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Tag: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

  • TransAsia Airways Plane Crashes, 47 Dead

    A TransAsia Airways turboprop airplane crashed on an island near Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 47 people. The crash set buildings on fire, however no one in those buildings suffered injuries or died. The plane–a 70-seat ATR 72–was making its second attempt at landing on the island of Makong during a severe thunderstorm.

    Eleven of the TransAsia Airways passengers were transported to the nearest hospital with injuries.

    “It was thunderstorm conditions during the crash,” Hsi Wen-guang, a spokesman for the Penghu County Government Fire Bureau. “From the crash site we sent 11 people to hospital with injuries. A few empty apartment buildings adjacent to the runway caught fire, but no one was inside at the time and the fire was extinguished.”

    About 100 firefighters were sent to the scene, as well as 152 military personnel and 255 police officers. An official at the Civil Aeronautics Administration reported that the weather conditions at the time of the crash didn’t exceed international regulations for landing a plane of its size.

    TransAsia’s president, Chooi Yee-choong, has appeared on national television stations, bowing in apology for the loss of so many lives.

    “We express our deepest apologies to everyone for this unfortunate event,” he said.

    Of course this tragic TransAsia Airways plane crash comes on the heels of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 that was reportedly shot down over Ukraine, as well as Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared without a trace back in March. It is no doubt making people from around the world rethink their travel plans.

    This TransAsia Airways plane was part of a fleet of 23 Airbus and ATR aircraft. Based in Taiwan, the airline features flights to and from mainland China, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as other Asian destinations.

    Condolences are going out from around the world to TransAsia Airways and the passengers and crew members who died on this tragic flight.

    Image via YouTube

  • Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Autopilot Theory Points to Hypoxia

    Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Autopilot Theory Points to Hypoxia

    The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 continues to be one of the biggest mysteries of 2014, and has left many not just grieving the loss of their loved ones but wondering what happened in the last minutes of their lives. Was something sinister–like terrorism–at play? A new theory based on the belief that the plane was flying on autopilot before and after the crash occurred won’t bring these passengers and crew back, but it might help survivors find some semblance of closure in light of the horrific tragedy.

    According to a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, “The final stages of the unresponsive crew/hypoxia event type appeared to best fit the available evidence for the final period of MH370’s flight when it was heading in a generally southerly direction.”

    This theory gives all other theories–including hijacking as a result of terrorist activity–far less credibility.

    If Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was truly on autopilot until it ran out of fuel, this means there was likely no deliberate attempt to crash or redirect the plane, and the fact that the pilots were no longer communicating despite being on autopilot could indicate that the crew was somehow incapacitated. The loss of cabin pressure would have rendered everyone on board incapacitated.

    Word of this theory about the missing flight has spread to news agencies around the world.

    Not only might this theory about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 alleviate the horror of terrorism in survivor’s minds, they might also find some comfort in knowing their loved ones were likely already deceased when the plane crashed into the ocean.

    Yes, these means of comfort are small ones in comparison to what these people have experienced, but hopefully they will nudge them toward the road of recovery–putting the shattered pieces of their lives back together again.

    Image via YouTube

  • Malaysia Airlines Search Dives Deep With Robotics

    Malaysia Airlines Search Dives Deep With Robotics

    “It is time to go underwater.”

    Since March 8 when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished with 239 people on board, investigators have been looking desperately for clues ranging from surface debris to transmissions which were thought to come from one or both of the black boxes on the international passenger flight. Those pings have since stopped.

    38 days after the search began, investigators have announced a new phase in the operation.

    Bluefin-21, a 16-foot, 1,650-pound underwater autonomous vehicle, was deployed into the Indian Ocean on Monday to search for wreckage from the plane using sonar that gathers data. Running on a 24-hour cycle, it dives 2 hours to reach the 2.8 mile deep seafloor, explores for 16 hours, then climbs another 2 hours back to the surface.

    Once back above water, it takes 4 hours to download the data received (a high-resolution 3-D map of the floor) and prepare the Bluefin-21 for its next ocean floor dive.

    “The whole key on these searches is you have to be methodical and persistent, and they can take quite a bit of time,” said David Kelly, president and chief executive of Bluefin Robotics, the company that makes the vessel.

    But, even in this day and age, technology isn’t always as perfect as sometimes needed. Personnel aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield have limited low bandwidth communication with Bluefin-21 while on its mission.

    Charitha Pattiaratchi, a professor of oceanography at the University of Western Australia, said, “It doesn’t transfer any imagery or anything while it’s down there.”

    In fact on Monday, the first day of the dive, the robot returned to Ocean Shield after only six hours because it began to exceed its maximum depth of 2.8 miles. For most people, even oceanographers, that is hard to comprehend. It’s like stacking approximately 12 Sears Towers on top of each other.

    The Bluefin-21 will be searching an area of about 600 square miles at approximately 15 square miles a day (if there are no problems). The U.S. Navy says that the search of this area alone could take 6 weeks to 2 months.

    In the meantime, families of those lost are still waiting for answers and, perhaps, a bit of closure.

    Image via YouTube

  • Black Box Data: Lost MH370 Fuels Live-Streaming Talk

    With the fate of Malaysia flight MH370 still uncertain three weeks after the plane’s disappearance, a debate has reignited over the possibility of live streaming a plane’s flight data and voice recorders — known as the “black box” — during all flights.

    Currently, air accident investigators have to wait for the recovery of the black box before they can reliably analyze what has happened to a plane during an accident.

    Proponents of flight data-streaming suggest it is the only way to prevent a plane from becoming lost during flight. This is the second flight to disappear in five years — it took nearly two years to recover the black box of an Air France flight that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean during its 2009 flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

    Time is ticking for the possibility of ever finding out what happened to MH370 — the black box will stop emitting a signal after 30 days.

    Oliver McGee, a former scientific adviser to former President Bill Clinton, is an avid proponent of storing crucial data in the cloud.

    Joe Kolly, the director of research and engineering at the National Transportation Safety Board, said discussions have begun on how to prevent crucial flight information from being lost.

    “You’re looking for what is the most important information,” he said. “If the airline industry goes to that in the future, what would be those requirements?” he said.

    “We have our staff involved in technical meetings and discussions and working groups on just what type of data you would need.”

    Kolly said governments are becoming more interested in the possibility of streaming flight data for security reasons, but says there are many questions to consider.

    “What are the rates at which those data need to be transmitted?” Kolly said. “And also … what is going to trigger the data download?”

    This could very well become an important topic of conversation in June at an annual summit of the International Air Transport Association — comprised of the heads of the world’s major airlines — at Doha, Qatar.

    Image via YouTube

  • Malaysian Flight 370 Found? Crashed In Indian Ocean

    Malaysian Flight 370 Found? Crashed In Indian Ocean

    After weeks of speculation as to the fate of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Malaysian government officials announced today that they are certain the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean and that there are no survivors.

    It is also heavily speculated that the debris spotted by multiple rescue planes likely belongs to what’s left of the crashed plane.

    The New York Times is reporting that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak stated that this conclusion has been drawn by international authorities based on new analysis of satellite photos.

    The analysis of the imagery was provided by British satellite maker Inmarsat and the British national aviation safety agency.

    The work by these organizations is said to have narrowed down all the possible paths that the missing jetliner could have taken once it went missing.

    Despite weeks of conspiracy theories surrounding the possible fate of the missing airplane, it seems there is no other conclusion that can be drawn.

    Sadly, it’s likely the one conclusion to be drawn is the one that was most painfully obvious from the beginning: The Boeing 777 went down in the ocean and all 239 passengers were killed.

    The only area of speculation that remains is determining how or why the plane went off course and crashed. Nothing can be known until such time as the remnants of Flight 370 are recovered.

    The prime minister said that it was “with deep sadness and regret” that he was to inform the public that “according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean”.

    It is a painful blow to the families of the missing passengers and flight crew aboard MH370. All of these no doubt heartbroken individuals hoped against hope as the weeks went by that somehow, someway, there would be a different ending.

    It has been reported that the family members in Kuala Lampur were notified directly and that text communications were sent to relatives in other locations.

    One of the more frustrating aspects of this case has been the delay in time period between information becoming available and then being shared with the media and public.

    Perhaps this tragedy will encourage various nations to update their use of satellite images and methods of disseminating information.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Malaysia Airlines Flight: China Shares Debris Photo

    Yet another satellite image has been released that identifies possible debris from Flight 370. This time the nation of China has come forward with a satellite photo taken on Tuesday at around noon.

    The significance of this image is that it places the missing Malaysia Airlines flight in the same area of the remote Indian Ocean as the Australian satellite image which was released earlier in the week.

    Also significant is that the alleged debris in the Chinese satellite image appears to be the same size as what was seen in the Australian image.

    The major difference is that the image of what could be the remains of the Boeing 777 is shown to be drifting away from the current search area. It’s not surprising as currents can carry items away from where they are first spotted at sea quite some distance. Even more startling, in a matter of days, the items can float a distance of some miles.

    This latest development comes on the heels of the latest international joint search efforts, which have turned up nothing.

    The failed effort marked the third straight day of searching the 1500 miles of ocean that authorities feel may contain debris from crash.

    Authorities have already declared that they expect the search for Flight 370 and its 239 passengers to continue for some time, if not indefinitely.

    The images coming in by satellite are the best leads available in a situation that feels more and more like a wild goose change with each passing day.

    It has been two weeks since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 last sent a signal. There has been speculation of its fate that ranged from crashing in the Gulf of Thailand to being hijacked and rerouted to a hostile location.

    There have been false eye-witness reports and family members continue to grow increasingly restless and distrustful of the Malaysia Airlines company and Malaysia government information.

    This latest lead does seem to confirm that something is floating in the waters of the southern Indian Ocean.

    It is not certain whether or not what China has shared will prove to be the missing piece of the puzzle.

    Image via YouTube

  • Malaysia Airlines: Search For MH370 Debris Continues

    A major break in the case of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has led to a massive search of the freezing southern waters of the Indian Ocean. An Australian satellite photo showed chunks of what could be debris from the plane. Because of the volume of satellite images that had to be sorted through, it took some time to make the discovery.

    Following confirmation that the lead is genuine, an area spanning roughly 1500 miles of water is now the site of a desperate search by air and sea.

    Multiple objects were observed in the satellite photo, including one thought to measure about 79 ft. The size of the items in the water is what led some to believe it’s perfectly credible that these could be what is left of the missing plane.

    The photo imagery was itself corroborated by other satellite photos.

    A search of the area resumed on Friday in the hopes that something will be found. It is a huge area of water to cover and from the air, the search and rescue mission is especially daunting.

    This area of the Indian Ocean is so remote that the search planes take four hours to arrive. The journey back to refuel takes up an additional four hours, leaving a window of just two hours to perform a comprehensive search.

    Planes from Australia and the United States have staggered their departure times in order to cope with this.

    Meanwhile numerous ships are being diverted into the area as the international community continues to cooperate in the hunt for the missing jetliner.

    The first to arrive into the area was Norwegian cargo ship Höegh St. Petersburg. The massive ship joined the search on Thursday at the request of Australia.

    Sailors aboard worked into the night said Erik Gierchsky, spokesman for the Norwegian Shipowners Association. He also stated the men remained on deck for many hours, using lights and binoculars to search the waters for debris.

    Despite the renewed search efforts bringing some measure of optimism, authorities cautioned that it could be that the objects may not have anything to do with the missing plane and may be something else entirely. It’s also possible the objects may never be found.

    Family members of the missing passengers were also cautious about the lead.

    Sarah Bajc, fiance of missing American passenger Philip Wood, said of the news, “It strikes me as just one more lead that may or may not come true.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Malaysia Airlines Flight: Did Fishermen See Plane?

    An increasing number of eyewitness sightings are being shared with the public as the search for Flight MH370 approaches the end of a second unsuccessful week.

    Fishermen claim to have seen the Boeing 777 flying abnormally low and then crash into the waters of the Strait of Malacca.

    A fisherman named Hendra told this to state news agency Antara while adding, “We could not go to the location where the aircraft was lost due to large waves, and the boat did not have enough fuel.”

    He and other fisherman say they were out in the waters between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra on March 8th in the early morning hours.

    Their statements are still being investigated by Indonesian authorities.

    Meanwhile, residents of the remote Kuda Huvadhoo, located in the Maldive Islands, say that they saw a jumbo jet flying overhead at about 6:15 am local time on the same day. They described the plane as low and very loud.


    One alleged eyewitness described the sighting in the following way:

    I’ve never seen a jet flying so low over our island before. We’ve seen seaplanes, but I’m sure that this was not one of those. I could even make out the doors on the plane clearly.

    ‘It’s not just me either, several other residents have reported seeing the exact same thing. Some people got out of their houses to see what was causing the tremendous noise too.

    In addition to describing the aircraft as a “jumbo jet”, residents described it as white with red stripes across it. It is a description that matches that of the missing Boeing jetliner.

    Despite there being some evidence to validate a possible sighting in the Maldives, authorities are saying otherwise:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Malaysia Airlines Flight: Rupert Murdoch Tweets

    Australian-born media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, took to Twitter over the weekend to offer his theory on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

    According to Businessweek, Murdoch’s empire is vast.

    “His satellites deliver TV programs in five continents, all but dominating Britain, Italy, and wide swaths of Asia and the Middle East. He publishes 175 newspapers, including the New York Post and The Times of London. In the U.S., he owns the Twentieth Century Fox Studio, Fox Network, and 35 TV stations that reach more than 40% of the country…His cable channels include fast-growing Fox News, and 19 regional sports channels. In all, as many as one in five American homes at any given time will be tuned into a show News Corp. either produced or delivered.”

    Murdoch has nearly a half million followers on Twitter.

    He followed that tweet with another.

    Earlier in the investigation into the fate of the Malaysia Airlines missing plane, Murdoch tweeted this:

    Many have taken to social media with all kinds of theories about the Flight MH370.

    Theories abound.

    Even ABC News theorized the plane may have landed on a remote island.

    What do you think about the mystery surrounding MH370?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Malaysia Air Flight 370: Here Are The Biggest Questions

    Controversy still surrounds Malaysia Airlines flight 370, the flight that mysteriously disappeared off the radar on March 8, carrying 239 passengers. While many speculators believe the plane was most likely hijacked, there are still several questions left unanswered by the bizarre disappearance of flight 370.

    The biggest question is, well, where exactly is the plane now? CNN reports that search crews have stretched to the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean. This essentially covers an area stretching from India to Australia, which is extremely expansive, and “an impossible task,” says Peter Goelz, a former National Transportation Safety Board director. “It’s got to be narrowed down more.” CNN claims that there are now 57 ships and 48 aircrafts involved in the search.

    Following this big question, the next mystery is: what caused the plane to lose contact? The transponder, a radio transmitter that connects to air traffic control, had stopped working at 1:07 am. Why it stopped working is the question at large. Without the transponder, the flight is virtually invisible, allowing it to manipulated freely. Many speculate that if the pilot didn’t turn off the transponder, a hijacker did. There’s also no evidence to support a pilot’s error in the flight’s disappearance. The pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, has over 18,000 flying hours and 20 years of experience. There was also no inclement weather at the time of disappearance.

    Does this mean the plane could have safely landed somewhere? It’s a popular theory, as a new report from the Wall Street Journal says that there’s recent satellite information that shows communication from the plane at 8:11 am – seven hours after its disappearance. It’s possible the plane was landed on a remote island, although a plane as large as a Boeing 777 requires at least a mile-long strip for landing. And if it had crashed on land, the plane’s emergency beacon would have automatically flashed on the radar.

    Did the Malaysian Airlines Flight land on water, then? CNN says that it’s possible: emergency beacons are significantly harder to find in water landings. After flying for nearly eight hours, the plane could have sank in-tact, which would explain why there aren’t any traces of the plane’s debris.

    Whether the plane sunk in water or is currently hidden landed off-radar, it’s clear there are still many unanswered questions regarding this mysterious disappearance. With an expansive search team and new information being discovered every day, many hang on to the hope that the plane will be found and recovered.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons