Vanished Malaysian Plane

So sad!

I think it is unusual that the cannot locate the black box or other GPS device. But as difficult as those things are to damage or destroy, it is still possible.

Diane made some good points about just how difficult it can be to find things in the ocean.

I know the passport situation is very odd, but I'm not convinced this is terrorism, although it could be. The MO of a terrorist is usually to make a really big statement. If this were terrorism, it seems like someone would have claimed responsibility (bragged about their victory) by now.

Just so sad.

Whenever planes are lost over water, which this seems to have been, we have to remember that the oceans are HUGE and lighting is, shall we say, poor or non-existent for at least 10-12 hours of the night! Debris submerges into dark and deep waters, and water currents move things around. Various countries and air agencies have to cooperate, combine technologies, and deal with realities such as a black box that might not have survived any explosion (including impact with the ocean). I wouldn't think it surprising at all that someone didn't see it happen given the remote areas of Asian land and water masses.

I remember watching the space capsules come down in the Pacific, and it still took aircraft carriers, helicopters, radar, and many other efforts to find them - and that was when they knew exactly when and where those capsules were expected! When we see Coast Guard cutters and planes searching for a missing ship, we get a glimpse of what it's like to create a grid over open water and then patrol in a criss-cross fashion. It's easy to miss something even when you have an idea where it was last seen or had some communication from the people on board. In this case, we don't seem to have that. I'm not at all surprised that they can't find it yet. I hope they will soon so we have some answers and the families get some closure.

Unfortunately, it took 5 days to find the Air France plane pieces from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. I have no way to know what happened but my thought is that it exploded. There was no communication that the plane was having any problems, I believe the weather was good. So, I'm thinking something catastrophic happened.

The passport angle is an interesting one. Those two missing passports were on the flight. I think more needs to be looked at in that department. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

The ocean is wide and deep. If someone detonated a bomb on the plane, it may have exploded into a million pieces and much of it may have sunk to the bottom of the sea. I'm just surprised that no one has picked up the emergency beacons. They are water-activated, and there is one in every life vest.

My heart goes out to all the families who lost their loved ones.

i don't know what happened to that flight. I thought we had enough spy satellites in the air to observe major disruptions like that. I hope there is a quick resolution to the situation before too much time passes. The families affected deserve an answer and authorities need to evaluate what happened so that it can be prevented in the future. It does bring to light that other parts of the world are not as stringent in their security and the boarding processes. This does raise safety concerns after flights originating in foreign countries. Are stolen passports (that are reported) not placed on an international watch list and do they get checked (against the list) before passengers board??

I think it is weird. Weren't there over 200 passengers, meaning a big airplane? I don't discount anything suspicious with those passports that had been reported stolen years ago turning up used for this flight but where did it go? How does it get off the radar? If it had been hijacked, wouldn't it end up somewhere? I am very curious to see the outcome.

I cannot imagine what the families are going through. It must be an emotional roller coaster. First the oil slicks and then maybe a yellow airplane life raft and both end up not being what was thought related to the airliner.

Took five days to find the Air France wreckage. It will be years before we really know what happened.

It took 8 days to find that Air France jet a few years back. They'll find it. It'll just take time.

The ocean is a big, deep place. The farther down it is in the water and the more that covers that black box, the harder it is to hear the pings it makes. AND, the pings get fainter as time goes on.

I sincerely hope that they do find it. It is so hard for families to not know what happened. It does appear that whatever happened, happened very quickly. I hope the people didn't suffer.

i think it exploded over deep waters, and the ocean is just so vast that the wreckage and debris have gone down or been swept far from the crash site.
it does seem odd that in an age when my GPS watch tracks my every step when i run, and when i go outside periodically to shake my fist at googlemaps (i just know that satellite is always trying to catch me sunbathing nude), that something as big as a plane can disappear.
but while Big Brother always watches, the world is still a dangerous place.
khairete
S.