We are now into Day 8 since the plane vanished. Finding the plane is still the main focus but investigating some form of “foul play” is now running second.
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CNN is tweeting that the plane could have taken one of two paths after its 5 hours of “silent” flying; one North West across the Andamans towards India, or one to the South West which I make to be in the direction of Diego Garcia. Either way with no extra fuel it ends up in the Indian Ocean.
CNN tweet – Two possible paths
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The Telegraph: The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have been “an act of piracy” and the possibility that its hundreds of passengers are being held at an unknown location has not been ruled out, US investigators have said.
The search area is still limited by the knowledge of how much fuel was on board. That would have lasted for a total of a little over 8 hours at take-off (with the flight time to Beijing being about 6 hours). If the plane flew on for -say- 4 to 5 hours from its last known position it could still have had almost 2½ hours of fuel left on board at that time.
That any refuelling could have taken place during the 5 “silent” hours is at the very edges of science fiction. Mid-air refuelling is out of the question and there are not many places where – even with all possible cooperation from the ground – a Boeing 777 could have landed and refuelled. Any final destination in the Middle East would have required more fuel.
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Bangladesh has joined the search. India and Bangladesh are said to be checking sections of their coastlines some 15km out to sea. (I am guessing that these are areas where the currents are likely to carry debris from the Bay of Bengal).
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The New York Times says that a satellite firm claims its data could be analysed to give the location. One would hope that such data is already being analysed and that Inmarsat are not just sitting on the data waiting for someone to offer them a deal! . Apparently it is.
NYT:
SEPANG, Malaysia — As the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet expanded into the daunting vastness of the Indian Ocean, a satellite communications company confirmed on Friday that it had recorded electronic “keep alive” ping signals from the plane after it disappeared, and said those signals could be analyzed to help estimate its location.
The information from the company, Inmarsat, could prove to be the first big break in helping narrow the frustrating search for the plane with 239 people aboard that mysteriously disappeared from radar screens a week ago, now hunted by a multinational array of ships and planes that have fanned out for thousands of square miles.
Tags: MH370
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