WSJ, UK Daily Mail, etc. now saying the plane sent engine data to Boeing and Rolls Royce which indicate they may have operated a further four hours after it vanished from radar. So even if the plane’s transponders were turned off still the plane called home?
Those so called stories cite unnamed sources....hard to believe when no names or sources attached.
From the local news sources try this
“”The Wall Street Journal newspaper quoted U.S. investigators on Thursday as saying they suspected the plane remained in the air for about four hours after its last confirmed contact, citing data from the plane’s engines that are automatically transmitted to the ground as part of a routine maintenance program.
Hishammuddin said the government had contacted Boeing and Rolls Royce, the engine manufacturer, and both said the last engine data was received at 1:07 a.m., around 23 minutes before the plane lost contact.”
You can dispute this if you want but neither Boeing nor Rolls Royce is saying anything different. ACARS is NOT a continuous feed. It tracks and sends during important times and gives data in bursts. The only time that alters is if there is mechanically malfunction that needs repair at landing.