggressive than they had been before.

Here are some highlights from what transpired:

Q: Will search and rescue ops now move to search and recovery ops?

A: Search and rescue will continue. We still have hope.

Q: There is a lack of transparency and communication. What is Malaysia hiding?

A: What we are going through is unprecedented, not easy coordinating with so many countries, so many vessels (and such a) vast area. We will never give up hope, we owe this to the families.

Q: Did the aircraft turn back?

A: There is a 'possible' turnback. Why 'possible'? Because we are trying to corroborate with all radars, including civil radars. We have been very consistent in what we have been saying in the last few days. The target disappeared at 1:30 in the morning. Primary radar didn’t pick it up at that point in time. Defence primary radar was analyzed same day. Indication of possibility of air turn back. That’s why search was conducted in Straits of Malacca.

The last plot was at 02:15, 200miles northwest of penang. But doesn’t give identification of aircraft.

Q: You don’t seem to know what's going on. This is utter confusion.

A: I don’t think so. It’s only confusion if you want to see it as confusion.

Q: What about Boeing 777 warnings about fuselage? Are you confident about structural integrity?

A: The aircraft is airworthy.

Q: This specific plane?

A: Have to check. But this (that all aircraft be airworthy) is a policy.

Q: What about the conflicting information on the five passengers?

A: The five passengers were on board. No baggage offloaded. Those that booked that didn’t arrive were replaced from reserve (standby) list. Four didn’t turn up. Standby passengers replaced four that didn’t turn up.

On the search of unidentified aircraft, here's what they had to say:

A: The military sat down to think of areas to expand the search. We were baffled that there were no distress signals. So we decided that we should review if our air defense radar tracked this aircraft. When we looked at teh recordings, we looked at if there was a possibility the aircraft turned back. We're not sure if same aircraft, but it's in same area. We didn't track it in real time. we saw recording of data.

Q: How long with search and rescue last?

A: We won’t stop operations until we find the aircraft.

Q: Why didn't fighter jets intercept the UFO?

A: To radar operators, it is a trail of a civilian aircraft going north and not classified as hostile.

Q: What about allegations that co-pilot allowed passengers into cockpit in previous flight?

A: It is against company policy. We are against any acts which will compromise the safety of the aircraft.

[Waiping 12]

The PC answered my queries about the dot on the radar.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Waiping

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Is that correct? A question was asked why fighters were not scrambled since an "unidentified flying object" was detected ... but the answer given became lost in a lot of mumbo jumbo about not being sure if it was even the B777.

 

KC Sim

If I recall correctly they assumed that it was one of the many commercial planes flying on schedule that night. Also I believe one of the military leader stated that the returns were intermittent. Edited March 12, 2014 by Mohd Suhaimi Fariz

[Johan Z 0]

 

COPY PASTE YAHOO UPDATE 7:14pm]: Acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and other officials just concluded a press conference with the media. It was an intense affair, with the media far more aggressive than they had been before.

On the search of unidentified aircraft, here's what they had to say:

A: The military sat down to think of areas to expand the search. We were baffled that there were no distress signals. So we decided that we should review if our air defense radar tracked this aircraft. When we looked at teh recordings, we looked at if there was a possibility the aircraft turned back. We're not sure if same aircraft, but it's in same area. We didn't track it in real time. we saw recording of data.

 

 

That makes sense. Seems like they went and looked back at the data, hence 5 days. Real time tracking of aircraft will be expensive especially for a nation like Malaysia which currently doesn't engage in any conflict.

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

The flight wasn't full, why there were standby pax ?

[zamim 0]

The flight wasn't full, why there were standby pax ?

I am puzzled too. Earlier report indicated that there were Peking MAS staff onboard, so they might be on standby but the flight was not full.

[JuliusWong 0]

The answers below should give a clue as to who created the confusion as some here had mentioned stories had been twisted and turned by media. But who 'putar' and 'pusing' first?? Let you guys be the judge.

 

(SOS) COPY PASTE YAHOO UPDATE 8.14PM : The search for MH370: Key areas of confusion

False alarms, swirling rumours and contradictory statements have made the wait all the more agonising for the families of the 239 people on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

As the search dragged into its fifth day, here are some of the key areas of confusion:

▪ Did the plane veer off course?

Malaysia's air force chief on Sunday raised the possibility that the plane inexplicably turned back after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing a day earlier.

RMAF's Tan Sri General Rodzali Daud said the theory was "corroborated by civil radar", without giving further details.

Late Tuesday, Rodzali was quoted by a local Bahasa Malaysia daily as saying the aircraft had been tracked hundreds of miles from its intended flight path, over the Strait of Malacca.

Vietnam had initially said the plane was approaching its airspace when it vanished from radar screens.

Rodzali has since insisted that he did not make the comments attributed to him by the Berita Harian newspaper, and the report was "inaccurate and incorrect".

The search today swung even further up Malaysia's west coast, towards the Andaman Sea, but officials gave no indication there was a firm reason to expand the search other than its failure to bear fruit so far.

▪ Timings

Officials say contact with the aircraft was lost at around 1.30am Malaysian time, about an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Initially, Malaysia Airlines had put the last contact time at 2.40am.

The timing of 1.30 am would place the plane between Malaysia and Vietnam, where Vietnamese air traffic control and flight-tracking websites say the plane vanished off radar.

The later time of 2.40 am could suggest the plane had indeed veered radically off-course.

Despite the Malaysian air force chief's denial of the Berita Harian report, that theory has gained credence given the expanded search area off Malaysia's west coast.

▪ Search areas

The search began in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand, on the approach to Vietnamese airspace.

Since then, Malaysian authorities have widened the search radius several times as well as shifting its focus, fuelling accusations of official bungling and a slow-footed response.

Authorities have not said whether they have any firm indications that the plane might be in the Andaman Sea.

Vietnam suspended its air search and scaled back a sea search today - awaiting clarification from Malaysia about the potential new direction for the search, which involves dozens of ships and aircraft from several countries including China and the United States.

▪ Debris

There have been several false alarms linked to debris spotted in busy shipping lanes in Southeast Asian waters.

Large oil slicks found by Vietnamese planes on Saturday yielded no trace of the plane, nor did debris found Sunday near Tho Chu island, part of a small archipelago off southwest Vietnam.

Malaysia sent ships to investigate a sighting of a possible life raft on Monday, but a Vietnamese vessel that got there first found only flotsam.

Chemical analysis by Malaysia on Monday found no link between the oil slick found at sea and the missing plane.

▪ Stolen passports

Revelations that two of the passengers were travelling on stolen EU passports fuelled early speculation that the plane was the victim of a terrorist attack.

Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama on Sunday quoted Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the two suspect passengers had "Asian features", without elaborating.

It emerged on Tuesday that the pair appear to be Iranian illegal immigrants who were seeking a new life in Europe.

▪ Phones ringing

Chinese media have reported that relatives have heard ringing tones when trying to call their missing loved ones' mobile phones.

The accounts of some passengers on Chinese messaging tool QQ show they had been online, other reports say, although the operator says that failure to shut the software down properly can give that impression.

Alfred Siew, a Singapore-based technology commentator, admits it is a "mystery", but said the matter could be merely due to a network error affecting some phones.

▪ Luggage

Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, head of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation, said Monday that five passengers who had purchased tickets and checked baggage did not make the flight.

He told journalists their luggage was removed from the plane, as per standard procedure, when routine checks indicated the five passengers had not boarded before take-off.

But Malaysia's chief of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar insisted yesterday that all passengers who booked the flight did board in the end.

However, muddying things further, Malaysia Airlines issued a statement hours later saying there were indeed four passengers who had valid bookings but did not check-in for the flight.

▪ Balotelli

Malaysia's civil aviation chief, Azharuddin, also drew scorn on social media by referring to black Italian footballer Mario Balotelli when discussing the two suspicious passengers who boarded the plane with stolen passports.

When asked what the two suspects travelling on EU passports looked like, Azharuddin referenced Balotelli, who was born in Italy to Ghanaian parents and is an Italian international player, as an example of how one's skin colour does not necessarily indicate nationality.

Malaysia's transport ministry later issued a statement saying "no ill feelings" were meant by the comment, but the social media reaction underlined feelings of embarrassment with so much world attention focussed on the plane search. – AFP, March 12, 2014.

Edited March 12, 2014 by JuliusWong

[Alif A. F. 0]

I begin to think the plane probably headed towards Indian Ocean, perhaps flying in the open water right until the last drop of oil, before finally descending towards the ocean. Perhaps, search and rescue teams should extend their search area until within reach of Mauritius, as distance between KUL and MRU is only slightly longer than KUL to PEK. Anyway, just my thought on this.

[S V Choong 4]

I begin to think the plane probably headed towards Indian Ocean, perhaps flying in the open water right until the last drop of oil, before finally descending towards the ocean. Perhaps, search and rescue teams should extend their search area until within reach of Mauritius, as distance between KUL and MRU is only slightly longer than KUL to PEK. Anyway, just my thought on this.

When flying low altitude, aircraft would consume fuel than flying at high altitude. Doubt they will make it all the way to Maldives before fuel ran out.

Edited March 12, 2014 by S V Choong

[Alif A. F. 0]

When flying low altitude, aircraft would consume fuel than flying at high altitude. Doubt they will make it all the way to Maldives before fuel ran out.

Low altitude means at which altitude? Perhaps, whoever is in control of the aircraft, will do as much as possible to minimise radar detection. I still think the plane is somewhere out there in the Indian Ocean. I just hope whoever is in control of the aircraft, change his/her mind by the time the aircraft ran out of fuel, and perhaps safely ditch it so all persons can safely get out the plane and into life rafts.

[Waiping 12]

When flying low altitude, aircraft would consume fuel than flying at high altitude. Doubt they will make it all the way to Maldives before fuel ran out.

 

Still it doesn't explain how a plane can drop/descent from 35000ft to low enough to avoid detection. Must be one hell of a stunt.

[Cire 0]

Now what make it fly to far away? Hijacked? Or perhaps after making the turn back to the peninsular, both pilots lost consciousness due to oxygen depletion in the cabin thus it continue to flew at the last direction it was turned?

 

 

But this will not explain why the transponders are switched off, or what's the probability that both transponders failed?

The beacons may not be picked up yet as the plane could be elsewhere where there's little surface vessel traffic around.

 

At this moment, everyone's guess is as good as the next person.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Cire

[Waiping 12]

Missing Malaysia Airlines plane's legal limbo hampers probe

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/missing-malaysia-airlines-planes-legal-limbo-hampers-probe-20140312-hvhny.html#ixzz2vkpsTE7W

 

"The international standards attempt to provide a degree of protection, for example from criminal prosecution, for individuals who give statements to the enquiry."

 

Believe we have opposite law that punishes whistle blowers.

[Alif A. F. 0]

Now what make it fly to far away? Hijacked? Or perhaps after making the turn back to the peninsular, both pilots lost consciousness due to oxygen depletion in the cabin thus it continue to flew at the last direction it was turned?

 

Reminds me of Helios flight 522.

[JuliusWong 0]

I somehow foresee mounting lawsuit against Malaysia Government, MAS and Boeing.......This has been done before, and in many cases, the victims' families are at the winning end. God forbid the settlement will close down MAS for good........

[V Wong 0]

Captain Nik H in Astro Awani live now

[Naim 6]

... the settlement will close down MAS for good........

Pan Am revisited.

[Alif A. F. 0]

I somehow foresee mounting lawsuit against Malaysia Government, MAS and Boeing.......This has been done before, and in many cases, the victims' families are at the winning end. God forbid the settlement will close down MAS for good........

I'm hoping taxpayers will not foot the bill.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Alif A. F.

[Mushrif A 3]

What is very clear from the press conference was that:

- Chief of Armed Forces was more explicit that they only discovered the possibility of -MRO heading past Penang after looking back at the data recording...

- Chief of Air Force was trying his best to say that they assume all (civilian) traffic, even if unknown, as not a threat. I think this is the cover-up...that they do not do any real-time threat assessment...maybe because the coverage was patchy or nobody was really manning the screens...and obviously he doesn't want to elaborate further that could disclose any lack of operational capacity or readiness.

 

But what seemed lacking in the nation's infrastructure and could have been significantly useful if one exists was a "hotline" between the civilian ATC (in Subang) and the military, which would have been useful for the former to get the latter to immediately pay attention to the latter's screens...and help out in filling the gaps once the plane disappeared from the ATC's screens.

 

 

Btw, what was all that rumour about finding the wreakage between Pulau Perak and Northern Sumatra?

[Johan Z 0]

That's why people questioned the government's lack of transparency and mumbo jumbo.

[Naim 6]

"Vietnam keeps discovering. Malaysia keeps denying. China keeps sending things on the way. Journalists keep waiting at the Lido hotel [where relatives are waiting]. Family members keep being in pain … But where is the plane?"

 

MORE ON: http://storify.com/Naim/mh370/

 

Well, we did get invaded by some Sulu island natives....so, it is relatively easy to poke holes here and there...

 

That's why SG army is confident in advancing all the way to Keluang before they get any opposition.

 

What is very clear from the press conference was that:

- Chief of Armed Forces was more explicit that they only discovered the possibility of -MRO heading past Penang after looking back at the data recording...

- Chief of Air Force was trying his best to say that they assume all (civilian) traffic, even if unknown, as not a threat. I think this is the cover-up...that they do not do any real-time threat assessment...maybe because the coverage was patchy or nobody was really manning the screens...and obviously he doesn't want to elaborate further that could disclose any lack of operational capacity or readiness.

 

But what seemed lacking in the nation's infrastructure and could have been significantly useful if one exists was a "hotline" between the civilian ATC (in Subang) and the military, which would have been useful for the former to get the latter to immediately pay attention to the latter's screens...and help out in filling the gaps once the plane disappeared from the ATC's screens.

 

 

I concur with you on this. Am not surprised if their so-called military radars are operational only half the time, like their fighter jets. Seems like they are covering their asses right now.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Naim

[KK Lee 5]

Chinese satellite found floating objects at about 105.63E, 6.7 on 9th March

 

 

 

 

 

中新网3月12日电 据国家国防科技工业局网站消息，中国卫星高分一号卫星3月9日上午11点左右获取的图像中，在马航失联客机疑似失事海域观测到3处疑似漂浮物体。

　　近日，在获悉马航客机失去联系的消息后，国防科工局立即组织中国资源卫星应用中心，利用高分一号卫星对疑似失事海域进行观测。在高分一号卫星3月9日上午11点左右获取的图像中，位于(105.63oE，6.7oN)为中心方圆20公里的区域，观测到3处疑似漂浮物体，尺寸分别约13米×18米、14米×19米、24米×22米(见图1-3)。

　　国防科工局将根据事态发展，组织中国资源卫星应用中心综合利用卫星资源，优化成像区域，分析数据，持续为搜救马航失联客机服务

 

http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2014/03-12/5943596.shtml

[Mushrif A 3]

Those military head honchos looked very uncomfortable with all those grilling ... with (foreign) media calling their bluff. Those military guys are more used to giving out orders without being questioned...