13 March 2014 (11:54 UTC-07 Tango)/11 Jumada l-Ula 1435/22 Esfand 1392/13 Ding-Mao 4712
“…..we would not ordinarily release raw data from our military radars. But in this case we have put the search effort above our national security. We have shared our data with our international partners, including the U.S. and China, to help with the search effort.”-Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Malaysia’s Defense Minister and acting Transport Minister
The USN is sending a destroyer through the Malacca Straight. There is no indication that it is heading for the Indian Ocean. Late yesterday the Wall Street Journal posited that the plane flew as far west as Pakistan or Arabian Sea. The U.S. ABC News said they had info that the destroyer was heading to the Indian Ocean, however, British news media say their Pentagon contacts are denying that.
A USN P-3C Orion has already flown over the Malacca Straight, finding no sign of wreckage.
Malaysia’s Defense Minister, and acting Transport Minister, Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, also denies the Wall Street Journal report: “I would like to refer to news reports suggesting that the aircraft may have continued flying for some time after the last contact……..The last transmission from the aircraft was at 01:07 which indicated that everything was normal. Rolls Royce and Boeing teams are here in Kuala Lumpur and have worked with MAS and the investigations team since Sunday………As far as Rolls Royce and Boeing are concerned, those reports are inaccurate.“
Despite U.S. news media reports saying it was the Malaysian government denying such claims, note that Hussein specifically refers to Boeing and Rolls Royce as the ones who are denying the Wall Street Journal report.
Rolls Royce seems to be waffling on its statements concerning the engine data. Currently they are not willing to say that data definitely stopped transmission after 01:07 local time. (according to some news sources)
I also saw several U.S. news reports saying the search was not being expanded, but that does not jive with what Hussein said at the last press conference: “…..this situation is unprecedented. MH370 went completely silent whilst over the open ocean. We are in the middle of a multinational search involving many countries and more than 80 ships and aircraft……….Some claim that Malaysia has slowed down the search. That is not true. In fact, we have intensified the search.”
Hey main streamer U.S. news, why do you keep bullshitting us?
Royal Malaysian Police deny rumors that they searched the homes of the MH370/CZ748 flight crew.
Opposition political parties in Malaysia are using this debacle to build their cases against the current Malaysian government.
Lack of debris and emergency signals is making the theory of a hijacking look more and more enticing, however, to give you an idea of how hard it is to find a plane that crashes into the ocean: Air France 447 crashed into the Atlantic in 2009. It was not found until 2011, almost two years later! As I’ve pointed out in an earlier article, 447 went down under similar circumstances, and it turned out to be caused by a major computer failure.
Here’s a reason why a computer failure would cause a sudden crash: Old school aircraft have direct mechanical linkage from cockpit controls to ‘flying surfaces’ (rudder, elevators, ailerons, flaps & slats). One reason why modern aircraft are more fuel efficient is because they are lighter weight, and this is due in part to the deletion of those mechanical linkages, replaced with ‘fly by wire’ computer controlled relays. So, a total failure of the computer systems equals a big crash.
Air France’s flight 447, as do most modern airliners, used fly by wire: “Deflections of the flying control surfaces on the wing and tail are no longer driven directly by the pilots’ controls, but by a computer…..”-Airbus statement
