How Can A Plane Just Disappear?
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It has been more than four long days since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing over Southeast Asia. Malaysian officials not only don’t know what happened to the plane, they don’t seem to know where to look for it.
On Wednesday, officials announced they had once again expanded the search area. It now covers 27,000 square miles, more than double the size of the area being searched just a day before.
Such a dramatic expansion at this stage of the investigation is troubling, said CNN aviation expert Richard Quest.
“At this stage in the investigation and search and rescue, I would have expected to see by now a much more defined understanding of what the route was, where the plane was headed and a narrowing of the search consequent upon that,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.”
The disappearance is raising plenty of questions beyond “where is it”? For instance, how, in an age of constant tracking, could it simply have vanished, and how could it have fallen from the sky? Here’s a look at some of the possible answers:
- The Washington Post explains how it might have dropped off the grid. Radar can only reach so far. Passengers’ cell phones can’t necessarily connect to networks in the air. And Malaysia Airlines doesn’t seem to carry WiFi. As for the maps passengers see on the backs of seats, those track planes’ activity via ground stations and would probably lack any information we don’t already have.
- What about the black box? Businessweek wonders. Why is that data kept inside a plane where we can’t get to it, rather than transmitted from the plane? Mainly because of cost, the site explains. It would cost an airline $300 million per year to send out all that data. And airlines aren’t likely to spend that money as disasters become rarer.
- But how did the plane fall mid-flight, anyway? NPR notes a few factors that can affect a jet while it’s in the air. One is mechanical stress from the cabin’s pressurization and depressurization. But maintenance usually addresses that, and the Boeing 777 in question had recently been inspected. Technical failure is unlikely in today’s aircraft, which are protected with back-up systems. Human error remains a possibility, but the most common issue while in flight is sabotage, an expert says.
What do you think happened to Malaysia Flight 370?
Many thanks to CNN for story contributions.
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I know, I know! Wonder Woman lassoed it with here golden rope and make it disappear into the past. It landed in Chine in 1946.
You’re almost right. It wasn’t Wonder Woman though. What happened was, it got caught in a tailwind that gave it a sudden burst of speed. When the pilot looked out the window, he saw a dinosaur. They decided to try and get back into the tailwind, to bring themselves back. They almost made it too. Unfortunately, they only had enough fuel to make it back to 1939. When the pilot looked out the window a second time, he saw the Trylon and Perisphere of the New York World’s Fair.
We should make a vast list of conspiracy theories along with more practical reasons the plane disappeared and vote on which one will win.
I’ll start:
1) God decided to take them all, plus the plane, to prove he exists ! NEXT ?
Ha! I’ll wager that’s already out there. I’ve already heard the “it’s god’s will” bullshit, and “this is god’s plan.” What f*cking nonsense!
Here’s my theory. A guy knocked on the cabin door, went in and said the following to the pilot. “Dude. We’re going to CHINA. CHINA! Land of the 50¢ a day job. Let’s land this thing on some island somewhere, and live our lives.” The pilot needed about 3 and a half seconds to make his decision, and the rest is history.
LOL…well David that’s a lot more believable than “Obama did it.” 🙂
The area where the plane might have done down in the water, while large, is one of the most heavily traveled in the world. Every day, many ships and planes cross the area in all directions.
It is almost inconceivable that now one has ever seen anything. When you consider how any things on an airliner will float, there would have to be debris of some time. If it managed a soft water touchdown, such as Captain “Sully” in the Hudson, why were there no emergency radio calls?
Eventually, a rational explanation may be found. Until then, the conspiracy clowns and the UFA nuts are having free rein.
The crazies are out in force James. The flat earthers and the “moon landing filmed at Universal Studios” crowd is starting to ratchet the rhetoric on crazy.