Search Underway for MH370 Following Reports of Possible Debris

Voice of America ^ | March 20, 2014 | Staff

[lbryce]

Surveillance aircraft patrolled a remote area in the southern Indian Ocean looking for a missing Malaysian airliner after Australia released satellite images of the region showing possible floating debris.

Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the photos represented a "credible lead" in the massive, multinational search for the plane, which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.

The debris was found 2,500 kilometers southwest of the western Australian city of Perth. John Young with Australia's maritime authority said several Australian planes were headed to the area, but that search efforts could be complicated by poor visibility.

A large number of ships and planes from several countries are also being diverted to the area to help in the search.

Grainy photos released by Australian authorities showed the indistinct objects floating among the waves, partially submerged in the water. Officials estimate that one of the objects was 24 meters long and the other was five meters long.

[lbryce]

Thank you for mentioning it. It’s a story I’ve been hearing a lot about and is a scenario that seems likely and even more worrisome.

[Tupelo]

re: Search Underway for MH370 Following Reports of Possible Debris

Still doesn’t rule out SPACE ALIENS

[stars & stripes forever]

The next big story will be about planes and ships colliding with each other in the massive search. /s

I hope they find the missing MH370, but this 24/7 coverage of scanning the oceans has silenced the election debate, much like the OJ and Zimmerman trials.

[RJS1950]

It also doesn’t rule out debris from the Japan Tsunami several years ago.

[Uncle Chip]

Malaysian Airlines said that it had fuel for 8 hours — 6 hours to Beijing plus 2 just in case.

At 500 mph that means 4,000 miles.

After flying for 2 hours it was just south of the Andaman Islands and a a little north of the Straits of Malaca.

3000 miles due south from that point puts them right where they are looking on the Arc of the Last Ping.

[PghBaldy]

Israel is beefing up defenses for political reasons is my gut. I seriously doubt this is in Iran or Pakistan.

[mazda77]

Sounds plausible if considering the assumption of time and fuel usage at cruising altitude. It appears obvious they were low which changes the fuel range significantly. Besides, I went back and traced what we knew of the out, back and to the Andaman’s. Measureing on GE it is just over 3800 surface miles to the sighting coords from the Andaman.

[Uncle Chip]

Did you measure from point IGREX here which is probably where the pilot turned to head due south???

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3134904/posts?page=33#26

Though it may have flown at low altitude at an earlier point, Malaysian military radar said that as it was flying over the Strait of Malaca its altitude was normal — 35,000 feet.

[Jaded]

It’s only because they refuled on Diego Garcia.

[Star Traveler]

It was quoted in an article I read as being related to this plane, and that they were taking actions, as a result, for all airliners. I remember that one of the measures mentioned is that Israel is extending the distance at which those airliners have to be positively identified.

So ... they are definitely doing it in regards to this. In fact in another article about Israel’s response to this missing airliner, they are saying that “this has Iran’s fingerprints all over it”!

[Star Traveler]

One of the things I saw quoted from Israel (I think it was someone in Israeli Intelligence) was ... “It has Iran’s fingerprints all over it!”

[mazda77]

I measure to the coords from the center of the island which an estimate without the actual coords for those way-points is at best minus 150 surface miles from that 3800 plus change. I am at the office computer so my pushpins are not with me so if you have a list of the way-point coords and also the coords of the “debris” I could do it all over again and give a more precise overall distance but it is still about 700 miles too far.

[Georgia Girl 2]

That plane is not in the Ocean. The US govt likely knows where it is. They just are not sharing at the moment.

[Uncle Chip]

I figure that he would have gone far enough along that yellow line toward waypoint IGREX so that when he then turned due south after 1.6 hours of flying time he would not have been within the Indonesian radar sweep.

He’s at 35,000 altitude — so getting maximum fuel mileage at 525 miles per hour with 6.4 hours of fuel left thus able to travel 3360 miles.

That’s pretty close — especially when 13 days of ocean currents kick in and take it further away.

[mazda77]

OK Unkie, Got the all the waypoint coords and also the sat image coords. Distance along the entire path = 4752 surface miles. This would be estimated just by clicking close to the cross-hairs if each of the 6 points.
Airport
AGARI
VAMPI
GIVAL
IGREX
Sat

[Uncle Chip]

Israel is beefing up defenses for political reasons is my gut.

Israel was beefing up its defenses well before this MH370 incident.

The beefing started weeks before this when all those rockets landed in Israel from the Gaza Strip and talk of invading Gaza began.

[Uncle Chip]

Distance along the entire path = 4752 surface miles.

that's still do-able if you figure 8 hours x 525 mph = 4200 miles.

He may have ordered extra fuel knowing where he was going to go and those ocean currents. I don't want you to get in any trouble at work but:

What is the distance from waypoint IGREX to the earliest part of the search area/debris field

[mazda77]

@3700

[Uncle Chip]

So 3700 - 3360 = 340

Could the current carry debris 340 miles over 13 days???

340 miles/13 days = 26 miles/day = 1.1 miles/hour

Is a current of 1.1 mph at that location common???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_current

[mazda77]

I think you would be cutting just too fine a line to make it so. Does it make sense? Yes/No who is to say? Why the sudden shift south if they were incapacitated? Makes no sense. Why make the Bat Turn from its original trajectory? Too many assumptions of illogical actions.

Like others say, look to the most rational and simplest answer and therein lies the answer, or at least a part of it. I for the mean time will subscribe to the Brad Thor theories.