Flight MH370 Speculation

[Jason]

I know, it seems complicated, but only when trying to explain it...easy with a bit of practice.

So in your expert opinion, did this flight require max fuel based on what we know about that day. I imagine it would be easy to sift through weather conditions, and arrival airport conditions, and which alternate routes they planned for pre flight. Wouldn't this be easy to discover? Can they discover which alternate airports he planned for incase of emergency, and emergency planning doesn't always dictate added fuel, Right? Also, how does a pilot plan for alternates pre flight. Does he/she have to plot airports all along the way or only plan for fuel emergencies that would require taking the plane beyond its destination

 

[WeedWhacker]

So in your expert opinion, did this flight require max fuel based on what we know about that day. I imagine it would be easy to sift through weather conditions, and arrival airport conditions, and which alternate routes they planned for pre flight. Wouldn't this be easy to discover? Can they discover which alternate airports he planned for incase of emergency, and emergency planning doesn't always dictate added fuel, Right?

I believe that TWCobra looked into this, and determined that MH370 was fueled for a typical approx. 6-hour flight segment (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing), with normal Alternate and Reserve and Contingency add-ons. The question a few weeks back arose as to whether or not this particular flight was "tankering" fuel...this is sometimes done due to fuel costs or availability problems at a particular airport. Was determined NOT to be the case, in this instance.

Can they discover which alternate airports he planned for...

Not really that big of a deal...any Alternate has to be within certain defined parameters (for "Twin-Jets", a radius based on one-engine only, "worst-case-scenario" situation. For jets with more than two engines, then it's based on one engine out) and in any event, in International Operations, ALL flights must have a designated Alternate. Additionally, there are certain weather forecast implications that might require TWO Alternates. As I said, it gets complicated.

Example for non-International: i.e., Newark to Los Angeles....IF the weather forecast for arrival at LAX (within a range of 2 hours before, to 2 hours after ETA) is within certain criteria, then an Alternate is not needed, and thus, no extra fuel is required. THAT is a rule for Domestic flights.

But again, each flight that is designated an "International" flight will always have a designated Alternate, with the commensurate fuel, etc, regardless of actual weather forecasts.

 

[Jason]

I believe that TWCobra looked into this, and determined that MH370 was fueled for a typical approx. 6-hour flight segment (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing), with normal Alternate and Reserve and Contingency add-ons

He did and your are right. I just wanted clarification into the process or decision making that happens pre flight for a pilot and co pilot in terms of planning and fuel. To check a few wild ideas off my list. LOL...

 

[Jason]

Its just so frustrating to be honest with you guys/gals. I could only imagine what the families are going through. Its just so hard to accept that a jumbo jet in today's day and age with all the technology could go missing. It's hard to put these speculations to rest. I wonder what others think about the odds of finding this plane.

 

[Jason]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/flight-mh370-scientists-say-pings-3594541

The frantic search for missing plane MH370 has been hampered by a premature announcement that a black box had been found, it has been claimed.

Underwater scientists say 'pings' picked up by a US locater were not from the missing Malaysian Airlines craft as announced by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Acoustic experts told The Courier Mail they were likely from a man-made source because they were too far apart and at the wrong frequency.

"As soon as I saw the frequency and the distance between the pings I knew it couldn't be the aircraft pinger," one of the scientists, who did not wish to be named, said.

The underwater drone Bleufin-21 will continue scouring the Indian Ocean next week near to where the pings were detected over a month ago.

The experts said a failure so far to find any trace of the jetliner supports their claims.

They also said the 33.3 kilohertz frequency of the signal was very different to the 37.5 kilohertz generated by underwater acoustic beacons. The signals were also detected days apart.

Scientists said detailed analysis of the signals had not been undertaken when Mr Abbott made the announcement in China on April 11.

The Australian Prime Minister said at the time: "We are confident that we know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometres."

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre said the signals were "believed to be" consistent with the Flight Data Recorder.

Agency head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the signals were still being looked at to ensure nothing had been missed.

An archaeologist earlier claimed the pings may have come from satellite tracking devices on marine animals.



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/flight-mh370-scientists-say-pings-3594541#ixzz32fJHRfWI
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

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Are you kidding me? They've been searching the wrong area all this time, and one scientist said the pinging they heard could've come from marine animals that wear a tracking device. This is devastating, and if true disappointing to say the least. How or why would they search an area that had the wrong frequency? Why would countries invest so much money and time in an area that was wrong to begin with. All because an announcement was leaked to a Chinese News Paper and an announcement by Australian PM, that seems absurd. Doesn't it?

 

[Jason]

The mirror also put together a list of CT's out there surrounding flight MH370 here; http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/flight-mh370-17-conspiracy-theories-3579648.

Some of my favorite ones are (and not because I believe them);

Edward Snowden


Getty
Edward Snowden


There were early suggestions 20 employees from the Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor were on board the flight.

So Reddit user Dark_Spectre has put two and two together and come up with, well, you decide.

"So we have the American IBM Technical Storage Executive for Malaysia, a man working in mass storage aggregation for the company implicated by the Snowden papers for providing their services to assist the National Security Agency in surveilling the Chinese," he wrote.

"And now this bunch of US chip guys working for a global leader in embedded processing solutions (embedded smart phone tech and defense contracting) all together..on a plane..And disappeared.. Coincidence??"

He goes on to that the plane itself was kidnapped by Chinese authorities to uncover more about Snowden's revelations.

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Afghan hijacking


Reuters
U.S. armoured vehicles are parked outside a U.S. base in Panjwai district Kandahar province


A Russian newspaper claimed MH370 has been hijacked and flown to Afghanistan, where the crew and passengers are now being held captive.

A military source reportedly told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper: "Flight MH370 Malaysia Airlines missing on March 8 with 239 passengers was hijacked.

"Pilots are not guilty; the plane was hijacked by unknown terrorists. We know that the name of the terrorist who gave instructions to pilots is "Hitch.

"The plane is in Afghanistan not far from Kandahar near the border with Pakistan."

Others have since gone on to indicate that the passengers have been divided into seven groups and are living in mud huts with almost no food.

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MH370 'hid' behind another plane
Early in the search it was suggested that the plane may have hidden from detection under another plane.

Blogger Keith Ledgerwood suggested: "It is my belief that MH370 likely flew in the shadow of [Singapore Airlines flight] 68 through India and Afghanistan airspace.

"As MH370 was flying 'dar' without a transponder, SIA 68 would have had no knowledge that MH370 was anywhere around as it entered Indian airspace, it would have shown up as one single blip on the radar with only the transponder information of SIA68 lighting up ATC and military radar screens".

This theory was described as feasible but the planes would have to be within 3,300ft of each other.

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Ex-PM joins conspiracy theorists
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently accused the CIA of known the whereabouts of flight MH370.

He said in a blog that someone was hide something because if the plane's GPS system failed then Boeing or the US government agency would know why.

In his latest blog, the 88-year-old suggests that in the event of the jet being hijacked, then control of the aircraft could have been remotely activated elsewhere.

He said: "Clearly Boeing and certain agencies have the capacity to take over uninterruptible control of commercial airliners of which MH370 B777 is one.

He added: "Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that MAS and Malaysia should take the blame."

Content from External Source

 

[derwoodii]

John 21:6-16 maybe

http://www.smh.com.au/national/mh37...-search-for-missing-plane-20140529-397dg.html

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

hello everyone, I'll throw a word or two about psychology being my strong point,

I'm(still) not a pilot but knowing some professional pilots from 3rd world countries(as I live in one) and their thinking about our dictatorship governments, I firmly believe it was captain trying to show the world how incompetent their government was by overflying malaysian mainland unchallenged and then who knows what was on his mind, going around Indonesia and further towards Australia being the first option I think, for a reason it's the only lawful country around where a rogue aircraft wouldn't be shot down (South Korea and Japan have ongoing hostilities and their military is always on high alert). A possible oppression from F/O and flightpath change, including low-terrain flying over malaysian mainland to evade radar coverage (which burns more fuel than usual high-altitude flight, you know it anyway) could mean that fuel calculation was way out and they ditched some 1000 miles NW of Perth... all this fits the primary radar picture and Inmarsat pings data.

So, why do I believe this? Simply put, pilots don't do an ordinary job so they mainly have very different thinking&attitude from an ordinary person, especially as their career goes through years. That aside, pilots tend to evaluate incidents, disasters etc. thinking about how they could be evaded and so on, so in case of such situation happening to them they would know how to react faster and possibly spare decisive seconds.

Now, what happened two weeks before MH370 flight? An ethiopian copilot has successfully hijacked the plane and landed in Switzerland. So I am quite sure that story couldn't pass by the captain and it sure went through his head many, many times during those two weeks.

Then if you thoroughly read this article from Mirror(a reputable agency) you will get the bigger picture.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/missing-malaysian-airlines-fears-over-3247649

Knowing all these facts I have done a simple psychological profiling on him, concluding he is the fighter for justice, having his very close friend jailed because of (alleged, most probably made up) homosexuality just a few hours before the flight and...you bring your own conclusion here.

 

[Mick West]

you bring your own conclusion here.

What is your conclusion?

 

[Jason]

Couldn't investigators look into his previous flights and see if there were any deviations in those flights. Maybe he was "testing the waters" so to speak, to see what he could and couldn't get away with.

 

[jonnyH]

At the risk of being accused of presenting a straw man argument I feel I ought to point out a couple of issues:

Mirror(a reputable agency)

I've never seen the Mirror described as reputable before, a brief run through the publications history reads as libel after libel.

South Korea and Japan have ongoing hostilities and their military is always on high alert

South Korea and Japan co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, the hatchet was buried years ago. Sure they aren't the best of friends but they aren't about to start an armed conflict any time soon. For what its worth there are loads of Korean restaurants in Japan too.

That said, its an interesting idea that the pilot may have been trying to get to Oz to claim asylum (like the ethiopian chap en Suisse) and the points I've raised don't undermine that theory. I'm not convinced Australia would be my first choice as they are perhaps not the most welcoming of nations to refugees.

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

What is your conclusion?

1. Data we have available (radar picture + Inmarsat pings) strongly points to hijack, there was low-terrain flying over malaysian mainland (witnesses included IIRC, although they couldn't confirm it was exactly MH370 as it was night but the plane was clearly heard flying low, malaysian military would know if that was one of their military planes), + their was a flight from waypoint to waypoint after crossing mainland, supposedly to present itself as just another civilian aircraft albeit without transponder active. Then there is going around Indonesia to evade their radars, just too many factors to exclude hypoxia or malfunctioning plane.

2. Investigators have checked all passengers and found none suspicious, there were some at the beginning because of false passports but they have cleared all of them after further investigation.

3. We are left with two persons then, Captain and F/O who is a "daddy's son" without personal problems and just not the type of guy to do such a thing.

4. So we have the Captain who has all sorts of problems raging through his head, he just got divorced (in 3rd world countries people tend to blame government even for that), his very close friend and opposition leader got sentenced to five years in jail because of a reason unimaginable in any normal country and judging by his Internet activity he also hated their dictatorship before that happened.

Now of course I don't state it IS what happened as we don't have any available hard proof, but if we take all this into account I strongly believe this scenario has the highest probability of all mentioned up to this day, as I see it fitting all provided and checked facts.

Couldn't investigators look into his previous flights and see if there were any deviations in those flights. Maybe he was "testing the waters" so to speak, to see what he could and couldn't get away with.

Not a bad idea, also they have found the flight simulator history on his PC deleted, not sure if they have contacted specialized companies(or even FBI) that can "undelete" data(especially if it was on HDD and not SSD drive).

At the risk of being accused of presenting a straw man argument I feel I ought to point out a couple of issues:


I've never seen the Mirror described as reputable before, a brief run through the publications history reads as libel after libel.


South Korea and Japan co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, the hatchet was buried years ago. Sure they aren't the best of friends but they aren't about to start an armed conflict any time soon. For what its worth there are loads of Korean restaurants in Japan too.

That said, its an interesting idea that the pilot may have been trying to get to Oz to claim asylum (like the ethiopian chap en Suisse) and the points I've raised don't undermine that theory. I'm not convinced Australia would be my first choice as they are perhaps not the most welcoming of nations to refugees.

1. I'll believe you there without checking the link as I'm not UK citizen and you should certainly know better than me. However in comparison with our news agencies they seem to be very professional, at least not sensationalizing or I haven't noticed it. What is important that in this case they didn't make up anything as I have seen all of that on many other sites too.

2. I have expressed myself very clumsy there, I didn't mean Japan vs SK conflict, when I wrote "South Korea and Japan have ongoing hostilities" I meant they are in dispute with other countries, SK has recently lost a ship (possibly due to NK torpedo, they didn't disclose it) and chinese(russian too) aircrafts are regularly violating japanese airspace. Not the place where you would want to fly a rogue aircraft(KAL007 has been shot down by Russians around there for straying in their airspace). On the other side Indian Ocean presents a vast amount of empty space and australian JORN radar system is oriented like this

http://www.allmystery.de/i/tc55c35_jorn01.jpg

apparently it's publically available so there is even a chance that he saw it and didn't go direct path to Perth because he wanted to evade it too...but this really may be clutching at straws now.

 

[Mick West]

I still don't get your conclusion? What do you think happened to the plane? You just think the pilot was responsible in some way? Is that all? Or are you suggesting something more specific?

 

[Jason]

Jason said: ↑
Couldn't investigators look into his previous flights and see if there were any deviations in those flights. Maybe he was "testing the waters" so to speak, to see what he could and couldn't get away with.
Not a bad idea, also they have found the flight simulator history on his PC deleted, not sure if they have contacted specialized companies(or even FBI) that can "undelete" data(especially if it was on HDD and not SSD drive).

I agree and I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed yet..

 

[Jason]

I still don't get your conclusion? What do you think happened to the plane? You just think the pilot was responsible in some way? Is that all? Or are you suggesting something more specific?

I think, if I'm reading him correctly he is alledging that the pilot went rogue and hijacked the plane, but he hasn't concluded whether or not he crashed it or landed it somewhere.

 

[WeedWhacker]

I think, if I'm reading him correctly he is alledging that the pilot went rogue and hijacked the plane, but he hasn't concluded whether or not he crashed it or landed it somewhere.

This is but only ONE possible scenario. Might be the correct answer, but absent any solid corroborating evidence, it is pure 'speculation' (which happens to comport to this thread's title and intent).

However, seems at this stage (so far) "speculation" is a bit like pushing a rope uphill. (That is to say, rather worthless).

EDIT: This post of mine is possible also pertinent to Post #852, above...but, since we are DEEP into many, many pages, unlikely that this will get much attention.

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

I still don't get your conclusion? What do you think happened to the plane? You just think the pilot was responsible in some way? Is that all? Or are you suggesting something more specific?

It most probably ran out of fuel due to miscalculation and/or oppression from F/O (that could explain zig-zagging through Malacca Strait?) and ditched into water NW of Perth. I am quite sure he is not the person that would intentionally kill two hundred people just to prove the point (also that would further worsen political position of his friend so doesn't make sense anyway). But hijack totally fits his psychological profile and mental state before the flight.

@WeedWhacker it is only one scenario but I think I would assign it much bigger probability than other ones for reasons aforementioned.

 

[Jason]

It most probably ran out of fuel due to miscalculation and/or oppression from F/O (that could explain zig-zagging through Malacca Strait?) and ditched into water NW of Perth. I am quite sure he is not the person that would intentionally kill two hundred people just to prove the point (also that would further worsen political position of his friend so doesn't make sense anyway). But hijack totally fits his psychological profile and mental state before the flight.

@WeedWhacker it is only one scenario but I think I would assign it much bigger probability than other ones for reasons aforementioned.

I stand corrected or do I. On one hand your saying there is no way he could've killed over 200 people just to prove a point (I take it you mean, to embarrass the Malaysian gov), then you discuss how it was most likely hijacked and then how is psychological profile and mental state could've provoked the hijacking. Or am I understanding you incorrectly, if so please elaborate as to whether you think the pilot hijacked the plane or someone else on board..

 

[WeedWhacker]

It most probably ran out of fuel due to miscalculation and/or oppression from F/O (that could explain zig-zagging through Malacca Strait?) and ditched into water NW of Perth. I am quite sure he is not the person that would intentionally kill two hundred people just to prove the point (also that would further worsen political position of his friend so doesn't make sense anyway). But hijack totally fits his psychological profile and mental state before the flight.

@WeedWhacker it is only one scenario but I think I would assign it much bigger probability than other ones for reasons aforementioned.

You "tagged" me, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit (although I've seen this before) I do NOT quite know what that implies.

(mind, I have a Twitter account, which I use minimally, and there they use a "hashtag" ( # ) to add to comments, something ELSE I need to get educated about!!)

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

I stand corrected or do I. On one hand your saying there is no way he could've killed over 200 people just to prove a point (I take it you mean, to embarrass the Malaysian gov), then you discuss how it was most likely hijacked and then how is psychological profile and mental state could've provoked the hijacking. Or am I understanding you incorrectly, if so please elaborate as to whether you think the pilot hijacked the plane or someone else on board..

(I think) he went to do (almost) the same as ethiopian hijacker, just to fly it to another country meanwhile embarrassing his government (showing their ineptitude to scramble military jets etc.), actually there are 3 points where he might have decided it... 1. before flight, 2. somewhere before "handover to vietnamese ATC" point, 3. after he went back over malaysian mainland and realised he was going to get executed if he goes back to Malaysia(death penalty is still active there)

You "tagged" me, and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit (although I've seen this before) I do NOT quite know what that implies.

(mind, I have a Twitter account, which I use minimally, and there they use a "hashtag" ( # ) to add to comments, something ELSE I need to get educated about!!)

it means I am responding to you(but that was obvious anyway)

 

[WeedWhacker]

it means I am responding to you(but that was obvious anyway)

OK...thanks. I usually use the "quote" feature here.

EDIT: Of course, it IS the Internet, and various options tend to be available. 'S all good, either way!!

Cheers! And, welcome to MetaBunk!!

 

[Pete Tar]

he just got divorced

Divorced? Can you provide confirmation of that?

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's brother-in-law, Asuad Khan, told Four Corners that the pilot had not attended the trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in the hours before the flight took off.

He also denied rumours his sister Fasia had left Captain Zaharie over an illicit affair.


"I don't believe it because she's at home," he said.

"The normal procedure...whenever the husband flies the wife will go to another house where the younger son is staying. Otherwise, she will be alone in that big house. That's been practised since they bought the house."

He batted away suggestions of an affair, sparked by the phone call Captain Zaharie received from a mystery woman shortly before take off, saying as a Muslim he could have multiple wives.

"That I do not know about. Even if I know...why not? We are allowed to, as long as you take good care of your wife. Even if you ask my sister (Faisa)...she don't care.

"He can marry another one. Why not - we can marry four. We are Muslim."

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Not a bad idea, also they have found the flight simulator history on his PC deleted, not sure if they have contacted specialized companies(or even FBI) that can "undelete" data(especially if it was on HDD and not SSD drive).

Mr Khan denied reports Captain Zaharie practised risky flight moves on his home flight simulator, saying the machine had been broken for a year.

US experts have been trying to recover deleted data from the simulator in the hunt for clues about the fate of the missing plane.

Content from External Source

Cleared ... the FBI says MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah's homemade simulator had 'nothing sinister'. He said the Malaysian police had been working with the FBI since day one on analysing the data on the simulator.

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[Jason]

(I think) he went to do (almost) the same as ethiopian hijacker, just to fly it to another country meanwhile embarrassing his government (showing their ineptitude to scramble military jets etc.), actually there are 3 points where he might have decided it... 1. before flight, 2. somewhere before "handover to vietnamese ATC" point, 3. after he went back over malaysian mainland and realised he was going to get executed if he goes back to Malaysia(death penalty is still active there)

Ok, so how did he pull this off while having a 220+ passenger and 18 crew.

 

[jonnyH]

(I think) he went to do (almost) the same as ethiopian hijacker

In that scenario I don't understand why he would cut communications and take such elaborate and ultimately fatal precautions to avoid being spotted.

If he wanted to get somewhere and claim asylum, once he has control of the plane, why not just tell ATC "We've been hijacked, we have been instructed to fly to <insert destination of choice>" and then just go there? I can't imagine the first response of any of the local authorities would be to shoot a jet full of Chinese citizens out of the sky.

That's how it worked out for the Ethiopian pilot:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26222674

But at some point during the flight, the co-pilot locked his colleague out of the cockpit and took over the plane. He radioed Geneva to request permission for an emergency refuelling, before setting off an alarm indicating that the plane had been hijacked. Passengers have said he threatened to crash the plane. Two Italian fighter jets and then French jets were scrambled to escort the plane as it crossed Europe

The Boeing 767-300 eventually made its unscheduled landing at 06:00 local time.

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What is the point he is trying to make by avoiding radar?

 

[WeedWhacker]

Ok, so how did he pull this off while having a 220+ passenger and 18 crew.

Jason, this has been covered (explained) previously.

A pilot (in a "plausible scenario") who has LOCKED himself inside the cockpit (or Flight Deck) and KNOWS how to restrict access (something I know, but will not reveal)....this pilot has a LARGE supply of oxygen (O2) at his reach.

Therefore, again (plausible scenario) it would be relatively easy for a determined "criminal" pilot with the know-how to cause unconsciousness in the cabin (this would include the ENTIRE airplane, but HE has a larger supply of O2 than everyone else does).

AGAIN....only a 'scenario"....

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

Divorced? Can you provide confirmation of that?

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's brother-in-law, Asuad Khan, told Four Corners that the pilot had not attended the trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in the hours before the flight took off.

He also denied rumours his sister Fasia had left Captain Zaharie over an illicit affair.


"I don't believe it because she's at home," he said.

"The normal procedure...whenever the husband flies the wife will go to another house where the younger son is staying. Otherwise, she will be alone in that big house. That's been practised since they bought the house."

He batted away suggestions of an affair, sparked by the phone call Captain Zaharie received from a mystery woman shortly before take off, saying as a Muslim he could have multiple wives.

"That I do not know about. Even if I know...why not? We are allowed to, as long as you take good care of your wife. Even if you ask my sister (Faisa)...she don't care.

"He can marry another one. Why not - we can marry four. We are Muslim."

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hah, brother defending honor of his sister

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...ver-divorce-in-no-state-of-mind-to-be-flying/

(also on hundreds of other web-sites)

"The friend said the pilot’s relationships were breaking down, with Captain Shah involved with another woman and his wife having decided to move out of their family home."

If I got that right, she didn't leave but was prepared to.

[/EX]

Mr Khan denied reports Captain Zaharie practised risky flight moves on his home flight simulator, saying the machine had been broken for a year.

US experts have been trying to recover deleted data from the simulator in the hunt for clues about the fate of the missing plane.

Content from External Source

Cleared ... the FBI says MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah's homemade simulator had 'nothing sinister'. He said the Malaysian police had been working with the FBI since day one on analysing the data on the simulator.

Content from External Source

that's good to know, I can remember they have talked about it but not if they actually did the job

Ok, so how did he pull this off while having a 220+ passenger and 18 crew.

I couldn't know that. It was late night and passengers were mainly sleeping, there is a chance that noone noticed(until it was too late at least). Or, as WeedWhacker has said, there is a scenario of incapacitating passengers&crew but I find it hard to believe(however it is possible).

In that scenario I don't understand why he would cut communications and take such elaborate and ultimately fatal precautions to avoid being spotted.

If he wanted to get somewhere and claim asylum, once he has control of the plane, why not just tell ATC "We've been hijacked, we have been instructed to fly to <insert destination of choice>" and then just go there? I can't imagine the first response of any of the local authorities would be to shoot a jet full of Chinese citizens out of the sky.

That's how it worked out for the Ethiopian pilot:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26222674

But at some point during the flight, the co-pilot locked his colleague out of the cockpit and took over the plane. He radioed Geneva to request permission for an emergency refuelling, before setting off an alarm indicating that the plane had been hijacked. Passengers have said he threatened to crash the plane. Two Italian fighter jets and then French jets were scrambled to escort the plane as it crossed Europe

The Boeing 767-300 eventually made its unscheduled landing at 06:00 local time.

Content from External Source

What is the point he is trying to make by avoiding radar?

to show the incompetence of malaysian government&military(he probably knew they turn off some radars at night beacuse of operating costs etc. it was in the news), and avoid scrambling of military jets

you have maybe noticed military excuses "yeah yeah we have seen it but thought ATC has allowed it to go back", well ATC certainly didn't allow it to cross the whole peninsula...

 

[TWCobra]

Malaysian airlines B777 fly regularly into Australia. If Captain Zaharie wanted to claim asylum here he didn't need to hijack an aircraft to do it.

That said, the opaqueness of the investigation is going to spawn a lot of speculation like this. I have no faith in the Malaysian Governments ability to handle this investigation with any sort of arms length integrity.

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

Malaysian airlines B777 fly regularly into Australia. If Captain Zaharie wanted to claim asylum here he didn't need to hijack an aircraft to do it.

using regular flight wouldn't do anything against malaysian government, he could go to Australia as a passenger as well...

the point was not in asylum itself, more about telling the world about huge injustice in Malaysia, and hijacking like this(if successiful) would certainly catch a lot of attention from the world

That said, the opaqueness of the investigation is going to spawn a lot of speculation like this. I have no faith in the Malaysian Governments ability to handle this investigation with any sort of arms length integrity.

of course it will, if they had the radar picture why letting other countries search south china sea and wasting precious resources?

then days of searching in malacca strait... they needed 17 days to reveal information about Inmarsat pings! now look at this from wikipedia, their handling of the situation was poor at best....

On 11 March, New Scientist reported that, prior to the aircraft's disappearance, two Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) reports had been automatically issued to engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce's monitoring centre in the United Kingdom;[45] and The Wall Street Journal, citing sources in the US government, asserted that Rolls-Royce had received an aircraft health report every thirty minutes for five hours, implying that the aircraft had remained aloft for four hours after its transponder went offline.[46][47][48]

The following day, Hishammuddin Hussein, the acting Malaysian Minister of Transport, refuted the details of The Wall Street Journal report stating that the final engine transmission was received at 01:07 MYT, prior to the flight's disappearance from secondary radar.[48] The WSJ later amended its report and stated simply that the belief of continued flight was "based on analysis of signals sent by the Boeing 777's satellite-communication link... the link operated in a kind of standby mode and sought to establish contact with a satellite or satellites. These transmissions did not include data..."[49][50]

Inmarsat said that "routine, automated signals were registered" on its network,[51] and that analysis of "keep-alive message" that continued to be sent after air traffic control first lost contact could help pinpoint the aircraft's location,[52] which led The Independent to comment on 14 March that the aircraft could not have met with a sudden catastrophic event, or all signals would have stopped simultaneously.[25] There was a call for automated transponders after the attacks of 11 September 2001; however, no changes were made as aviation experts preferred flexible control, in case of malfunctions or electrical emergencies.[53]

On 25 March, Hishammuddin revealed that Inmarsat had found evidence that the aircraft had attempted a final seventh handshake with the satellite at 00:19 UTC, eight minutes after the last hourly report. This "partial ping" initiated by the aircraft was unscheduled, not the result of any human interaction,[54][55] and was consistent with the satellite equipment aboard the aircraft requesting a logon during power-up after an electrical outage, perhaps caused by fuel exhaustion.[56]

 

[TWCobra]

the point was not in asylum itself, more about telling the world about huge injustice in Malaysia, and hijacking like this(if successiful) would certainly catch a lot of attention from the world

Yet it hasn't happened. The media in general is not focused on any cover-up, although that may come. If this was an attempt to highlight the Malaysian Government, it hasn't worked. People are much more intrigued by what happened to the aircraft.

 

[Jason]

the point was not in asylum itself, more about telling the world about huge injustice in Malaysia, and hijacking like this(if successiful) would certainly catch a lot of attention from the world

Excuse me for a second, I might be a littlel ignorant when it comes to international law. Can someone actually hijack a plane, fly it to another country and get asylum in that country. I mean wouldn't they go to jail for a very long time. Or am I missing something here

 

[Jason]

Yet it hasn't happened. The media in general is not focused on any cover-up, although that may come. If this was an attempt to highlight the Malaysian Government, it hasn't worked. People are much more intrigued by what happened to the aircraft.

It has brought Malaysian Airlines to its knees with possible Bankruptcy looming though...

 

[Mick West]

Excuse me for a second, I might be a littlel ignorant when it comes to international law. Can someone actually hijack a plane, fly it to another country and get asylum in that country. I mean wouldn't they go to jail for a very long time. Or am I missing something here

http://qz.com/177783/hijacking-a-plane-is-rarely-the-best-way-to-seek-asylum-but-it-can-work/

Still, a precedent was set in Britain in 2000, when nine hijackers who took over an internal Afghanistan flight and forced it to Britain. Eventually, the hijackers and over 20 of the plane’s passengers, as well as their dependents, were allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. A hijacker who forced a plane from Sudan to Stansted Airport in 1996 is also still in Britain, fighting in court to remain in the country.

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[Jason]

http://qz.com/177783/hijacking-a-plane-is-rarely-the-best-way-to-seek-asylum-but-it-can-work/

Still, a precedent was set in Britain in 2000, when nine hijackers who took over an internal Afghanistan flight and forced it to Britain. Eventually, the hijackers and over 20 of the plane’s passengers, as well as their dependents, were allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. A hijacker who forced a plane from Sudan to Stansted Airport in 1996 is also still in Britain, fighting in court to remain in the country.

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WOW!! Thats all I have to say to that...

OT: Why did the pilot have to exit the plane using a rope ladder out the cockpit window. I thought those windows were sealed and nothing could penetrate them. Why didn't he just walk out the passenger exit?

 

[TWCobra]

I thought those windows were sealed and nothing could penetrate them.

Not so on both counts. On most aircraft, they are a secondary means of escape from the aircraft.

 

[Stevan Gvozdenovic]

Yet it hasn't happened. The media in general is not focused on any cover-up, although that may come. If this was an attempt to highlight the Malaysian Government, it hasn't worked. People are much more intrigued by what happened to the aircraft.

it hasn't worked because it's been unsuccessiful, if they reached Perth it MIGHT have worked (or not), because he would be alive telling the story etc. yes he would most probably go to jail but he would feel proud that he at least tried to do something

It has brought Malaysian Airlines to its knees with possible Bankruptcy looming though...

yeah it had an impact, however it would have very different one if he made it

WOW!! Thats all I have to say to that...

OT: Why did the pilot have to exit the plane using a rope ladder out the cockpit window. I thought those windows were sealed and nothing could penetrate them. Why didn't he just walk out the passenger exit?

because the cockpit door were closed/locked and if he opened them angry passengers wouldn't really welcome him, police didn't want any conflict and went for the simplest solution, also you can open windows on planes as strange as it may sound

 

[TWCobra]

it hasn't worked because it's been unsuccessiful, if they reached Perth it MIGHT have worked (or not), because he would be alive telling the story etc. yes he would most probably go to jail but he would feel proud that he at least tried to do something

There was no reason the aircraft could not have reached Perth from the last known radar position. Even if it couldn't there is a 10,000 foot runway RAAF base at Learmonth, which is 90 minutes closer to Asia, that Zaharie would have been familiar with. Perth is a very isolated city and pilots need to be au fait with Learmonth. I very much doubt that this was a failed bid to reach Australia.

 

[Jason]

it hasn't worked because it's been unsuccessiful, if they reached Perth it MIGHT have worked (or not), because he would be alive telling the story etc. yes he would most probably go to jail but he would feel proud that he at least tried to do something

If someone was going to seek asylum, would they radio ahead to the airport they flying into or would they fly in the dark. Also why would someone from Malaysia need to seek asylum from its own government. I know its a tough place, but its honestly one of the last places I would've pegged, for someone needing asylum from...

 

[jonnyH]

Also why would someone from Malaysia need to seek asylum from its own government.

There are all sorts of potential reasons asylum may be granted. Homosexuality for one:

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/ca.../malaysian-gays-find-safe-haven-under-uk-law/

In August 2010 two gay Malaysians successfully claimed asylum based on their fear of persecution if they returned to Malaysia on the grounds of their sexual orientation.

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Being a Shia Muslim might meet the bar since

Malaysia bans Shias from promoting their faith. 16 Shias were arrested on the 24th of September 2013, for "spreading" their faith

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

People claim asylum for all sorts of reasons from all sorts of places and quite often they are fleeing their own government. I used to work in an Immigration Appeals Tribunal that dealt with asylum appeals. The most common and successful claims involved persecution due to homosexuality, religion, or ethnicity. For every successful application there are many more turned down, for instance a former Bollywood star who sought asylum as she felt she was being persecuted by her government for non payment of tax.

WOW!! Thats all I have to say to that...

Whether or not someone has committed a criminal offence has no bearing on an application for asylum. You will still get arrested and charged with hijacking, you just wont get deported once your sentence is served.

 

[jonnyH]

to show the incompetence of malaysian government&military(he probably knew they turn off some radars at night beacuse of operating costs etc. it was in the news), and avoid scrambling of military jets

Is embarrassing your government by exposing lax security really worth risking your life and the lives of the passengers and crew? Surely were this his aim the pilot's main priority would still be to reach his destination and land safely in order to tell his story. Why avoid scrambling jets when you know they would have to be insane to shoot you and your passengers out of the sky?

 

[vooke]

I have no faith in the Malaysian Governments ability to handle this investigation with any sort of arms length integrity.

@TWCobra,
The investigators opaqueness IMO has little to do with Malaysia as such. Inmarsat satellite pings for instance. Malaysia to some extent is a scapegoat for everything that is wrong with this case. Australia for instance can lobby to have Inmarsat release everything. Why haven't they done so? What about China?