Anyone have any idea of the capabilities of the Vietnamese and Malaysian radar systems(particularly range)?
I find it somewhat odd that the time contact was lost with the airplane, it was almost exactly halfway between Vietnam and Malaysia(I assume roughly halfway between both country’s nearest ground radar stations).
Is it even conceivable, in the realm of possibility, for a 777 to be able and fly low enough to evade obsolete radar?
The airplane supposedly started out with enough fuel for a 2,300 mile flight. Dump a little at low altitude to throw off the world, make new bearing, and head to anywhere within a 2,000 mile radius and obsolete radar.
Oh yeah, but then you’d have to find an unassuming place to land a 777. Right.
OK, got enough use out of the tin foil hat for at least the next 6 months.
Can they please find some actual evidence toward the location of the missing plane now, please.
While dated, John McCain has personal experience with Vietnamese radar.
It is not a question of being obsolete, the range of radar is limited by the curvature of the earth.
There is a gap over the Atlantic and other oceans where coverage ends.
In that case regular radio coverage also ends. Pilots must report their location using long range radio.
Regular radio is VHF meaning 120 MHZ or so. Long range radio is a lower frequency (HF) which has a greater range.