The Mystery of Missing Malaysia Airlines 370

[Sheilbh]

I heard that several days ago.

Yeah. The Malaysian's denied it. Tonight the White House that their data is that it did fly on.

Which poses lots of questions.

[Neil]

Something I don't get...there are devices for more serious hikers that will pinpoint GPS location. Friends and family can track where you are at all times, and you can issue distress calls, etc.  Why don't planes have something similar, made of something that won't blow up? Why should it be so hard to find a plane?

Radio waves don't travel very well through water.

[jimmy olsen]

If it crashed in the Gulf of Thailand, it seems like it shouldn't be this hard to find.  The Gulf of Thailand isn't that big and is pretty shallow.

OTOH, if in fact it did change course and went off into the Pacific or the Indian, and they aren't sure where exactly, I doubt it'll ever be located.  It had enough fuel to go way out over both of those.

Still surprising given how many radars and satelites must cover those areas.

[CountDeMoney]

Still surprising given how many radars and satelites must cover those areas.

Malaysian radar?  Vietnamese radar?  Chicom satellites?  Not exactly NATO.

[Queequeg]

Four hours?  Not a bleep? So I guess the idea is that it went off the radar, was going for 4 hours, and then magically crashed?

[jimmy olsen]

Still surprising given how many radars and satelites must cover those areas.

Malaysian radar?  Vietnamese radar?  Chicom satellites?  Not exactly NATO.

Radar isn't exactly cutting edge, it's been around since the 40s.

Thai and Indonesian radar too, plus that of any naval ships in the area. I'm sure there are US and other satellites that go over that area as well.

[Caliga]

I'm not one given to conspiracy theories, but something isn't right here.

[alfred russel]

Something I don't get...there are devices for more serious hikers that will pinpoint GPS location. Friends and family can track where you are at all times, and you can issue distress calls, etc.  Why don't planes have something similar, made of something that won't blow up? Why should it be so hard to find a plane?

Radio waves don't travel very well through water.

Okay, but one would think that if they knew where it hit the water finding the plane would not be so difficult.

[CountDeMoney]

Radar isn't exactly cutting edge, it's been around since the 40s.

OK, pussycat,  you go put yourself in the hands of Malaysian radar operators.

[Monoriu]

I'm not one given to conspiracy theories, but something isn't right here.

Yeah, I initially thought that this must be an accident of some sort.  I now think that it likely isn't just an accident. 

[alfred russel]

I'm not one given to conspiracy theories, but something isn't right here.

Yeah, I initially thought that this must be an accident of some sort.  I now think that it likely isn't just an accident.

There seem to be two reasonable possibilities: accident and terrorism. Are there reasons you think a long term disappearance makes the latter more likely?

[Sheilbh]

I'm not one given to conspiracy theories, but something isn't right here.

Yeah. It feels more and more like, perhaps, a hijacking gone wrong. And it also feels a bit like perhaps the Malaysians aren't as keen at finding out as you'd expect.

[Caliga]

If they can't find a crash site in the Gulf of Thailand soon, the only other non-hijacking explanation I can think of is the depressurization/hypoxia scenario I mentioned earlier like what happened with that Helios Airlines flight.

[Capetan Mihali]

Maybe the pilots listened to heavy metal and made a suicide pact?

[Caliga]

Maybe the pilots listened to heavy metal and made a suicide pact?

Were they rocking out to: Flight of Icarus by Iron Maiden