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
Agreed about the Bumi Putra policy and suitably qualified people playing second fiddle to the "Putras". But this is not going to change.
Disturbing to think that Malaysia, a country I spent nearly 2 years working in and which I think is a cut above most other Asian nations with regards to engineering, duty of care, corporate responsibility (minus the whole palm oil thing), modern technology and training - can't answer any of the important questions.
Boeng wont let this go, there is another 1000+ of these models of aircraft floating around at this very moment.
It may end up like the Adam air disaster a few years back in Indonesia - was too costly and too hard for Adam Air / Indonesia to handle so the aircraft manufacturer took on all costs to seek and salvage - then piece it all together. Took some time to find it too.