Malaysia Airlines Flight Goes Missing En Route to China

sherm

davita

TV news says it last reported the Kota Bharu waypoint then went missing. It was at 35,000 ft. If a controlled descent was executed then a Mayday call and emergency transponder would have been heard. Apparently this did not occur so the likelyhood is the A/C disintregated at altitude and the debris would be widely spread. The question now is to find some debris and tuning to the Transponder locator signal.

spicyayam

Two of the passengers were flying on stolen/lost passports. It makes me wonder how they were able to get through airport security. With modern passports these days it is not easy to change the photo. They would have also needed to visas for China, so it is another place the passports would have been checked.

samsiam

exactly...combine that with a recent problem at Bangkok airport where a passengers luggage exploded and caught fire 'after' check in on the conveyor belts...it was full of fertilisers I think from memory and self ignited.....luckily then, instead of later.

davita

spicyayam wroteTwo of the passengers were flying on stolen/lost passports. It makes me wonder how they were able to get through airport security. With modern passports these days it is not easy to change the photo. They would have also needed to visas for China, so it is another place the passports would have been checked.

You should question our guru Markit. Recently.....he admonished me for naivety on the [I]Bali Biker [/I]thread for not having the guile to know how photoshopping President Putin's face onto a picture was a simple exercise. Maybe Markit had some influence in photoshopping the pics on the fake/stolen passports. Maybe he's running a lucrative business in copying passports and visas as he's hidden in the north of Bali...out of sight of civilisation. Maybe he's also Smokes agent......and that's why Smoke has such an easy time getting his Sosbuds whilst 'socializing' in gili T and Lombok.....:icon_idea: Maybe we'll need to wait/see what the aircraft recorders say about the Bali Connection.....:icon_question:

Markit

This "resident Guru" is pretty much Gob-smacked by the whole thing so far and has to admit to having more questions than answers. Facet: In this world of CYA (cover your ass) employees why, who and how was it generally decided that (with all the billions spent on heightened security around the world since 9/11) a millisecond computer search of the Interpol Data bank for lost and stolen passports is not in general use for [B][U]all[/U][/B] airline tickets? Again and again something new comes up and you just could not make that shit up! Here's hoping they all turn up live and well in North Korea.

Deborah

OMG you're right. The western press hasn't even focused on visas to China. Virtually, nationals from most countries in the world need a visa for China. The photo cannot be easily changed, true. Most passports now have a microchip in them with all information. The immigration official is supposed to use a reader to read the chip and make certain that the photo matches in both the chip, passport and traveler standing before him.

sherm

I don't often wear tin foil on my head, but when I do I look stunning.

Markit

sherm wroteI don't often wear tin foil on my head, but when I do I look stunning.

Is that to keep out those insistent voices saying "kill, kill, kill!!!"?

ferdie

The weirdest outcome of this fake passport issue in the flight is they will start tightening the checks for everyone with any European passport but with different looks Got a friend with Vietnam descendant holding an Italian passport working back and forth to KL, every time he landed in KL, they will treat him with extreme caution :icon_eek:

davita

This new revelation, from the Malaysian Military, that the A/C turned around is astonishing. According to their info, without informing anyone, the A/C could have turned and flown the reverse route and is now missing in the Malacca Straits. If so...where were all those Air Traffic Controllers monitoring the Malaysian Flight Information Region (FIR) ...where were the radio calls to request and be granted this change of Flight level and Nav Course. If not made..... why wasn't the Malaysian Defence Force scrambled to intervent? Didn't anyone on duty, monitoring aircraft in the Malaysian FIR, not remember KAL 007 in 1983 and the subsequent reports and changes to routines? All commercial A/C HAVE to fly on Airways, at the approved Flight level (FL) according to the FIR Flight Plan...using a serviceable transponder. An A/C that size simply does not disappear....some other stuff is going on and, when it is found...and it will be, some heads are going to be chopped! edit: My last sentence was not something I just dreamed up. Hong Kong Associated Press reported the link below for those wishing to look further. Malaysia has a policy of Bumiputra Malays getting top jobs in Gov't...which excludes many of the 35% in the population of other races, probably better suited. I predict there will be enough media attention to the way things are being handled that changes are in the offing. Did anyone listen to the Malaysian Director of Aviation's speech...he was almost incomprehensible. link: AOL.com Article - Bad decade: Malaysia Airlines has catalog of woes

davita

People with National passports different to their ethnic looks have been around for a very long time.....how many Canadians look Asian....maybe millions! The problem with some countries is they never take security with as much seriousness as others. The biometric passport has been around for a while but many countries haven't introduced it, and many still say they can't afford it, so their citizens will soon feel the brunt of this policy. A data base to find fake/stolen passports is available at a very low cost (The Swiss paid US$60,000 to install their equipment). If Malaysia were to implement the scan this issue would disappear. With regard to that.....I'd suggest traveling to/fro Malaysia will be a little more secure in future.....but maybe a little less lax.:grumpy: edit: Interpol says the price to install is between US$30,000 and US$250,000 depending on how many terminals needed. The ongoing cost to access the data for the ISP....seeems cheap to me!

samsiam

It should be a safe bet flying with MAS for awhile now....maybe cheap flights to boot.

davita

samsiam wroteIt should be a safe bet flying with MAS for awhile now....maybe cheap flights to boot.

Not so sure Samsiam...MAS were not in a good financial position before....with this kind of liability they might not even survive...I would refrain from buying a ticket for a future trip! Might be OK on a day by day... but months down the road....not so sure.

samsiam

Just looking at it from a crash perspective.....not likely to have another ding for a long time...so odds and all that

davita

I hope you're right Samsiam but some say.......everything happens in threes.

Markit

samsiam wroteJust looking at it from a crash perspective.....not likely to have another ding for a long time...so odds and all that

Using that logic it's a great idea to always carry a bomb with you on plane trips cause the chances of there being two bombs on the same plane are minuscule.

davita

Breaking news this morning suggests a Chinese satellite has identified some large debris roughly where the A/C was last believed to be between Malaysia and Vietnam, whilst still airborne. This is good news as the water there is part of the Sunda Shelf and fairly shallow. Let's hope.

samsiam

davita wroteI hope you're right Samsiam but some say.......everything happens in threes.

Yes but always 3 different companies.....except if you are the thai airforce...they crashed 3 helicopters in a row not so long ago.

samsiam

Markit wroteUsing that logic it's a great idea to always carry a bomb with you on plane trips cause the chances of there being two bombs on the same plane are minuscule.

You know that mentioning that 'B' word on the internet will draw attention to you from those that are watching.....have a nice trip to Myanmar.....i'd pack a small personal tube of gel just in case.