Malaysian Airways Flight 370

[Romulus]

They've (the Malaysians) have F1 GP to cater for this weekend. They need to have this issue out of the spot light for a while. That's my take on making a premature announcement based on no hard evidence confirming crash debris in the south Indian Ocean.

[Charliewool]

This Whole debarkle reeks of a cover-up!! I smell a gigantic rat!
To top off the poor families grief, they were TEXTED that all their relos are dead.. Not personally visited or even phoned.. Nope, texted!
AND apparently relos booted out of their Malaysian airlines supplied hotel accomodation to make room for this weekends F1 requirements..
Tell you what... I'd NEVER EVER fly with this shonky mob, I'd rather fly with the friggin Wright Bros!

[ltd]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

This Whole debarkle reeks of a cover-up!! I smell a gigantic rat!
To top off the poor families grief, they were TEXTED that all their relos are dead.. Not personally visited or even phoned.. Nope, texted!
AND apparently relos booted out of their Malaysian airlines supplied hotel accomodation to make room for this weekends F1 requirements..
Tell you what... I'd NEVER EVER fly with this shonky mob, I'd rather fly with the friggin Wright Bros!

Hey the Wright brothers have an updated fleet;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbF91DY3HT4

[Road_Warrior]

Does the B777-200ER have an ELT on board (I guess more to the point does Malaysia Airlines carry them).

It's almost like there needs to be an automatically deploy-able ELT in the event an airliner crashes.

[No.6]

Originally Posted by Charliewool

To top off the poor families grief, they were TEXTED that all their relos are dead.. Not personally visited or even phoned.. Nope, texted!

Having said that though, there are hundreds of relatives, and those that were in Malaysia were contacted directly. The ones that weren't, attempts to contact them were made but then were texted before they could find out from the Media first about the flight.

"Wherever humanly possible, we did so in person with the families or by telephone, using SMS only as an additional means of ensuring fully that the nearly 1,000 family members heard the news from us and not from the media."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-2...milies/5343946

See, mainstream media (7, 9, 10) don't like to tell the whole story, and want to conjure up ill feeling towards Malaysia airlines as that's what gets peoples attention.

I think what Malaysia Airlines did in this instance is fair.

Regarding the US$5000 compensation for each family member on the plane...might not seem like a lot, but Malaysia Airlines don't have the millions or billions of dollars in revenue. Last year they posted a loss of $356 million for 2013. This offer could be the best they can do, which they aren't even REQUIRED to do. Its also just a starting offer to help families with their IMMEDIATE expenses. Once again, its just the media trying to stir the public up into a riot with their one sided headlines.

[xxx000]

^^ good post

Like I said previously lots of criticism of Malaysia w/out all facts being known

everyone's an expert on air crash investigation all of a sudden

[Pepscobra]

Originally Posted by xxx000

Like I said previously lots of criticism of Malaysia w/out all facts being known

everyone's an expert on air crash investigation all of a sudden

Hang on a sec... there's Malaysia and then there's Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia (read Government officials; Transport Minister, Security Minister, etc) were a bunch of fumbling idiots in the first few days of the situation.

Malaysia Airlines may very well be helping the families with some compensation and paying for hotel accommodation, but some would argue this is negligible in a situation like this.

Any one know what the legal obligations of the airline are if its found to be their fault? Would the families of the victims sue?

[Shonky.]

Surely they are insured for this???

Just like any other business that causes injury or death to customers during its operations???

[nstg8a]

Aren't they still saying its suspicious though? Those comms were deliberately turned off, bit hard to state categorically that Malaysia airlines are the ones at fault until we know what's actually happened on board that plane.

I'm sure their lawyers and insurance companies will be ramping up already, and making sure nothing they do acknowledges guilt until all possible facts are known.

[FPVS3]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

Does the B777-200ER have an ELT on board (I guess more to the point does Malaysia Airlines carry them).

It's almost like there needs to be an automatically deploy-able ELT in the event an airliner crashes.

Fuselage Mounted Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)
An emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is mounted to the top center of the
fuselage in the passenger cabin area.
The ELT automatically transmits distress signals on 121.5 MHZ, 243 MHZ,
and 406 MHZ if a high deceleration is sensed, or if the ELT switch is
positioned to ON.

[mcnews]

And if anything was said on 243 or 121.5 then it WOULD have been heard, absolutely no question.

[xrxystu]

ELT's can be manually switched off though....

[iCat]

i see China is questioning the validity of the results now.

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by cram_it_frog

I am not sure of all of the details but few years ago a private chater of fly in fly out workers left perth not sure but they found the jet in queensland a little later it was decompresion that did it but like this case nothing was heard from the pilot

It was heading for the gold fields but just ke[t going

that was scarry and to think this is posibly not the first time this has happened in a aircraft with no word from the crew just vaniish

This is another possibility. It's called the zombie flight. The entire plane silent with everyone unconscious or dead until it runs out of fuel. When you visualize this situation and your can just hear the hum of the engines, it's very chilling.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by FPVS3

Fuselage Mounted Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)
An emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is mounted to the top center of the
fuselage in the passenger cabin area.
The ELT automatically transmits distress signals on 121.5 MHZ, 243 MHZ,
and 406 MHZ if a high deceleration is sensed, or if the ELT switch is
positioned to ON.

So its not externally mounted then?

I'm visualising something that is automatically ejected and activated from the aircraft if it crashes.

[xrxystu]

Taken from a Boeing AMM (Aircraft Maintenance manual):

"Purpose

Emergency locator transmitters help rescue crews find airplanes which land away from an airport. The transmitters send a radio signal to satellites, other airplanes, and air traffic control facilities. Rescue crews use information from these sources to find the airplane.

Physical Description

The emergency locator transmitter is a compact, buoyant, automatic unit. Emergency locator transmitters have these parts:

Transmitter

Battery

Antenna

Lanyard.

The transmitter provides a homing signal for civil and military search aircraft by automatically transmitting a swept-tone-modulated signal simultaneously on both the civil and military international VHF aeronautical distress frequencies (121.5 and 243.0 MHz). Some ELTs can also operate at the frequency of 406.025MHz.

Some ELTs are equipped with a silver chloride/magnesium primary cell. In the preactivated state the electrolyte is dry and the battery is inert. The battery is activated when the electrolyte gets wet with water. Immersion in water (as a result of an aircraft ditching) automatically activates the battery.

The antenna pivots and folds along the length of the emergency locator transmitter for stowage. Some ELTs contain water-soluble tape that retains the antenna in the stowed position.

Emergency locator transmitters have a lanyard assembly and in some cases, a yoke cable. The lanyard assembly has 60 feet of braided nylon cord and attaches to a flexible stainless-steel yoke cable. The yoke cable attaches to the battery case and wraps around the battery case. The lanyard cord is bifilar-wound on a holder card and the yoke cable and holder card attach to the battery case with water-soluble tape. A lanyard guide and the stowed antenna hold the nylon cord approximately four feet from the free end of the lanyard.

For method of use, refer to the component operation instructions and placards.

Location

Emergency locator transmitters may be in these general locations:

Life rafts

Overhead stowage bins

Center ceiling compartments

Other stowage locations throughout the airplane.

See your operations manual to determine the types, quantity, and locations of the emergency locator transmitters.

Placards on the airplane identify the locations of emergency equipment."

Stu.

[SB076]

Originally Posted by Revolver

This is another possibility. It's called the zombie flight. The entire plane silent with everyone unconscious or dead until it runs out of fuel. When you visualize this situation and your can just hear the hum of the engines, it's very chilling.

Yep and it has happened a few times and is what I suspect happened this time (although I am no expert)

[FPVS3]

Originally Posted by SB076

Yep and it has happened a few times and is what I suspect happened this time (although I am no expert)

Sounds feasible to me.

[FPVS3]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

So its not externally mounted then?

I'm visualising something that is automatically ejected and activated from the aircraft if it crashes.

Internally mounted. There is another emergency beacon the crew take with them if ditching. It is activated by contact with salt water.

[FPVS3]

Originally Posted by xrxystu

ELT's can be manually switched off though....

That's right.

[xrxystu]

Kinda doesn't explain why it suddenly dropped off the RADAR with no mayday or any other distress signal. Now they're suspecting wreckage 1000's of kms away is all that is left.
I feel bad for all on board and their families looking for answers.

Stu.

[CoupeKing]

Those Zombie flight usually maintain a designated flight path then fall from the sky once the fuel supply runs out. Bit hard to change direction, switch off the transponder, then the ACARS when you`re asleep.

If that were to be the case, then there must have been an unprecendeted chain of events that led to the plane ditching in the southern Indian ocean.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by FPVS3

Internally mounted. There is another emergency beacon the crew take with them if ditching. It is activated by contact with salt water.

But yes, it relies on the crew to activate it which is impossible if they are all incapacitated.

And if the plane is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, the satellites wouldn't pick up the signal from the ELT or...?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Pepscobra

Any one know what the legal obligations of the airline are if its found to be their fault? Would the families of the victims sue?

I dare say that there is at least one Jumbo on it's way to Malaysia full of American specialist lawyers

[FPVS3]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

I dare say that there is at least one Jumbo on it's way to Malaysia full of American specialist lawyers

They'll need one b747 for their PAs alone

[FPVS3]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

But yes, it relies on the crew to activate it which is impossible if they are all incapacitated.

And if the plane is at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, the satellites wouldn't pick up the signal from the ELT or...?

True....and don't know.

[jpblue1000]

An interesting link on insurance claims in the US vs outside for the air asia crash recently. Might point to some figures expected for this event

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3603896.html

As most were asian Im guessing, unfairly, that they will recieve less than the westerners for this event.

JP

[blueoval]

Will this incident alone collapse MA with the flow on effect, or will they end up somehow legally finding a loophole?

[jpblue1000]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Will this incident alone collapse MA with the flow on effect, or will they end up somehow legally finding a loophole?

They are owned by the Malay government (people) so they wont collapse, Probably have to offer some cheap tickets for a while but the chances of a repeat of this tragedy is low.

I will be comparing their prices for an upcoming trip to europe in a few months

JP

[XWGT]

I have to say I've flown Malaysian airlines plenty of time never had the slightest concern