Flight MH370: Malaysians convinced it was hijacked

[Political Junky]

Sounds like experts have reached a conclusion. Wonder where the plane is now.
^my comment
Latest news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com | The Guardian

Investigators are now convinced the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was hijacked by one or more people with significant flying experience, who switched off communications and diverted the flight, an official involved in the investigation said on Saturday.

But they do not know the motive or where the plane was taken, the unnamed source told Associated Press.
<more>

 

[JohnA]

Sounds like experts have reached a conclusion. Wonder where the plane is now.
^my comment
Latest news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com | The Guardian

Investigators are now convinced the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was hijacked by one or more people with significant flying experience, who switched off communications and diverted the flight, an official involved in the investigation said on Saturday.

But they do not know the motive or where the plane was taken, the unnamed source told Associated Press.
<more>

looks like it
normally any terrorist group hijacking a plane would announce it *not much point otherwise *but this might have gone wrong and the plane crashed ,could be similar to the 9/11 plane that went into a field just my opinion

 

[Political Junky]

Live news conference at any moment from Malaysia.

 

[jon_berzerk]

Sounds like experts have reached a conclusion. Wonder where the plane is now.
^my comment
Latest news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com | The Guardian

Investigators are now convinced the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was hijacked by one or more people with significant flying experience, who switched off communications and diverted the flight, an official involved in the investigation said on Saturday.

But they do not know the motive or where the plane was taken, the unnamed source told Associated Press.
<more>

if that is the case it would be for a future use

perhaps this is why EROS has been requested to assist in the search

they will be able to see the plane if it is in the open

their photos would also be able to see fresh landing marks

on any old air fields in the area

 

[candycorn]

Sounds like experts have reached a conclusion. Wonder where the plane is now.
^my comment
Latest news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com | The Guardian

Investigators are now convinced the missing Malaysia Airlines plane was hijacked by one or more people with significant flying experience, who switched off communications and diverted the flight, an official involved in the investigation said on Saturday.

But they do not know the motive or where the plane was taken, the unnamed source told Associated Press.
<more>

looks like it
normally any terrorist group hijacking a plane would announce it *not much point otherwise *but this might have gone wrong and the plane crashed ,could be similar to the 9/11 plane that went into a field just my opinion

Ya know, that may have been what happened. As I recall, Atta broadcasted a message to air traffic control by mistake. Maybe these guys (if there were terrorists on the plane) knew better how to conceal what was going on.

It sure does seem like there could be a way to upload the FDR information instead of relying on black boxes to be found.

 

[waltky]

Part of the outboard wing flap of MH370 likely found...

Wing part 'highly likely' from MH370, Australian officials say
Sat July 30, 2016 - A large wing part recently found on a Tanzanian island "highly likely" came from missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, according to Australia's transport minister.

The piece of debris was found in late June on Pemba Island, in the Indian Ocean near the mainland. The piece, believed to be part of the outboard wing flap of the missing Boeing 777, was transported to Australia and analyzed by the country's Transport and Safety Bureau. "The experts will continue to analyze this piece to assess what information can be determined from it," said Darren Chester, minister for Australia's Infrastructure and Transport.

A piece of aircraft debris found on Pemba Island, just off Tanzania, in late June was analyzed in Australia.​

So far, debris believed to be from the aircraft, which disappeared in March 2014, has also washed up on Reunion Island and in Mozambique, Mauritius and South Africa. One piece is confirmed to have come from MH370 while four other items are "almost certainly from the missing aircraft," according to Australian authorities. "The debris pieces were located in areas consistent with drift modeling performed by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and affirms the focus of search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean." The debris hasn't brought much clarity to the mystery of where the plane may be. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a news conference last week that the debris cannot point search officials to where it came from.

Senior officials from the three countries involved in the search -- Australia, Malaysia and China -- announced earlier this month that the effort to locate MH370 will be suspended and rethought if the missing plane isn't found in the remaining search area. Less than 10,000 square kilometers are left. Ministers have reiterated that the effort to find MH370 has not been abandoned, but that they want to see if there are new, credible leads to pursue when they finish scouring the 120,000-square-kilometer "high priority" area.

MORE Wing part 'highly likely' from MH370, officials say - CNN.com

 

[waltky]

ROV to be Used in Search for Missing Flight MH370...

Underwater Drone to be Used in Search for Missing Flight MH370
October 19, 2016 - Australia says an underwater drone will be used in the continuing deep sea search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Australia’s Transportation Safety Bureau said Wednesday it will fit one of the ships involved in the deep-sea sonar search with a special drone that will be used to investigate several pieces of debris identified in previous explorations as having some “man-made properties.” "The ROV (remotely operated vehicle) will be tasked to reacquire and investigate, through video imaging, a range of sonar contacts which have been identified during previous deep tow operations," the ATSB said in a statement. "Winter weather conditions have, until now, prevented the safe deployment of the ROV, but now sea states are improving."

Havila Harmony, one of three ships scouring the southern Indian Ocean for the remains of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.​

The search will take place off Australia’s western coast, where officials say they’ve found more than 20 so-called sonar contacts that require further examination. The Malaysia Airlines flight vanished more than two years ago on March 8, 2014, while travelling to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. There were 239 people aboard. Despite a massive search effort conducted off the Australian coastline where investigators believe the plane crashed, there has been no sign of the plane or the passengers aboard.

The search of a 120,000-square-kilometer area where the plane is suspected to have gone down is scheduled to be completed by January or February, Australian transportation officials said Wednesday. When that search area is completely cleared, the governments of China, Malaysia and Australia agreed to permanently suspend the effort, unless “credible new information” arises.

Underwater Drone to be Used in Search for Missing Flight MH370

 

[waltky]

Did a hacker hack into MH370?...

Former Malaysian prime minister cites ‘remote takeover’ for disappeared MH370
Sat, Mar 24, 2018 - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday said that missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 might have been taken over remotely in a bid to foil a hijacking, reviving one of the many conspiracy theories surrounding its disappearance.

The airplane disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people — mostly from China — on board while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. No sign of the Boeing 777-200ER jet was found in a vast search of the southern Indian Ocean and the Australian-led hunt, the largest in aviation history, was suspended early last year. Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a 2m wing part known as a flaperon. The search restarted in January, in an area north of the original zone that scientists now believe is the likeliest crash site. A private research vessel is scouring the seabed, commissioned by Malaysia on a “no find, no fee” basis.

Mahathir, 92, who is leading an opposition bid to topple scandal-hit Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in elections due this year, said he did not believe Kuala Lumpur was involved in any cover-up. However, he told the Australian newspaper in an interview that it was possible the airplane might have been taken over remotely. “It was reported in 2006 that Boeing was given a license to operate the takeover of a hijacked plane while it is flying, so I wonder whether that’s what happened or not,” said Mahathir, who ruled for 22 years. “It’s very strange that a plane leaves no trace at all.” “The capacity to do that is there. The technology is there,” he said of his theory. “You know how good people are now with operating planes without pilots. Even fighter planes are to be without pilots. Some technology we can read in the press, but many of military significance is not published,” he added.

Boeing in 2006 was reportedly awarded a US patent for a system that, once activated, could take control of a commercial aircraft away from the pilot or flight crew in the event of a hijacking. However, there is no evidence it has ever been used in airliners due to safety concerns. The lack of a final resting place for MH370 has spawned numerous theories, including that it was a hijacking or terror plot. The flight’s captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, was also under scrutiny, although investigations on him have turned up nothing.

An initial search focused on an area east of peninsular Malaysia, but attention soon shifted west when it emerged the plane had switched course and headed over the Indian Ocean — just as its communications equipment was switched off. Investigators later focused on an area to the west of Australia based on scant clues available from satellite “pings” and calculations of how much fuel was on board, which suggested the airplane ditched in the southern Indian Ocean.

Former Malaysian prime minister cites ‘remote takeover’ for disappeared MH370 - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Third party intervention possible in Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mystery...

Third party intervention possible in Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mystery, report says
Jul 30, 2018 — A Malaysian-led independent investigation report released Monday, more than four years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared, highlighted shortcomings in the government’s response and raised the possibility of “intervention by a third party.”

The report, prepared by a 19-member international team, reiterated Malaysia’s assertion the plane was deliberately diverted and flown for over seven hours after severing communications. Chief investigator Kok Soo Chon said the cause of the disappearance cannot be determined until the wreckage and the plane’s black boxes are found. He said there was no evidence of abnormal behavior or stress in the two pilots that could lead them to hijack the plane but all passengers were also cleared by police and had no pilot training. “We are not of the opinion that it could be an event committed by the pilot,” Kok told a media briefing. “We cannot rule out unlawful interference by a third party,” such as someone holding the pilots hostage, he said. But he added that no group has said it hijacked the plane and no ransom demands have been made, compounding the mystery. Kok said it was up to police to investigate.

He said the investigation showed lapses by air traffic control, including a failure to swiftly initiate an emergency response and monitor radar continuously, relying too much on information from Malaysia Airlines and not getting in touch with the military for help. The plane carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished March 8, 2014, and is presumed to have crashed in the far southern Indian Ocean. The report said there was insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air or during impact with the ocean. Scattered pieces of debris that washed ashore on African beaches and Indian Ocean islands indicated a distant remote stretch of the ocean where the plane likely crashed. But a government search by Australia, Malaysia and China failed to pinpoint a location. And a second, private search by U.S. company Ocean Infinity that finished at the end of May also found no sign of the wreckage. Family members of those on board the plane said after a briefing by the investigation team that they were frustrated because there were many gaps in the probe and questions left unanswered. “There is nothing new but it highlighted failings of some government agencies” that did not follow protocol and guidelines, said Grace Nathan, whose mother was on board the plane.

A woman writes a message on a banner for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Malaysia, in March 2014.​

She said the scope of the safety investigation was also too limited, depended too much on information supplied to them by other parties rather than on their own probe, and didn’t discuss the scope of the searches. Sakinab Shah, sister of senior pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, said she felt “relieved and happy” that Zaharie was again cleared of blame. “But still, it cannot end here. They have to continue the search until they find the plane,” she said. Officials said Monday’s report is still not a final accounting because the plane hasn’t been found. Malaysia’s government has said it is open to resume searching if credible evidence of the plane’s location emerges. The “rogue pilot” theory still arises in public discussions despite Malaysian authorities saying there was no evidence linking Zaharie or his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, to any wrongdoing. Kok said it was “human nature” to speculate on sensational conspiracy theories but that the team relied on facts.

He said police retrieved over 2,700 coordinates from various file segments found in Zaharie’s home flight simulator. This included seven “manually programmed waypoint coordinates” that when linked could fly from the Kuala Lumpur airport to the southern Indian Ocean, but police could not determine if the coordinates were found in a single file or from different files, he said. Police didn’t find any data that showed a similar route flown by Flight 370 and concluded that there were “no unusual activities other than game-related flight simulations,” Kok said. He said investigators couldn’t find any flaws with the plane and dismissed the theory that it was remotely controlled. Boeing has such technology to foil plane hijacking but hasn’t used it on any commercial planes, he added. New Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the government will investigate and take action against any misconduct based on the report findings.

Third party intervention possible in Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mystery, report says