Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 coverage

[Rickshaw]

Malaysia Airlines MH370: No trace of debris in southern Indian Ocean as search continues

 

[Grey Havoc]

Via the Drudge Report: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/malaysia-airlines-mh370-debris-hunt-india-turns-down-chinas-request-enter-its-waters-prevent-1441253

As international efforts are under way to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, India has turned down China's request to enter India's territorial waters to search for the aircraft.

New Delhi has said it does not want the Chinese warships to be "sniffing around" Indian maritime territories under the pretext of searching for the jetliner's wreckage.

The request made by Beijing to allow four of its warships, including two frigates and a salvage vessel, near the Andaman and Nicobar chain of islands, was "politely turned down" by New Delhi, reports the Times of India.

The archipelago has more than 500 tiny islands and shelters India's strategic military installations.

An Indian official said: "The Andaman and Nicobar command is our military outpost in the region, which overlooks the Malacca Strait and dominates the Six-Degree Channel. We don't want Chinese warships sniffing around in the area on the pretext of hunting for the missing jetliner or anti-piracy patrols."

Indian forces are already scouring the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea for the missing Malaysian jetliner.

 

[sublight_]

I'm a little surprised that AFTAC/SOSUS/Etc couldn't detect a ~500,000 pound plane hitting the water....

 

[TomS]

If it's in the southern Indian Ocean, it's a long way from anything of interest.

 

[sublight_]

If it's in the southern Indian Ocean, it's a long way from anything of interest.

Well I guess countries know where to test their weapons now without fear of detection.....

 

[Rickshaw]

If it's in the southern Indian Ocean, it's a long way from anything of interest.

Well I guess countries know where to test their weapons now without fear of detection.....

Thats been known ever since the VELA incident when South Africa tested a nuclear device there.

 

[Rickshaw]

Malaysia Airlines MH370: Favourable weather conditions expected as search for debris resumes

 

[kcran567]

My top three scenarios:


1. Crash (mechanical, pilot error, etc)
2. Theft of valuable cargo/passenger
3. Landed somewhere and kept for future terrorist attack? EMP?

 

[Abraham Gubler]

This thread needs more conspiracy theories. :'(

 

[Rickshaw]

Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappearance highlights radar deficiencies

 

[J.A.W.]

Wonder if the new Nippon maritime defence P-8 competitor - built by Kawasaki - will be deployed?

& for outlandish theory material - how 'bout a 'Flight of the Phoenix' Gobi desert scenario?

Has anyone checked Shangri-La?

 

[Orionblamblam]

Has anyone checked Shangri-La?

My guess is that it crashed on the plateau of Leng. In which case you do *not* want the passengers making it home.

 

[GTX]

First Chinese search aircraft have arrived at RAAF Pearce. I may be wrong but this might be the first time PLAAF aircraft have operated from a RAAF base.

 

[GTX]

Wonder if the new Nippon maritime defence P-8 competitor - built by Kawasaki - will be deployed?

Given only 2 or 3 P-1s have entered service and that they are still in flight trials I somehow doubt it.

 

[J.A.W.]

Wonder if the new Nippon maritime defence P-8 competitor - built by Kawasaki - will be deployed?

Given only 2 or 3 P-1s have entered service and that they are still in flight trials I somehow doubt it.

What better opportunity to 'strut their stuff' & if successful, make some big-time 'face'..

 

[J.A.W.]

Has anyone checked Shangri-La?

My guess is that it crashed on the plateau of Leng. In which case you do *not* want the passengers making it home.

Klaatu barada necktie.. ah.. Klaatu barada niktu?

Rough enuff is near enuff.. When you've got dirt on your face & your name is mud, here in the 21st century..

 

[Rickshaw]

First Chinese search aircraft have arrived at RAAF Pearce. I may be wrong but this might be the first time PLAAF aircraft have operated from a RAAF base.

I think they have. PLAAF Il-76s visited RAAF Fairbairn when the Chinese President came a calling a few years back.

 

[GTX]

Wonder if the new Nippon maritime defence P-8 competitor - built by Kawasaki - will be deployed?

Given only 2 or 3 P-1s have entered service and that they are still in flight trials I somehow doubt it.

What better opportunity to 'strut their stuff' & if successful, make some big-time 'face'..

Given close to 100 Orion's in Japanese service I think these are far, far more likely.

 

[GTX]

First Chinese search aircraft have arrived at RAAF Pearce. I may be wrong but this might be the first time PLAAF aircraft have operated from a RAAF base.

I think they have. PLAAF Il-76s visited RAAF Fairbairn when the Chinese President came a calling a few years back.

I wouldn't count that. Conducting actual operations (albeit search ones) is a totally different thing then transports supporting a political visit.

 

[Rickshaw]

First Chinese search aircraft have arrived at RAAF Pearce. I may be wrong but this might be the first time PLAAF aircraft have operated from a RAAF base.

I think they have. PLAAF Il-76s visited RAAF Fairbairn when the Chinese President came a calling a few years back.

I wouldn't count that. Conducting actual operations (albeit search ones) is a totally different thing then transports supporting a political visit.

Fair point. OK, they have flown in and out of a RAAF base before...

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26695830

10:32: CCTV News has tweeted this satellite image purporting to show the large floating object detected in southern Indian Ocean.

Reuters Aerospace News tweets: This is note handed to Malaysia minister with Chinese discovery of floating object

10:25: Earlier today, the first Chinese military plane heading to Australia to join the search accidentally landed at the wrong airport in Perth before eventually reaching the correct army base, Reuters reports. "We don't know why," a spokesman from the Australian Air Force said.

10:20: Today's press briefing in Kuala Lumpur was packed, as shown in this photo tweeted by the BBC's Akane Furukawa.

10:14: The Chinese government is reportedly to announce details of the satellite images of debris - potentially from MH370 - in a few hours' time.

10:13: A category one warning has been issued for the cyclone, which has now hit the Australian territory of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Malaysian officials say the storm is heading toward the search area.

10:13:

An Australian Air Force officer scans the ocean from aboard an AP-3C Orion. Australia has vowed that the search for flight MH370 will "continue indefinitely"

Seth Doane CBS News Correspondent, Beijing tweets: Malaysia acting transport minister acknowledges meeting with families in Beijing: "there were tense scenes" + appeals to "be understanding"

10:11: Malaysian officials have ended their press briefing to follow up on the latest information from the Chinese government that a large floating object has been discovered in the southern corridor.

10:04: A satellite image shows the floating object is 22m (72ft) long and 30m (98ft) wide, the transport minister says, quoting Chinese government officials.

10:02:BREAKING NEWS The Chinese government is reporting the discovery of a large object in the southern corridor, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announces at a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur.

Jason Ng WSJ Reporter, Kuala Lumpur tweets: Malaysia says may revert to searching "corridors" if objects southwest of Australia aren't from #MH370

09:41: The transport minister has also thanked the 26 countries involved in the search for MH370, saying that vessels "are sailing through a cyclone" to join the operation.

09:39: "We know that this rollercoaster has been incredibly hard for everyone, especially the families," he adds.

09:38: Six planes are searching an area of 10,500 square nautical kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean today, Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirms.

09:38: A cyclone warning has been issued in the southern corridor, with strong winds and rough seas forecast, he says.

09:35: India, Cambodia, and Kazakhstan have confirmed their radar data has shown no sighting of the plane in their airspaces, the transport minister says.

09:30: Malaysian officials are about to hold their daily press briefing in Kuala Lumpur to provide an update on the search.

EDIT:

Akane Furukawa BBC News, Kuala Lumpur tweets: Passing hand written bits of paper. Always a dangerous game. #mh370 #oopsies

10:41: Malaysian officials have corrected their earlier statement and now say the object measures 22.5m (74ft) by 13m (42ft). They initially announced it was 22m long and 30m wide.

 

[Grey Havoc]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/10710250/Malaysia-Airlines-MH370-live.html

10.46 There has been some confusion about the size of the object spotted by Chinese satellite, originally said to be 22m by 30m but now confirmed by the Malaysian government to be 22m by 13m. "This information was received by phone during the press conference, and was initially misheard," the ministry said.


10.30 Following the dramatic turn of events at this morning's press conference in Malaysia, let's have a look at what we know - and what we don't - about this latest sighting.


- Chinese authorities have received satellite imagery of possible debris floating in the southern corridor


- It is not known how many objects have been sighted but one of them is large at 22m by 13m

- It is unclear whether the images were picked up by Chinese satellite or passed to the Chinese government by another satellite operator

- No details have been given as to the location of the debris, apart from that it is floating in the southern corridor. It is unclear whether it is in the same area as the other objects spotted 2,300km south west of Perth

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein received a note with the new information during this morning's press briefing

 

[Rickshaw]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26695830

10:32: CCTV News has tweeted this satellite image purporting to show the large floating object detected in southern Indian Ocean.

This was mentioned by GTX in post #103 and again by me several posts back in #117 with a link to the Australian ABC story where it was first published. Just 'cause it comes from China doesn't make it any more authentic, you realise? :

 

[Grey Havoc]

Just trying to be thorough.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

This was mentioned by GTX in post #103 and again by me several posts back in #117 with a link to the Australian ABC story where it was first published. Just 'cause it comes from China doesn't make it any more authentic, you realise? :

This is a new photo, Sherlock. :'(

 

[Zeppelin]

No one is considering this scenario !!
Helios flight 522
No fire, just scale up the 737 to a 777
.. could explain the random odd "Goodnight sign off call"
1 of 5 parts

 

[JFC Fuller]

This was mentioned by GTX in post #103 and again by me several posts back in #117 with a link to the Australian ABC story where it was first published. Just 'cause it comes from China doesn't make it any more authentic, you realise? :

It's a different photograph from a different satellite taken on a different day.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

11.03 Our correspondent Jonathan Pearlman in Kuala Lumpur reports on the transcript of the final moments of communication between MH370 and air traffic control, revealed in The Telegraph today:


The transcript of the cockpit communications aboard MH370 was discussed at today’s press briefing, with officials confirming it reveals nothing “abnormal” in the communications between the pilots and air traffic controllers.


Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of Malaysia's civil aviation department, said the transcript was “inaccurate” but would not clarify how it was inaccurate and declined to release it.


As noted by The Telegraph, the published version was a translation of a Mandarin version, which was a translation of the English original.

The Telegraph has sighted a blurred photo of the English version but could only use it to make out some of the timings. The published version relied on a Chinese version, which was obtained in full from 00:36:30 onwards (the earlier ground communications were paraphrased).

The prime minister’s office would not say today whether it was the transcript’s wording or the timing of communications that was found to be inaccurate.

10.58 According to reports in Chinese state media, the images of the latest object were taken by a Chinese satellite at around midday on Tuesday, around 120km from where the Australian government announced a sighting on Thursday.

The satellite images were reportedly captured on Tuesday

10.50 Al-Jazeera is reporting that this latest object has been spotted around 120km from those seen earlier this week, though it is not clear where this information comes from.

 

[Zeppelin]

Missing You Tube URL - sorryHelios Flight 522
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=helios%20flight%20522%20crash&sm=1

 

[Grey Havoc]

BBC News:

11:59:

Two Chinese Ilyushin IL-76s aircraft sit on the tarmac of the Pearce military base near Perth, ready to join the search for MH370.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

12.21 Today's efforts in the original Australian search zone have concluded as night falls. It is unclear how the search area might be affected by the recent Chinese announcement - will it be expanded or altered for tomorrow? As yet there has been no word from the Chinese government on the efforts to reach the latest object - we'll update with more as we have it.

Two Chinese Ilyushin IL-76s aircraft sit on the tarmac at RAAF Pearce base

12.16 The Telegraph's Jonathan Pearlman reports from Kuala Lumpur on an odd detail thrown up by the latest sighting:


The distance from the newly spotted object from Perth is 1,630 miles (2,620 kilometres). That is strange, as the first set of debris was estimated to be 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometres) away.

The latest images were taken two days after the original images. During this time, according to experts on the Indian Ocean, the objects were expected to head towards Perth rather than away.

Could this indicate that the two sets of objects are unrelated?


12.10 Here's an image of the location of the object spotted by Chinese satellite, at the coordinates 44°57'29.0"S 90°30'43.0"E, via Google Earth:

The object seen by Chinese satellite is marked by the green arrow

12.06 Though attention is focusing on the reports of objects in the southern corridor, it's worth noting that search efforts are still ongoing in the Andaman Sea between India and Thailand, where northern corridor areas are being re-examined in case of possible clues that might have been missed.

11.53 Here's the latest information from SASTIND, China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, via state news agency Xinhua:

Captured by the high-definition earth observation satellite "Gaofen-1" at around 12 a.m. on March 18 Beijing Time, the imagery spotted the object at 44 degrees, 57 minutes south latitude, and 90 degrees, 13 minutes east longitude, in the southern Indian Ocean, the SASTIND said.

The location of the suspicious object is along the southern corridor missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 might have taken, and about 120 km south by west from the location of a suspicious object Australia found before.

 

[Grey Havoc]

BBC News:

13:06: The Wall Street Journal has created a graphic breaking down the assets deployed by various countries

Malav Karkar, India tweets: Internet shows us how small the World can be, but a missing plane shows us how large this planet is. #MH370

12:59: Here's a five-day forecast for tropical Cyclone Gillian as it heads toward the main search site for MH370 in the Indian Ocean.

12:33: The latest image of potential debris from MH370 was captured by the high-definition Earth observation satellite "Gaofen-1", a report by China's Xinhua news agency says.

12:27: The Chinese "debris" sighting is just 120km from the debris spotted on 16 March, as this BBC News map shows.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Daily Telegraph:

14.05 The Australian agency coordinating southern search efforts has issued a statement on the object detected by Chinese satellites. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the coordinates given fell within the area that they had been searching today.


"AMSA has plotted the position and it falls within Saturday's search area. The object was not sighted on Saturday. AMSA will take this information into account in tomorrow's search plans."


There has been no comment on whether the earlier and the latest objects detected could be one and the same. The larger of the two objects discovered earlier this week was 24m in length, while that announced today by China is said to be 22.5m. But it seems plausible, at least, that measurements taken by distant satellites of items moving in rough seas might have a certain margin of error.

Officers on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion look towards HMAS Success as they scour the southern search area

13.45 Watch our latest Telegraph video on today's announcement of the detection of a further floating object in the southern corridor by Chinese satellite imagery:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCtDmZ4-32w&feature=player_embedded

 

[Grey Havoc]

16.21 Now that today's search efforts have been called off, to begin afresh tomorrow with the new lead of the Chinese sighting, let's have a quick reminder of the assets involved in the mission.


In the search zone now:


Three RAAF P3 Orion aircraft, a New Zealand P3 Orion and two long-range commercial jets


Two merchant ships including Norwegian ship Höegh St Petersburg

Australian naval vessel HMAS Success

Heading to the area:

Two Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft

HMS Echo en route from the Persian gulf

Five Chinese ships: Xuelong, Haixun 01, Nanhaijiu 101, Haixun 31, Nanhaijiu 115

Three more Chinese ships

Two Japanese P3 Orions

 

[Antonio]

Dear members,

Please avoid poisoning and remember that personal attacks are not allowed in this forum.

Basically all moderator alerts are generated from a small group of people. This people post basically on the bar on topics that has no interest for the forum core research.
Have you ever considered there are great forums in the internet that fit better with your interests: politics, personal attack allowed, trolling, etc

Think about it.

 

[GTX]

A slight variation on the image posted at Reply #151:

 

[GTX]

On a slightly lighter note, there has been some special attention focused on one of the RAAF members involved in the search. ;D


I hope none of our members are responsible for the comments posted...

 

[Rickshaw]

On a slightly lighter note, there has been some special attention focused on one of the RAAF members involved in the search. ;D


I hope none of our members are responsible for the comments posted...

I can imagine the comments from the other members of the crew...

 

[J.A.W.]

On a slightly lighter note, there has been some special attention focused on one of the RAAF members involved in the search. ;D


I hope none of our members are responsible for the comments posted...

I can imagine the comments from the other members of the crew...

Something along the lines of, 'Are we there yet?' maybe?

'Who pays?' is another..

 

[Rickshaw]

On a slightly lighter note, there has been some special attention focused on one of the RAAF members involved in the search. ;D


I hope none of our members are responsible for the comments posted...

I can imagine the comments from the other members of the crew...

Something along the lines of, 'Are we there yet?' maybe?

'Who pays?' is another..

"Who's a pretty boy then?" is more like it but I'm sure it would have been more obscene... ;D