If you're referring to external control of the aircraft, I see that as very unlikely. The technology exists, and we may not know the full capabilities of such. If someone could and did take over MH370 from another location, I'd think about two things. First, how would the Captain and FO be incapacitated to ensure success? I'd think they'd fight such a takeover in any way possible and do anything possible to signal distress. Second, only a very few nations could even attempt such a thing. I don't know if anyone but the U.S. would be advanced and brazen enough to do it. Certainly is interesting, particularly with Diego Garcia in mind. I doubt it, though.
If you mean the autopilot continuing to fly the altered and programmed route after the pilots had died, then that's possible. I think that would end with the plane in the water.
You have an Air Force background, so fire away if you've got a good theory. I think all of our theories will be revised and the real arguing and speculation will begin once there's been a clear spotting of a plane, or pieces of one, somewhere. This story is going to get crazier, and I doubt we'll ever really know what we wish to know.
I just learned about it today. Seems like a system to prevent a 911 recurrence. ATC (Im guessing) can take over the aircraft in the event of a hijacking and manaully fly the aircraft to a military base or safe runway. The system is supposed to include sensors to detect an break in of the cockpit.
Google uninterruptible autopilot.
USAF80: < What about the remote control autopilot?>
< If you’re referring to external control of the aircraft,... The technology exists, and we may not know the full capabilities of such. >
Glory hallelujah, that open-mindedness is refreshing to read.
This isn’t necessarily directed to you since I don’t know your background, but pls let me vent a minute. It’s been my experience that it takes a certain kind of computer person to be able to open his mind to admit, or maybe even to comprehend, that maybe, just maybe, there is malware in the wild now that he hasn’t seen yet, and therefore he just MAY not fully comprehend its abilities. And heaven forbid if someone without his “expert training” and “experience” comes along and tries to explain that maybe the reason he doesn’t see any evidence of being pwned is because he resides inside a virtualized Matrix World full of Linux penguins, nop slides, and hidden hacker conversations inside the binary files. In truth, the “Reality” he is allowed to see on his computer screen every day is whatever “Reality”his Slavemaster Owner allows him to see at any given moment. His owner is the current owner of the persistent virtualized rootkit that operates on his pwned computer.
My experience has also been that many “computer people” are not educated on the capabilities and complexities of the malware now used by our own NSA, the Russians, and the Chinese. And the typical “know-it-all” will arrogantly claim you’re nuts if you even insinuate that maybe there is something he doesn’t know yet. This isn’t even my field, but the testosterone-laden ignorance is so thick out there, I had to teach myself how to reverse engineer just to get the attention of the PTB in my world. It ain’t rocket science, but one has to be able to admit he doesn’t know everything before learning is possible. < /rant >
< If someone could and did take over MH370 from another location, I’d think about two things. First, how would the Captain and FO be incapacitated to ensure success? I’d think they’d fight such a takeover in any way possible and do anything possible to signal distress. >
We may never know, but if they were hacked, they may not have even realized it until it was too late. If the plane was being flown remotely, that does not mean that the pilots would know why and how it was happening in real time. A hack this complex would have meant the hackers had the ability to hide the actual real-time digital events and instead, only display on the pilots’ screens whatever they wanted the pilots to see. These hackers have at least 2 screens open: their screen and your screen. (If there’s a webcam in the room, make that 3 screens/windows.)
For that matter, maybe the pilots’ O2 supply was hacked or otherwise made inadequate/inaccessible (if it’s computerized). Yes, it sounds absurdly impossible, but anything controlled via computer is a potential possibility.
< If you mean the autopilot continuing to fly the altered and programmed route after the pilots had died, then that’s possible. I think that would end with the plane in the water. >
I agree. Since I know zilch about flying, it just seems over the top to think that a ‘drone-controlled’ plane full of dead people could be remotely navigated at the low altitudes they’re saying would be required to evade radar. UNLESS, the plane shadowed that other plane over India to ‘hide,’ as I’ve seen discussed, or UNLESS one of those country’s radar system was also hacked, making those affected radar operators see whatever the hackers wanted them to see. (Yeah, that sounds equally absurd!). Personally, I think the plane was hacked but their mission failed and the plane crashed somewhere. But our govt may not be sure of that yet, hence the stalling. If they can find the crashed plane, it’ll be a piece of cake to invent some run-of-the-mill hijacking story. They probably already have the YouTube video all ready to go. ;-)