2,200 miles
...and just think of all the Fuel burned by the Planes & Ships trying to find the Airplane!!
Shhhhhhh... don’t tell the Greenies, they’ll make the search stop for Climate Change’s sake!!
/sarc
This engine database thing is interesting. I wonder if it’s a satellite based system, which is non-directional. Also, if the databases have info, they may indicate engine operating parameters (RPM, fuel consumption), which my indicate some minimal information about flight conditions.
Past FR link from 2005:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1486262/posts
Did this 777 have a bad history from 2005? read the attached link.
http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2005/aair/aair200503722.aspx
In-flight upset; Boeing 777-200, 9M-MRG,
PILOTS on a Boeing 777 from Perth to Kuala Lumpur battled to gain control of the plane last month after an unknown computer error caused the aircraft to pitch violently and brought it close to stalling.
A flight attendant dropped a tray of drinks and another began praying as the Malaysian Airlines pilots fought to counter false information being fed into the aircraft’s autopilot system and primary flight display.
The glitch prompted plane manufacturer Boeing to issue a global notice to all 777 operators alerting them to the problem.
Flight MH124 was about an hour out of Perth when the aircraft began behaving erratically. The incorrect data from a supposedly fail-safe device caused the plane to pitch up and climb 3000ft (914m), cutting its indicated airspeed from 500km/h to 292km/h and activating a stall warning and a “stickshaker”.
A stickshaker vibrates the aircraft’s controls to warn the pilot he is approaching a speed at which the plane will have insufficient lift to keep flying
If it did then it had to have help from one or both of the pilots. They would have known how to turn off the transponder and make the plane disappear electronically.
Planes carry enough fuel to reach their primary airport plus two alternatives; at night an extra 45 minutes of flight time plus the alternatives. No reason to burn fuel to carry fuel. With that in mind, what would have been the maximum range the plane could have flown? Without looking back for information I think I remember it was a 777-200ER (ER= extended range) - so you still have to calculate the fuel load and how far it could have gone. Then of course where. If it was a hijack at the very least a 12,000ft rwy somewhere in a jungle had to have been built and those are very distinctive even being carved out of dirt.
This was also intriguing, from Drudge last night:
“In yet another twist to the mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a New Zealand oil rig worker has come forward to say he believes he saw the airplane on fire right around the time it disappeared.
Mike McKay, a worker on the “Songa Mercur” drilling platform in the South China Sea, sent an email to his bosses detailing his version of events.
He said he “observed the plane burning at high altitude...in one piece” about 50-70km from his location, Business Insider reported.
He gave coordinates for the location of the rig, which recently moved from Cuba to the shores of Vietnam.
McKay’s employer confirms that the letter, posted online by several news outlets on Thursday, is authentic.
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/03/13/Missing-MH370-Oil-Rig-Worker/
Maybe there’s another Bermuda Triangle in that part of the world. Or they went through a time warp and are now flying over dinosaurs. I saw that on Twilight Zone once.