Article

2014-03-18 Southeast Asia

A Startlingly Simple Theory About the Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet

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Posted by gorb 2014-03-18 15:29|| || Front Page|| [14 views ] Top

#1 My pet theory is the Indonesian military were testing a locally produced drone and thru general incompetence had it collide with MH370. This explains the burning plane the Kiwi saw (the drone).

The Indonesian military is both secretive and largely beyond civilian control.

Posted by phil_b 2014-03-18 16:29|| 2014-03-18 16:29|| Front Page Top

#2 The plane is in Australia.

Lots of remote abandoned WWII airfields in northern Australia.

Australia is a very likely terrorist target if this plane is not at the bottom of the ocean.

OR

A separatist group in China has it and will use it to protest Chinese policies.

Has any one looked to see if there have been unusual purchases of JP-5 at remote airports? Have there been large purchases of explosives in vicinity of said remote airfields.

Posted by Bill Clinton 2014-03-18 16:32|| 2014-03-18 16:32|| Front Page Top

#3 If it made it to Australia, which I very much doubt, it could have landed on a dry salt lake. There some big ones in very remote places,

Posted by phil_b 2014-03-18 16:55|| 2014-03-18 16:55|| Front Page Top

#4 ..maybe gorb. A well thought-out and presented thesis, but:

Not so sure about how heavy it was. The a/c can, depending upon configuration, carry up to 440 pax + 12 crew. A peek at the AFM and cargo manifest could give us some insight here.

Yes, an electrical fire, assuming no overcurrent protection or failure of same (really?), would (probably - see OpSpecs + AFM) initiate a main buss pull, thence all equipment off by individual switch - buss back online - restore equipment via individual switch to isolate the "burner," but one of the top five things I'd turn back on would be the GPS for a "Direct To - Nearest" punch (I assume the unit would be pre-configured to eliminate unsuitable airports, but OpSpecs GPS setup would be the place to look here.). Next would be a "Mayday" call by either comm or you-know-what. Independent radios and redundant systems and no call made that I'm aware of.

A fire moving faster than the ability to reach back and put on a "Quick Don" mask would be something quite extraordinary.

The Boeing SmartStem® would alert, assuming used, the crew of any temperature and/or pressure issues before taxi. Also, the Multi-Function Display conveys tire-pressures to the flight deck in "real time." Would also be surprised if the gear bays did not have a smoke/fire warning and suppression system.

Although O2 is less densely packed at 45,000, a pilot would really be thinking at least two boxes out to try this maneuver. A climb would result in a slower airspeed thus less dynamic air pressure to "blow out" or feed (pick your poison) the flames. An aerodynamic stall in a swept-wing transport-category aircraft? In a sim, sure, but real-time? No thanks.

In spite of your excellent analysis, I'm still sticking to my "Space Aliens" theory UFN..

Posted by Uncle Phester 2014-03-18 16:58|| 2014-03-18 16:58|| Front Page Top

#5 Pick the Klingon Vessel of your choice Uncle Phester

Posted by Victor Emmanuel Squank3982 2014-03-18 17:16|| 2014-03-18 17:16|| Front Page Top

#6 one of the problems w gorb's theory is that the transponder apparently was turned off before the causal 'good night' sign off

Posted by lord garth 2014-03-18 17:29|| 2014-03-18 17:29|| Front Page Top

#7 The Wired article makes a lot more sense than the media speculators who have no evidence or common sense to support their speculation.

Posted by Airandee 2014-03-18 17:34|| 2014-03-18 17:34|| Front Page Top

#8 There is still the report of the pilot's family moving out of their house the day before. Could be the usual Malaysian inefficiency at work, but it is out there.

Posted by Pappy 2014-03-18 17:49|| 2014-03-18 17:49|| Front Page Top

#9 Not my theory, but with some tweaks it might work. No telling how long a fire would have burned before being detected, or when it would affect things. Or how.

Posted by gorb 2014-03-18 18:32|| 2014-03-18 18:32|| Front Page Top

#10 Rebuttal at reddit.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2014-03-18 19:34|| 2014-03-18 19:34|| Front Page Top

#11 It all depends on when the waypoint was punched into the computer.

So far the story is that the pilot entered the waypoint to turn the plane around before he said "Good Night" to the controller. If this is the case it was premeditated and an accident that took the crew out quickly isn't what happened.

Posted by DarthVader 2014-03-18 22:19|| 2014-03-18 22:19|| Front Page Top

23:02 JosephMendiola
22:59 rammer
22:19 DarthVader
22:06 Alaska Paul
21:44 Alaska Paul
20:18 JosephMendiola
19:58 JosephMendiola
19:53 JosephMendiola
19:47 Besoeker
19:37 Besoeker
19:34 Zhang Fei
19:17 European Conservative
19:10 Barbara
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18:32 gorb
17:51 trailing wife
17:49 Pappy
17:42 trailing wife
17:34 Airandee
17:34 trailing wife
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17:31 Uncle Phester
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17:28 Uncle Phester