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[MThanded]

Kidnapping doesn't really make sense. There's far more practical ways to abduct people if one were so inclined. Besides, those are mostly poor Chinese people who couldn't even pool a decent ransom.

Except about 20 of the people on the plane worked for Freescale a US based semiconductor manufacturer with revenue of 3.5 billion in 2012. Not sure where you got that from. I'm not claiming this was a kidnapping im just saying i dont think everyone on the plane was "poor".

The Freescale employees on MH370 were mostly engineers and other experts working to make the company's chip facilities in Tianjin, China, and Kuala Lumpur more efficient. They were based in those two locations and traveled back and forth on a regular basis to work on different projects, according to the company.

While they accounted for less than 1 percent of Freescale's 16,800 employees, they were doing specialized work and were part of a broad push by Chief Executive Officer Gregg Lowe to make Freescale more cost-effective.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014...ines-freescale-analysis-idUSBREA291UB20140310

 

[Cse]

Has the information stating that the plane was pinged ~7.5 hours after takeoff been confirmed by anyone other than the Malaysians?

 

[Grym]

As far as modern day disasters go, when was the last time it took this long to find even a single piece of the plane?

Amelia Earhart? :/


Not really. .. But total disappearances are usually smaller planes

 

[Sectorseven]

Except about 20 of the people on the plane worked for Freescale a US based semiconductor manufacturer with revenue of 3.5 billion in 2012. Not sure where you got that from. I'm not claiming this was a kidnapping im just saying i dont think everyone on the plane was "poor".

Anyone with this level of sophistication could just snatch them in the middle of the night. This is way too elaborate for a kidnapping.

 

[railGUN]

My completely unsubstantiated gut feeling is that the plane itself was the target. It's been stolen, and all passengers have been killed. The reason it hasn't been claimed by anyone is because this event isn't the end game, there is something bigger involving the plane to come (presumably, if it didn't crash in the process of stealing it).

One or both pilots were directly involved (not forced against their will) and maybe one or more passengers were also involved(?).

That's my crazy theory.

 

[Prez]

If it was hijacked and it landed then I think there's a slim chance the passengers are alive. They'd probably want to get rid of any witnesses...

 

[THE:MILKMAN]

Has the information stating that the plane was pinged ~7.5 hours after takeoff been confirmed by anyone other than the Malaysians?

Don't think so. But the US sent a ship and plane to the area now being searched 36+ hours ago....

 

[TrueGrime]

If it was hijacked and it landed then I think there's a slim chance the passengers are alive. They'd probably want to get rid of any witnesses...

Wouldn't you say that hijackers would -want- publicity though? There has to be a reason for it or a goal.

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

Has the information stating that the plane was pinged ~7.5 hours after takeoff been confirmed by anyone other than the Malaysians?

A few other countries have confirmed. I can't remember exactly who off the top of my head though.

 

[MThanded]

Anyone with this level of sophistication could just snatch them in the middle of the night. This is way too elaborate for a kidnapping.

I didn't say it was a kidnapping. However, you said people on the plane were poor.

 

[ZZMitch]

What are those points in the water? Military bases?

Islands

 

[EatChildren]

From WNYC: 634 runways where the plane could have landed. No idea how many of them are unattended, however.

Dispatch marines armed with Tom Clancy novels to every runway in proximity of the satellite line.

 

[WorldStar]

Wouldn't you say that hijackers would -want- publicity though?

not necessarily

and even if they did want publicity, it's possible that we could be only witnessing the very early stages of their overall plan

 

[WonkyPanda]

Wouldn't you say that hijackers would -want- publicity though? There has to be a reason for it or a goal.

Assuming there's a bigger goal in mind, as someone mentioned, the level of money and sophistication required for the maintenance and refueling of a 777 would be incredible.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Islands

Would a 777 have the capability of landing on an island safety?

 

[Ether_Snake]

Kidnapping doesn't really make sense. There's far more practical ways to abduct people if one were so inclined. Besides, those are mostly poor Chinese people who couldn't even pool a decent ransom.

Wouldn't have to be a ransom from those people, but of countries.

That being said I highly doubt the plane is on land, my guess is it was hijacked and never made it to whatever destination it sought to reach, or the passengers managed to stop the hijacker(s) but then were left with a plane without communication capabilities.

But the best scenario would be that it did land with people alive.

 

[j_k_redtail]

Dispatch marines armed with Tom Clancy novels to every runway in proximity of the satellite line.

In this case, "In proximity" means "within one hours' travel time", unfortunately.

 

[MIMIC]

Amelia Earhart? :/

I really wouldn't consider that modern day, though. Also, I'm more talking about commercial planes that have crashed/vanished.

Fake edit:

WOW. A Boeing 727 disappeared in 2003 and hasn't been heard from since:

According to press reports, the aircraft began taxiing with no communication between the crew and the tower; maneuvering erratically, it entered a runway without clearance. With its lights off and its transponder not transmitting, 844AA took off to the southwest, and headed out over the Atlantic Ocean. The 727 and the two men have not been seen since.

Air & Space

 

[TrueGrime]

not necessarily

and even if they did want publicity, it's possible that we could be only witnessing the very early stages of their overall plan

Assuming there's a bigger goal in mind, as someone mentioned, the level of money and sophistication required for the maintenance and refueling of a 777 would be incredible.

If it was hijacked then it would be monumental. I don't think that there has been a successful hijacking since 9/11. You'd think that if the plane did land in whatever condition that someone would try to communicate with phones, etc. One interesting piece of news I heard which might be fud was that after the plane had been deemed missing, loved ones were calling phones and they were still ringing.

 

[Ovid]

I really wouldn't consider that modern day, though. Also, I'm more talking about commercial planes that have crashed/vanished.

Fake edit:

WOW. A Boeing 727 disappeared in 2003 and hasn't been heard from since:


Air & Space

Yup, I found out about that earlier this week. I couldn't believe it.

 

[Mononoke]

Wouldn't you say that hijackers would -want- publicity though? There has to be a reason for it or a goal.

Assuming this is a terrorist attack. The terrorist attack angle still makes no sense to me though. The region/area that they did it, doesn't really add up. Nor does the actual hijacking (unless they have something else planned that is far more sinister). But it seems really convoluted so far, if that is the case. A lot of trouble etc.

It's possible a hijacking can be related to smuggling, piracy or something else. Doesn't have to be a terrorist attack.

 

[Particle Physicist]

I really wouldn't consider that modern day, though. Also, I'm more talking about commercial planes that have crashed/vanished.

Fake edit:

WOW. A Boeing 727 disappeared in 2003 and hasn't been heard from since:


Air & Space

Whoa. Crazy.

 

[crozier]

Assuming there's a bigger goal in mind, as someone mentioned, the level of money and sophistication required for the maintenance and refueling of a 777 would be incredible.

I know military JP-8 is used in everything from aircraft to maintenance ground equipment. Is there any reason that standard diesel couldn't power a 777? There's obviously differences in flash point, freezing temp, fuel efficiency, etc...but is there anything literally stopping it? The maintenance required to upkeep a 777 in the short-term would be trivial too.

 

[EatChildren]

In this case, "In proximity" means "within one hours' travel time", unfortunately.

Tom Clancy paperbacks will guide them.

 

[Prez]

Wouldn't you say that hijackers would -want- publicity though? There has to be a reason for it or a goal.

Depends on the motive. If they want to strip the plane for parts or use it for malicious purposes, I can't see them leaving any witnesses.

 

[thehunter01]

It's beyond me how pilots can disable such stuff. Shouldn't a plane always be in contact with something?

 

[Linkhero1]

It's beyond me how pilots can disable such stuff. Shouldn't a plane always be in contact with something?

If the "stuff" malfunctions causing issues to other instruments, they would need a way to disable the malfunction instrument.

 

[Oersted]

It's beyond me how pilots can disable such stuff. Shouldn't a plane always be in contact with something?

Seen a report about this today. Its basically just pulling off a few cables.

 

[FlutterPuffs]

Why would they kill fellow Muslim Malaysians?

There's muslims in the WTC during 9/11. Bastards usually apologise and say they died for the cause or some other excuse.

 

[DoktorEvil]

I really wouldn't consider that modern day, though. Also, I'm more talking about commercial planes that have crashed/vanished.

Fake edit:

WOW. A Boeing 727 disappeared in 2003 and hasn't been heard from since:


Air & Space

Fuck. I already have anxiety about flying. Shit like this guarantees I'll never go into a plane again.

I can't comprehend planes just going up into the air and going stealth. Shit, we never needed stealth bombers, we needed commercial airlines

*sarcasm*

 

[DrM]

Fuck. I already have anxiety about flying. Shit like this guarantees I'll never go into a plane again.

Nah, you will be fine, just watch Air Crash Investigation marathon before transatlantic flight for some additional adrenaline.

 

[crozier]

It's beyond me how pilots can disable such stuff. Shouldn't a plane always be in contact with something?

All a transponder does is amplify an aircraft's radar signature so ATC can more easily see it. They can even request that a pilot switch it off temporarily for any number of reasons...like needing to focus on another plane whose signature is overlapping.

EDIT: Ok, that's not *all* it does...it also transmits various flight information.

They do carry satellite phones, though (I believe all flights?).

 

[TrueGrime]

Assuming this is a terrorist attack. The terrorist attack angle still makes no sense to me though. The region/area that they did it, doesn't really add up. Nor does the actual hijacking (unless they have something else planned that is far more sinister). But it seems really convoluted so far, if that is the case. A lot of trouble etc.

It's possible a hijacking can be related to smuggling, piracy or something else. Doesn't have to be a terrorist attack.

True. I was thinking that as well. With all the theories present one thing still boggles my mind.. how do you make the pilots comply? I thought only pilots have access to the door. How could they make them do anything? I saw this on wikipedia.

February 17, 2014: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702 "on scheduled service departing from Addis Ababa at 00:30 (local time) scheduled to arrive in Rome at 04:40 (local time) was forced to proceed to Geneva airport", according to the airline.[91] The Boeing 767-300 (ET-AMF) was flying north over Sudan when it changed radio frequency to squawk 7500—which is used in case of hijacking. Nearing Geneva, the pilots communicated with air traffic control to inquire about possibility of hijackers receiving asylum in Switzerland. The aircraft circled the airport several times, before landing around 6:00 in the morning with one engine and less than 10 minutes of fuel remaining. The airport remained closed as the aircraft stayed on the tarmac. At 7:12 local time, the pilots communicated to ATC that they would be ready to disembark passengers in five minutes. The hijacker which was the co-pilot was arrested.

I would never, ever think that it would be one of the pilots that would be part of a hijacking.

 

[Mononoke]

True. I was thinking that as well. With all the theories present one thing still boggles my mind.. how do you make the pilots comply? I thought only pilots have access to the door. How could they make them do anything? I saw this on wikipedia.

February 17, 2014: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702 "on scheduled service departing from Addis Ababa at 00:30 (local time) scheduled to arrive in Rome at 04:40 (local time) was forced to proceed to Geneva airport", according to the airline.[91] The Boeing 767-300 (ET-AMF) was flying north over Sudan when it changed radio frequency to squawk 7500—which is used in case of hijacking. Nearing Geneva, the pilots communicated with air traffic control to inquire about possibility of hijackers receiving asylum in Switzerland. The aircraft circled the airport several times, before landing around 6:00 in the morning with one engine and less than 10 minutes of fuel remaining. The airport remained closed as the aircraft stayed on the tarmac. At 7:12 local time, the pilots communicated to ATC that they would be ready to disembark passengers in five minutes. The hijacker which was the co-pilot was arrested.

I would never, ever think that it would be one of the pilots that would be part of a hijacking.

People do crazy things for money. You hear stories where someone will kill another person for like five grand. And you think, wow you are willing to end a persons life (and put your entire freedom in jeopardy) for 5 grand?

I don't want to ASSUME the pilots were in on this. I don't like to speculate without facts. But the possibility that the pilot or co-pilot were apart of an inside job that would bank them a lot of money, isn't that far fetched. The question is, what was the plan? What were they smuggling?

There are just so many possibilities at this point, that's its crazy. But I don't think we should narrow it down to a terrorist attack (just because it was deliberate hijacking). What's funny is, no scenario really makes sense (in terms of how convoluted it would be. How much effort this plan took to pull off). But that's what is insane about all this. Nothing really makes sense.

 

[Miggytronz]

http://www.*****************/news/a...dual-group-significant-flying-experience.html

Satellite data shows hijacked MH370 was last seen flying towards Pakistan OR Indian Ocean as investigators search pilots' luxury homes and reveal one had home-made flight simulator

 

[Log4Girlz]

If the plane crash landed in the ocean after the hijacking, it may take a very, very long time to ever find it (I can imagine a worst case scenario of decades). With other crashes at least you had a very good idea where it was going. Now this plane could have gone anywhere in a very large swath of ocean, literally thousands of miles. Look how hard a time we had finding the Air France 447 and we had a pretty good idea the vicinity it crashed.

 

[DoktorEvil]

People do crazy things for money. You hear stories where someone will kill another person for like five grand. And you think, wow you are willing to end a persons life (and put your entire freedom in jeopardy) for 5 grand?

I don't want to ASSUME the pilots were in on this. I don't like to speculate without facts. But the possibility that the pilot or co-pilot were apart of an inside job that would bank them a lot of money, isn't that far fetched. The question is, what was the plan? What were they smuggling?

There are just so many possibilities at this point, that's its crazy. But I don't think we should narrow it down to a terrorist attack (just because it was deliberate hijacking).

I wonder if any investigations were done on the finances of the crew, just to rule out foul play.

 

[Ovid]

True. I was thinking that as well. With all the theories present one thing still boggles my mind.. how do you make the pilots comply? I thought only pilots have access to the door.

The co-pilot was known to let people in the cockpit.

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

Did anything come of the two guys who used stolen passports? I know there was a picture of them a few pages ago, but I wondered if theur backgrounds were looked into.

 

[ChainedMaster]

If the plane crash landed in the ocean after the hijacking, it may take a very, very long time to ever find it (I can imagine a worst case scenario of decades). With other crashes at least you had a very good idea where it was going. Now this plane could have gone anywhere in a very large swath of ocean, literally thousands of miles. Look how hard a time we had finding the Air France 447 and we had a pretty good idea the vicinity it crashed.

It only took days to find debris, though. At this point signs of debris would at least provide closure.

 

[Ovid]

Did anything come of the two guys who used stolen passports? I know there was a picture of them a few pages ago, but I wondered if theur backgrounds were looked into.

All we know is that they were trying to seek asylum in another country and that they're weren't a part of any known terrorist groups.

 

[Mononoke]

I wonder if any investigations were done on the finances of the crew, just to rule out foul play.

I'm sure they are checking all leads at this point. I think many of theories proposed in this thread, are very plausible. Well I say plausible. At least to me, all of this seems like a lot of effort. Like let's say they took the plane for ransom (kidnapping rich people on the plane). Taking an entire plane full of people, and making it disappear..just for a ransom? Sounds like a lot to do, just for that. Especially when they could have nabbed these people when they were on the ground.

Smuggling drugs, or weapons..and stealing a plane to get it to its destination? I guess a little more plausible, if the amount of weapons they had were worth a lot of money. It begs to question, how they got the drugs/weapons on the plane in the first place. But if its an inside job, maybe more doable.

If it was a terrorist attack, it seems like a lot of work, just to jack a plane (not crash it), and basically make it disappear. For what purpose? To use the plane at a later time? To smuggle themselves across the border?

I'm not really sure which one is the most plausible scenario. I mean, it seems like so much risk/ a lot of effort just to accomplish any of these goals.

 

[TrueGrime]

The co-pilot was known to let people in the cockpit.

The plot thickens.

 

[Miggytronz]

Flight Sim found in pilots home. How common is this for Pilots?

 

[Trouble]

Why would they kill fellow Muslim Malaysians?

There's muslims in the WTC during 9/11. Bastards usually apologise and say they died for the cause or some other excuse.

Muslims are more often the targets of Islamic terrorism than non-Muslims. Sectarian shenanigans are likely the driving factor behind that statistic.

Example:
Al-Qaida Kills Eight Times More Muslims Than Non-Muslims

 

[MThanded]

Flight Sim found in pilots home. How common is this for Pilots?

very.

 

[EatChildren]

Given the situation (erratic flight path of aircraft and believed to have flown for hours after it was lost) I don't doubt authorities and investigators are seriously hypothesising a hijacking scenario that will now deepen investigation into the passengers and crew. But also given the sensitivity of personal investigation we're not going to get a news ticker feed of developments.

Flight Sim found in pilots home. How common is this for Pilots?

I would assume very common. As I said a couple of days ago, I think anybody who dedicates decades of education, training, and work to flying an aircraft would have an inherent passion for flying and would spend plenty of recreational time learning, practising, and improving their skills. It would be very healthy for a pilot to have a virtual cockpit used to keep their abilities sharp.

 

[Trouble]

Flight Sim found in pilots home. How common is this for Pilots?

very.

I don't know if it's very common, but I certainly wouldn't say it's uncommon.

Many pilots pursue that career because they are enthusiasts. Sims let them fly planes that they don't get to fly in real life.

 

[TrueGrime]

Flight Sim found in pilots home. How common is this for Pilots?

Subjective. My boss is a pilot for AA. He tells me he flies enough with AA that when he goes home he wants nothing to do with flying and wants to spent it with family, let alone go about building a home cockpit simulator. On the other side of the spectrum I bet some guys can't get enough of it. I'm a flight engineer for C-130's and I fly quite a bit and I also absolutely love simulators.

 

[Ovid]

The plot thickens.

Not really. It was a major story earlier in the week.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ght-mh370-copilot-teenagers-fariq-abdul-hamid