Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: US issued warnings over Boeing 777s

DateMarch 12, 2014 - 3:50PM 52 reading now

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Tom Allard


MH370 vanished from radar, then flew for an hour
Confusion and disarray surrounds investigation

The US airline safety regulator warned last year of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath a Boeing 777’s satellite antenna, issuing a worldwide alert for the flaw to be fixed as it could lead to decompression that would leave occupants unconscious.

The problem identified by the US Federal Aviation Administration provides a possible explanation as to why a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane mysteriously went missing en route to Beijing on Saturday.

A structural failure related to the flaw could not only have led to a slow decompression that left the 239 passengers and crew on the missing flight unconscious, it would also have disabled satellite communications, including the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which transmits data of the plane’s location automatically.

It would also have rendered the plane invisible to all but 'primary radar', which has a range of only 100 nautical miles.

Malaysia authorities are now saying the missing Malaysia Airlines plane flew for one hour and 10 minutes after Malaysian aviation authorities saw it vanish from radar over the South China Sea and potentially travel off course.

According to a posting on the Professional Pilots Rumour Network, the end of satellite communications would not have disabled the mobile phone network on the plane, which runs off a different communications system.

Nineteen families signed a statement saying they were able to telephone the mobile phones on the plane. While they got a dial tone, no one picked up.

The posting theorises that a structural failure fitted with much of the information know so far about the disaster of Flight MH370.

‘‘A slow decompression (e.g. from a golfball-sized hole) would have gradually impaired and confused the pilots before cabin altitude (pressure) warnings sounded,’’ it said.

‘‘If the decompression was slow enough, it’s possible the pilots did not realize to put on oxygen masks until it was too late. [It] also explains why another pilot thirty minutes ahead heard “mumbling” from MH370 pilots. (VHF comms would be unaffected by SATCOM equipment failure.).’’

The theory of how the incident may have unfolded is speculative, but the directive from the US Federal Aviation Administration is fact.

The 777-200 ER, the model operating flight MH370 was not specifically identified in the directive.

An inspection of a 14 year old Boeing 777 owned by an unnamed airline uncovered a 16-inch crack, the FAA found.

‘‘We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 777 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath the satellite Communication (SATCOM) antenna adaptor.

‘‘This proposed AD would require repetitive inspections of the visible fuselage skin and doubler if installed, for cracking, corrosion, and any indication of contact of a certain fastener to a bonding jumper, and repair if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, which could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the airplane.’’

The FAA directive called for additional checks to be incorporated into the routine maintenance schedule of the worldwide 777 Boeing fleet.

The flaw was first identified on June 12, 2013. Comment was sought from airlines and the manufacturer by November but the final airworthiness directive was not issued by the FAA until February 18.

According to a Malaysia Airlines spokesman, the missing aircraft was serviced on February 23, with further maintenance scheduled for June 19.

Whether the directive was picked up by the airline remains unknown.

A Boeing spokeswoman told Fairfax Media it was up to individual airlines to follow the directive, not the manufacturer.

Despite both the Boeing 777 and Malaysia Airlines having good safety records, there have been other incidents which could prove relevant during the investigation of the disappearance.

In 2005, a 777 operated by Malaysia Airlines suffered problems with its autopilot system on a flight between Perth and Kuala Lumpur.

It led to the plane pitching up into a sudden 3000-foot climb, almost causing the plane to stall.

The problem led to another airworthiness directive to correct a computer fault that had been found on 500 Boeing 777s.

Airworthiness directives are commonplace, similar to car recalls.

In the majority of cases, airlines are told to look for and correct the fault, if found, during maintenance.

While investigators from Malaysia and the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington search for the plane's black box, they will also be able to glean vital information from a live-data stream broadcast during the flight.

Known as Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, it is the equivalent of an "online black box".

However James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer who has represented bereaved families in other air accidents, warned they face a long wait before the original black boxes are recovered.

A Boeing spokesman said it was working with the NTSB as a technical adviser.

"The team is now in position in the region to offer whatever assistance is required."

The company declined to comment further.

- with the Telegraph, London


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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/missing-malaysia-airlines-plane-us-issued-warnings-over-boeing-777s-20140312-hvhqz.html#ixzz2vkLJH9LI

I honestly don't get how they can't find a plane. Surely if it's crashed into the Ocean without an explosion, it should register on wave maps or something IDK. I just always presumed we had the technology for these kind of things.

If this was Murica it would have been found 3 days ago.

At a time when Zimbabwe faces a critical food shortage, it remains to be seen whether Mathonsi’s ruling signifies a policy shift on indigenisation.

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/news/zimbabwe/70840/farm-re-allocated.html

http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304185104579437573396580350-lMyQjAxMTA0MDEwMzExNDMyWj

Worth a read.

Malaysian Authorities are full of shit IMO

Malaysian Authorities are full of shit IMO

'Who's in charge?' Malaysians ask, as anger mounts over jet

Five days after flight MH370 vanished without trace, Malaysians were losing patience with the fruitless search effort on Wednesday, saying it was a national embarrassment and demanding to know who would take responsibility.

KUALA LUMPUR: Five days after flight MH370 vanished without trace, Malaysians were losing patience with the fruitless search effort on Wednesday, saying it was a national embarrassment and demanding to know who would take responsibility.

With the world watching, the mood in the Southeast Asian nation was rapidly turning to anger at a torrent of misinformation, mis-steps and contradictions from the flag carrier and officials who appeared no closer to solving the mystery.

"It's world news, hello! Who is in charge here?," said Yvonne Ho, 42, an event organiser from the eastern state of Pahang.

The Malaysia Airlines aircraft disappeared early Saturday on an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew on board.

Despite an ever-expanding search coordinated by Malaysia, dozens of aircraft and vessels from different countries, including the US Navy, have failed to find a shred of evidence pointing to the plane's fate.

"The mood among Malaysians now is moving from patience in the search for the 239 people aboard the missing flight MH370 to embarrassment and anger," local news website Malaysian Insider said in a commentary.

"The whole world is watching Malaysia now because an aircraft with a wingspan of 61 metres (200 feet) does not fall off the sky or disappear into thin air just like that."

As rumours swirled in the absence of concrete information, others pointed to more sinister theories, darkly suggesting a cover-up by authorities.

"I'm upset that even with the effort of our country and a few other countries, that... not a single piece of the flight has shown up or been made public by Malaysia Airlines," said Syed Faris Hakem, 26, a Kuala Lumpur office worker.

"I personally think that they might be covering it up but not sure what's the reason behind it. This is all due to the lack of and contradicting information," he said.

Malaysian authorities insist they are giving all available information as promptly as possible, issuing more than a dozen media statements since the disappearance, but they and Malaysia Airlines have repeatedly grabbed headlines for contradicting each other.

Discrepancies include conflicting information about the number and ethnicities of people who used stolen passports to board the plane, and whether some passengers booked on the flight had failed to board.

Freddie Wang, a 53-year-old property consultant, said he was disappointed with the "sloppy and incompetent" manner in which investigations were being carried out.

"The officials seem to be arrogant and show little empathy towards victims' families," he said.

Malaysia's highly active social media sites have crackled with sympathetic expressions of concern and hope for the safety of the missing passengers and crew -- which include 38 Malaysians.

But with the mood beginning to turn, the latest confusing report regarding the search added to mounting frustration.

Malaysia's air force chief General Rodzali Daud on Wednesday denied an earlier report which quoted him as saying the jet had been detected by military radar far from its planned flight path.

He said he was misquoted, but it followed a string of contradictory statements that have called into question Malaysian authorities' grasp of the situation.

"I think govt (government) is lying about flt chg (flight change) of course, wild goose chase," a Twitter post said.

Malaysia's authoritarian Barisan Nasional (National Front) government, now headed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, has governed since 1957, overseeing decades of economic growth and modernisation.

But it is routinely accused by critics including rights groups and anti-graft organisations of gross civil liberties abuses, corruption and incompetence.

In a blog post, industry magazine Flightglobal's operations and safety editor David Learmount said there was an "all-pervasive sense of a chaotic lack of coordination" in the search.

- AFP/gn

so the conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories is now considered the most likely cause of the disappearance of this jet?

the pilot turning off the transponders and landing it somewhere secret under the knowing endorsement of Malaysian Authorities?

and you think they're full of shit

:lol: wow!!!

Edited by ricecrackers: 14/3/2014 06:13:33 PM

Oh wow. can you please show me where I said that ?

I think the process has been a bit suspicious. Information being released by 'mistake', China and Malaysia giving different information... It doesn't read very well.

Not claiming to know any kind of answer though .

Read properly next time.

so the conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories is now considered the most likely cause of the disappearance of this jet?

the pilot turning off the transponders and landing it somewhere secret under the knowing endorsement of Malaysian Authorities?

and you think they're full of shit

:lol: wow!!!

Edited by ricecrackers: 14/3/2014 06:13:33 PM

The communications systems of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were deliberately disabled, Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak has said.

According to satellite and radar evidence, he said, the plane then changed course and could have continued flying for a further seven hours.

He said the "movements are consistent with the deliberate action of someone on the plane".

The plane disappeared a week ago with 239 people on board.

The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight last made contact with air traffic control over the South China Sea to the east of Malaysia, about one hour after take-off.

Mr Razak told a news conference that new satellite evidence shows "with a high degree of certainty" that the aircraft's communications systems were disabled and then it changed course, flying back over Malaysia towards India.

Satellite signals continued to be picked up from the plane some seven hours after it lost radar contact.

Mr Razak said the authorities are now trying to trace the plane across two possible "corridors" - north from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through to northern Thailand, and south from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

The investigation, he said, had "entered a new phase".

There's more than one reason for them to rebuke the claim. Obviously one is what you're talking about but it may just be a case of them not wanting to fuel the fire of all these conspiracy theories - even if they may not be able to prove the assertion in the WSJ article is untrue.

Do I think it's possible the plane continued to fly on? Yes. I don't claim to know anything but due to the nature of the handling of the situation by the Malaysian Government, I don't think they're being totally transparent. Which is understandable.

#mysteriesofthe21stcentury

#greatconspiracytheoriesofthe21stcentury

Going to make for an interesting Air Crash Investigation episode at the very least.

doesnt it actually have to crash to appear on that show?

or maybe they just want to confirm their data with credible sources and relay it through the proper command chains
ever thought of that?

they've now confirmed the plane was deliberately flown way off course by the way

you want to call them full of shit now?

Edited by ricecrackers: 15/3/2014 06:42:19 PM

Sounds more and more like terrorist activity. Apparently an al-Qaeda informant Saajid Badat has mentioned meeting with a Malaysian pilot and giving him a shoe bomb. The older pilot was also a fervent supporter for the opposition leader whod just been jailed for 5 years for homosexuality amongst other things.

The problem problem with the bomb theory though is thered surely be visible wreckage.