I love mysteries and cospiracy theories and this disappearing jet is consuming me.

 

Ill propose two theories (a mainstream one and a crazy one).

 

What I think happened is:

 

A catastrophic mechanical failure.  It's an incredible coincedence that this occured at the exact moment of hand off between the two air traffic control points.  This failure impacted communications and caused a loss of pressure.  This would seem to indicate a fire and/or explosion.

 

The pilot did exactly what he would do - he turned towards an area he knew had an airport he could land at.  And he immediately dropped altitude to account for the lack of cabin pressure.  (alternately, if there was a fire but no cabin breach, its possible the pilot would drop altitude with the idea he could vent the smoke). 

 

As the plane flew along, the pilots were unable to communicate due to the failure and were eventually overcome by either smoke or hypoxia.  Another plane contacted MH370 to request they contact the Vietnam air traffic control aprox. ten minutes after the transponder signal was lost and received a reply that sounded like mumbling and static (indicating to me the pilots were suffering injury or hypoxia). The plane continued to fly as a "ghost plane" until running out of fuel and crashing in the Indian Ocean.

 

 

My wild theory:

 

"Something" happened involving the pilots.  I generally reject the hijacking scenario because to take a plane without any communication from the pilots would mean it happened very, very quickly and I dont see that happening in this day and age with cockpit security etc.  We do know these pilots were prone to having "guests" in the cockpit but for a hijacker to board the plane with that intent, he's hoping that the Pilots leave the cockpit unsecure and thats just a big chance to take for a hijacker.

 

That would indicate the pilot was in on whatever happened.  The points in favour of this being an intentional act:

 

- The incredible timing of this happening at the moment after the pilots sign off from one air traffic control location and right before communicating with the next.  This creates a scenario where both control areas assume the plane is talking to the other (apparently it does happen that a pilot 'forgets' to check in when he's supposed to)

 

- The transponder was turned off.  Either a mechanical failure did this or the pilot did it. 

 

- The plane apparently travelled a flightpath that indicated intelligent control for sometime after loss of contact

 

- The plan flew in a manner to avoid radar and skirt between countries (this is important if you're trying to avoid being shot down or persued because if you're very close to a boarder and clearly a passenger jet, you might be forgiven for crossing into airspace if one country assumes you're from the other)

 

- The has been zero debris.  One could argue that area of the Indian Ocean could easily carry debris away quickly.  But the fact they have seen so much junk and debris *not* connected to MH370 indicates that this area of the Ocean would be ideal for collecting debris and if the plane crashed *something* would be found.

 

- If the plane is in the Indian Ocean, the lack of debris is indicative of a controlled ditching.  Its virtually impossible (it would be a miracle) for the plane to ditch in one piece on it's own after running out of fuel.  Pilots are trained for ocean ditching (how to time the ocean swells etc) and the plane was designed to be able to ditch.  Even with training, its very difficult to successfully ditch in the Ocean without crashing.  If the plane ditched successfully, it *had* to be done by the pilots.  If so, why was no communication attempted?  Why did no one escape in life rafts?  If its a controlled ditch, that would explain the lack of debris (ie. the plan sunk and is sitting on the bottom of the ocean in one piece).

 

- The co-pilots cell phone attempted to connect to a cell tower around the time of last contact.  Was he trying to communicate due to a failure destroying on-board communications?  Was he trying to report a hi-jacking?  Was the attempt by the cell phone to make contact simply the result of a phone being left on and repeatedly seaching for a cell signal on it's own?  We know cells are not allowed to be on in the cockpit but we also know these pilots have broken cockpit rules before (and could simply have forgotten).

 

- The so-called "Pings" that were heard.  None of the emergency locators seemed to function.  There are 4 of them that are supposed to send a signal upon impact or water contact.  However, they are not shielded and a particularly catastrophic crash could destroy them before they sent a signal.  They are also not able to function under water and could have been destroyed by water before being able to send a signal (the 4 on the Air France flight also did not function).  The Chinese indicated they heard a Ping.  This story was later burried and apparently, the Chinese actually heard themselves.  The two pings that were heard were reportedly 200-300 miles apart.  This indicates a massive crash with debris spread about which belies the fact there has been no debris.  The coincedence of these Pings is that it occured just as the life of the batteries was winding down and then stopped (which is the perfect "clue" if you're trying to convince the world the plane is in the Indian Ocean).

 

- The fact NO military seems to have picked up this plane on radar is puzzling and alarming.  If the plane suffered a mechanical failure and was a "ghost plane", how could it avoid radar contact?  If the flight was intelligently operated with the intent to avoid radar, how is this still possible?  It wasnt a stealth bomber.

 

- 20+ people on board were future-tech weapons designers for an American firm that had recently completed a project.

 

- One passenger reportedly sent a photo and text message a day after the plane went missing stating the plane had been hijacked by military and that he was being held captive on Diego Garcia, a US military base in the area.

 

EDITED to add:

 

- The Malaysian government told the Chinese they had communication between the pilots and Air Traffic Control that would never be allowed to go public.  A week later, they released a transcript that showed nothing unusual.  What are they hiding?  Their preliminary report to the UN was sealed when no reports of that nature are ever sealed from the public.

 

- If the plane was hijacked or taken for a ride by the pilots, why did none of the passengers call or message family?  This lends credence to the massive mechnical failure likelyhood.  I saw a cool story on CNN that showed it was possible to retrieve cell phone information after it had been under water for a period of time.  This is important because if something happened on board and passengers were able to take pics/video or try to send messages but didnt have a signal, that information would be stored on their phones and could be retrieved later.

 

Where the heck is MH370?

The USA knows what happens but they won't say. Bet on it. They know

To what end...?

The USA knows what happens but they won't say. Bet on it. They know

 

 

That cat's look is priceless.  Like "why did I have to be adopted by this clown?"

Does not autopilot go into a dive in a stall situation? Which is what would have happened here?

Now that I give it thought I think the auto pilot automatically disengages in the event of a stall. A live pilot has a chance to glide if the plane is otherwise At speed and level. But yeah I guess it would disengage and simply fall into a nose dive.

CNN has picked up this story

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/us/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-theories/index.html

 

But also notes several of the theories and includes this:

 

If the plane ran out of fuel while on autopilot, the landing at sea would have the same path as one on land, said Mitchell Casado, a Boeing 777 pilot trainer.

 

"It's not going to be any dramatic nose down or turning or anything like that. It's just going to be a very gentle, gradual descent -- very similar, actually, to what you would experience in a regular flight," Casado said. "Just a very gradual descent but constant until you hit the ground."

 

That sort of runs counter to the theory that it ran out of fuel and then crashed nose first into the ocean... 

CNN has picked up this story

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/us/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-theories/index.html

 

But also notes several of the theories and includes this:

 

If the plane ran out of fuel while on autopilot, the landing at sea would have the same path as one on land, said Mitchell Casado, a Boeing 777 pilot trainer.

 

"It's not going to be any dramatic nose down or turning or anything like that. It's just going to be a very gentle, gradual descent -- very similar, actually, to what you would experience in a regular flight," Casado said. "Just a very gradual descent but constant until you hit the ground."

 

That sort of runs counter to the theory that it ran out of fuel and then crashed nose first into the ocean... 

I read a couple of threads about this and the general belief is that the auto pilot WOULD disengage and from that point anything could happen.including nose dive.

 

Here's a good link https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/latest/a/22235213/flight-recreated-in-777-simulator/

A chunk of airplane wing that may match the Malaysia Airlines flight that went missing more than a year ago was found on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Xavier Tytelman, a French former military pilot, was contacted today by a man on the island who found the piece, according to The Telegraph, and says it looks like it could be from the long disappeared Boeing 777, in part because it appears to have spent at least a year in the ocean.

 

“We all think it is likely that the wing is that of a Boeing 777 – the same plane as MH370,” he told the Telegraph.

 

Flight 370 departed from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for Beijing, China early on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board. A search over tens of thousands of square miles of ocean in a number of different regions, failed to turn up a single trace of the jet.

 

***I dont know anything about ocean currents but if this is indeed wreckage from 370, it means these people were looking in the wrong place from Day One.  It means the mathematical calculations from satellite "handshakes" was inaccurate.  Because it would mean the plane crashed in the right ocean but the wrong spot, far more westerly then they were looking.

 

On one hand, it would be great news to have a place to start really searching.  But on the other hand, I'd be disappointed in thinking the plane is in pieces.  The piece found is a flap, pretty small piece of a wing.  I suppose it doesnt preclude the idea the wings snapped off but the fuselage remained intact and is at the bottom of the ocean...which is the important part if a cause is to be determined.

 

There's also this:

 

The plane wing is reportedly being considered as belonging to a twin engine plane that crashed near the island in 2006, a portion of the missing MH370 flight or the remnants of a Yemenia flight that crashed in 2009 off the coast of Comoros. Investigators warned it was too soon to determine where the plane wing originated from.

 

and

 

Jon Ostrower ✔ @jonostrower

For those of you watching at home, Reunion Island is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY far from where search teams have been looking for #MH370.

 

11:44 AM - 29 Jul 2015

 

Question:  Will they confirm the crash site of Amelia Earhart's plane or MH370 first?

Antoine Forestier @a_forestier

Photo de la valise retrouvée ce matin à Saint-André, près de là où l'aile a été vue hier. (photo @Linfore) #LaReunion

 

Translate:

Antoine Forestier a_forestier

Photo of the suitcase found this morning in Saint-André , near where the wing was seen yesterday. (photo Linfore ) #LaReunion

 

 

AirLive.net @airlivenet

BREAKING '657BB' code found on wreckage is Boeing 777 flaperon according to manual #MH370 http://ift.tt/1MxCODd 

@CNN: Source: Part number from aircraft debris found on island corresponds to a Boeing 777 aircraft. http://t.co/6BWEBOiq7shttp://t.co/E3Py2oiX2O

Must be MH370. Hopefully this somehow allows them to pinpoint the search somewhat. What are the odds there is larger pieces? Hopefully a fuselage with instrumentation and bodies.

I dont know anything about ocean currents ..

Everything rotates counter clockwise in the Indian Ocean so nothing has changed in that part. Just took a year for the part to go from where it crashed to the other side.

 

http://www.weather.com/news/news/indian-ocean-currents-mh370-debris-plane

So how longs it gonna take to say

Well they've said its a 777 so it has to be 370. But France will be examining the pieces on Wednesday

@CBCAlerts: Officials confirm debris found on French island of #Reunion is indeed from the missing #MalaysiaAirlines flight #MH370.

OK so they finally found a piece of the plane.  Or at least, the Malaysians think so, but the French guy pussied out and wouldn't commit either way.  I've been reading a lot about reports that the plane flew over the Maldives.  And if you look at the currents, the debris could have drifted down to Reunion from a spot around the Maldives.  If the plane crashed into the ocean that far north, then they are looking in completely the wrong place.

OK so they finally found a piece of the plane. Or at least, the Malaysians think so, but the French guy pussied out and wouldn't commit either way. I've been reading a lot about reports that the plane flew over the Maldives. And if you look at the currents, the debris could have drifted down to Reunion from a spot around the Maldives. If the plane crashed into the ocean that far north, then they are looking in completely the wrong place.

Drift patterns also fit the current search area. It's going to take a lot of time and effort to find the plane. It took two years to find Air France and they had wreckage righty away and knew it's course.

OK so they finally found a piece of the plane.  Or at least, the Malaysians think so, but the French guy pussied out and wouldn't commit either way.  I've been reading a lot about reports that the plane flew over the Maldives.  And if you look at the currents, the debris could have drifted down to Reunion from a spot around the Maldives.  If the plane crashed into the ocean that far north, then they are looking in completely the wrong place.

The sat. data though said it went down sw of australia.

(CNN)Malaysia's transport ministry said Thursday that more plane parts have washed up on the same island as a wing part believed -- with varying degrees of certainty -- to be from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

 

Those new items, which the Malaysians described as pieces of windows, seat cushions and aluminum material, will be tested by the same international team of experts who are looking at a piece of a wing that the Malaysians said Wednesday is definitely from MH370.

 

This is a good sign.  There had been talk that no other debris might be located as the island is so small.  The fact more debris is washing ashore could mean the wreckage was located in a rather small area and drifted together.  I hate that its "pieces of windows" though... I have held out hope the main part of the plane was contained on the bottom of the ocean.  Hopefully thats still the case.  They need to find those black boxes.

 

I think my initial thought that this was a catastrophic malfunction is going to be proven true...with a few remarkable coincidences thrown in (like the auto-pilot skirting several nations)

 

EDIT: An Australian agency coordinating the search for the missing airliner, however, says there is no indication so far of any new aircraft debris.

 

Hmmmm

Malaysia says one thing. Paris says the other. It's interesting but nothing is for sure just yet. Makes you wonder why Malaysia says there's no doubt but the ppl investigating it says there is some doubt.

If it's from a 777 how can there be doubt. I think they probably haven't linked it 100% but logic dictates here.

Because Malaysia has been known to jump the gun so to speak

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/03/europe/mh370-investigation/index.html

 

Now even French investigators are convinced: The airplane debris found on Reunion Island in July belonged to vanished Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a top French prosecutor said Thursday.

 

Investigators learned Thursday that a series of numbers found inside the plane flaperon matches with records, held by a Spanish company that manufactured portions of the component, linking the debris to MH370, the office of Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said.

 

"Consequently, it is possible today to affirm with certainty that the flaperon discovered at the Reunion Island on July 29, 2015 is that of MH370," the office said.

"Consequently, it is possible today to affirm with certainty that the flaperon discovered at the Reunion Island on July 29, 2015 is that of MH370," the office said.

There is a Google translation right there.

Well, so much for the conspiracy theories that the plane was hijacked & diverted to some island where the passengers were held prisoners.

Well, so much for the conspiracy theories that the plane was hijacked & diverted to some island where the passengers were held prisoners.

No one legitimately thought that.

 

Well, so much for the conspiracy theories that the plane was hijacked & diverted to some island where the passengers were held prisoners.

No one legitimately thought that.

 

I think a lot of people thought that & still do even with the wreckage being found & confirmed. Just like the conspiracies with the WTC in New York that the US government deliberately destroyed & killed thousands of people as an excuse for Dubya to invade Iraq. Or that the moon landing in July 1969 was a hoax. It's the Internet. Conspiracies loom everywhere.

Just glad there can now be closure for the families.