Malaysia Airlines flight MH370-Updates and Discussion

murphaph

I imagine being a pilot is more of a "calling" than a job. It's not something you apply for on the off chance and fall into the career....you have to more or less decide "that's what I want to do" and then work at becoming one (a friend of mine has been working for years at getting a CPL and getting TR etc.). So I would't imagine it's all all unusual for a professional pilot to also be very interested in simulator flying. I see nothing sinister in it anyway.

Colser

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Question for commercial pilots here, or those who know one or two:
How many pilots have a home-made simulator at home? The chief pilot seem to have/had a fairly nice (not that advanced but adequate to practice ...) setup at home. Now I don't really know if it's common for pilots to have something like that, considering that they fly the real thing all the time, and that they have also access to proper simulators as part of the training. Wouldn't they be sick of the sight of the cockpit and would they really set one up at home to work on/play with in their spare time?
Genuine question, I don't know the answer. If yes then all good!

I wouldnt find this strange at all.I know lots of car/bike enthusiasts who work in the industry and yet have a selection of cars/bikes at home ,its what they enjoy.
Just on a side note,does anyone feel like today is a bit more sombre somehow, as in every avenue has been explored but absolutely no concrete developments have been made....maybe its just me today

sully2010

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Question for commercial pilots here, or those who know one or two:
How many pilots have a home-made simulator at home? The chief pilot seem to have/had a fairly nice (not that advanced but adequate to practice ...) setup at home. Now I don't really know if it's common for pilots to have something like that, considering that they fly the real thing all the time, and that they have also access to proper simulators as part of the training. Wouldn't they be sick of the sight of the cockpit and would they really set one up at home to work on/play with in their spare time?
Genuine question, I don't know the answer. If yes then all good!

Id say your better off asking that question in "ask an airline pilot" Think its a valid point, a 53 year old 777 pilot playing flight simulators is a bit strange imo

sully2010

sully2010 wrote: »

Id say your better off asking that question in "ask an airline pilot" Think its a valid point, a 53 year old 777 pilot playing flight simulators is a bit strange imo

Maybe he built it for his kids/Nieces/nephews to mess around on ?? Possibly? (Not sure if he was a father)

relaxed

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Yeah but that's a game, and gives instant gratification.

Lots of software engineers have a computer at home too!! So what?

My specific question was for those who are pilots or know pilots. If you don't have anything useful to add then it's best to stay quiet!

I know a couple of pilots, hang on while I ring around and ask do any of them have simulators at home. What difference does it make really?

Maybe we should inform the Gardaí of those that have simulators and have them disqualified from flying as they pose a threat. Should we extend it to bus and train drivers who have racing car games at home on the Wii.

This is definitely conspiracy theory day around here.

sopretty

Right, so now they have confirmed that they ARE in fact investigating reports from US about satellite signals being picked up.

Calina

sully2010 wrote: »

Id say your better off asking that question in "ask an airline pilot" Think its a valid point, a 53 year old 777 pilot playing flight simulators is a bit strange imo

I don't think I'd agree with that. There is a fairly substantial flight sim community out there - it's not my thing (have crashed every single time I've ever tried it).

But until I went back to college to do a masters, I did a lot of programming computer related stuff for fun, even though the day job was as a programmer. And my home set up was, for the last I guess 10 years, better than anything I had at work.

Arguably, I think the question "why would you want to spend free time doing something not unlike what you get paid for" is often brought up by people who are getting paid for stuff which doesn't really excite them. The flight sim side of things, I really think is being completely overplayed by people who just don't live in that world.

sully2010

relaxed wrote: »

I know a couple of pilots, hang on while I ring around and ask do any of them have simulators at home. What difference does it make really?

Maybe we should inform the Gardaí of those that have simulators and have them disqualified from flying as they pose a threat. Should we extend it to bus and train drivers who have racing car games at home on the Wii.

This is definitely conspiracy theory day around here.

Its no conspiracy, its a theory there has been cases of rogue pilots in the past.

If the aircraft followed the waypoints indicated in the news today at low altitude to avoid radar a skilled pilot undertook this.

Im not say the captain has anything to do with it but its definitely a possibility. Latest I heard on skynews is they may carry out a search of the captains house and the authorities know more than we do.

Calina

sopretty wrote: »

Right, so now they have confirmed that they ARE in fact investigating reports from Rolls Royce about satellite signals being picked up.

Link for that please.

homerjay2005

this search must be costing a fair whack....question is, at what stage do they scale this back and who is paying for it until they do?

would Malaysian Airlines be responsible for the bill?

sully2010

Calina wrote: »

I don't think I'd agree with that. There is a fairly substantial flight sim community out there - it's not my thing (have crashed every single time I've ever tried it).

But until I went back to college to do a masters, I did a lot of programming computer related stuff for fun, even though the day job was as a programmer. And my home set up was, for the last I guess 10 years, better than anything I had at work.

Arguably, I think the question "why would you want to spend free time doing something not unlike what you get paid for" is often brought up by people who are getting paid for stuff which doesn't really excite them. The flight sim side of things, I really think is being completely overplayed by people who just don't live in that world.

There is a big flightsim community out there, but they are not pilots. The question that was asked was how many pilots have full scale sims in their homes. id say less than 0.1% and that is why I find it a bit strange.

sopretty

Head of Malaysia civil aviation authority said they are working with US to get any satellite information. He was on Sky news there. I'll see if I can find a written article.

ETA - I've just replayed it there and he said the US, not Rolls Royce haha. I misheard him the first time!

Spanish Eyes

Coco Island. Hmmm.

Has landing strip.

Mentioned up thread. Has Intelligence base operated by China, although island belongs to Burma/Myanmar.

Near enough to the alleged flight path on the zig zag pattern shown earlier.

http://wikimapia.org/14844821/Chinese-signal-gathering-station-on-Great-Coco-Island

murphaph

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

But a lot needs to go right for the hijackers to bring about that situation. Getting access to the cockpit would take timing and for the flight crew not to be able to communicate a warning first. Since 9/11 as well it is doubtful that passengers would not attempt to overcome the hijackers.

Of the 12 hijackings since the 9/11 ones only one case involved multiple hijackers being subdued by the passengers & crew and that was a special case as there were half a dozen police officers on board! In 3 other cases a SINGLE hijacker was subdued by passengers & crew and in all the other cases (8 of 12) the hijacker was not subdued at all by passengers & crew, so it's not at all likely that a group of armed hijackers would be subdued on board, indeed I'd say it's unlikely. It's unlikely mainly because most hijackings do not result in the the aircraft being intentionally crashed or blow up with passengers on board, so most passengers will still likely remain quiet and hope for the best in a hijacking situation.

crazygeryy

homerjay2005 wrote: »

this search must be costing a fair whack....question is, at what stage do they scale this back and who is paying for it until they do?

would Malaysian Airlines be responsible for the bill?

There's a lot at stake.if it is a crash boeing need to find the plane to find the cause and make sure it isn't affecting other 777 s.stocks and shares would plummet if people loose confidence in boeing.money money money.i imagine it costs a lot less to go find the plane.

castor 1

Are the Chinese at it again ?

Reported in the Herald Sun, Melbourne:

INVESTIGATORS searching for missing flight MH370 reportedly now fear the aircraft is sitting at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

The claim comes on the heels of revelations by the Wall Street Journal that MH370 sent out intermittent ‘pings’ transmitting the aircraft’s altitude, speed and location for up to five hours after it vanished from civilian radar screens.

The WSJ reported that the final ping was sent from over the ocean, at a ‘normal’ cruising altitude, five hours after MH370 took off.

“There is probably a significant likelihood” that the aircraft is now on the bottom of the Indian Ocean a US official told CNN this afternoon.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua is reporting tonight that a Chinese seismology and research group detected an “earthquake wave” in waters between Malaysia and Vietnam at about 2.55am local time last Saturday.

“The sea floor event could have been caused by the plane possibly plunging into the sea,” the group told Xinhua.

“The strength of the earthquake wave indicates the plunge was catastrophic.”

The area is 116 km northeast from where contact with MH370 was lost and is considered a non-seismic region.

Gator

from the telegraph

BBC's science correspondent Jonathan Amos says his sources tell him that the plane sent an "automated ping" five hours after take off. "you cannot get a ping like that if the plane had crashed," he said. The ping data - which has been passed to Malaysian authorities - will give a rough altitude and location.

relaxed

sully2010 wrote: »

Its no conspiracy, its a theory there has been cases of rogue pilots in the past.

Definition of a conspiracy theory: noun. : a theory that explains an event or situation as the result of a secret plan by usually powerful people or groups

Its a conspiracy theory until such time as at least some facts come out to support it. The pilot having a simulator in his house is entirely circumstantial at this point, as there is no evidence of a mad cap plan to hijack a plane, zig zag it to avoid radar, with intention of landing it on a remote island, preventing any passenger from using a phone or opening an emergency door, getting refuelled then flying on to east Africa, hiding a plane and over 200 people with the intention of using it in a terrorist attack in the future.

Tigerandahalf

murphaph wrote: »

Of the 12 hijackings since the 9/11 ones only one case involved multiple hijackers being subdued by the passengers & crew and that was a special case as there were half a dozen police officers on board! In 3 other cases a SINGLE hijacker was subdued by passengers & crew and in all the other cases (8 of 12) the hijacker was not subdued at all by passengers & crew, so it's not at all likely that a group of armed hijackers would be subdued on board, indeed I'd say it's unlikely. It's unlikely mainly because most hijackings do not result in the the aircraft being intentionally crashed or blow up with passengers on board, so most passengers will still likely remain quiet and hope for the best in a hijacking situation.

I see this one from the link you posted.

"June 29, 2012: an attempt was made to hijack Tianjin Airlines Flight GS7554 from Hotan to Ürümqi. Six people tried to hijack the aircraft 10 minutes after take-off. There were 6 police officers on board. Four were in plain clothes, taking the plane for a business trip. The hijackers used aluminium canes with sharpened tips to attack the members of the crew. The police officers and civilians on board subdued the hijackers, all of whom were of Uyghur ethnicity. The plot was foiled and the plane returned to Hotan in 22 minutes after takeoff."

It is still hard to see though how the flight crew could not issue a warning in the event of a hijacking. Isn't there access codes needed to enter the cockpit?
I guess one member of the flight crew (ongoing to the toilet) could have a knife put to his throat and be forced to enter the code to get access to the cockpit, thus not giving time for the other flight crew member to issue a warning.
Can someone tell me if there is a secure area between the cockpit and the cabin like you would have entering a bank?

sully2010

relaxed wrote: »

Definition of a conspiracy theory: noun. : a theory that explains an event or situation as the result of a secret plan by usually powerful people or groups

Its a conspiracy theory until such time as at least some facts come out to support it. The pilot having a simulator in his house is entirely circumstantial at this point, as there is no evidence of a mad cap plan to hijack a plane, zig zag it to avoid radar, with intention of landing it on a remote island, preventing any passenger from using a phone or opening an emergency door, getting refuelled then flying on to east Africa, hiding a plane and over 200 people with the intention of using it in a terrorist attack in the future.

Its not circumstantial its fact he has a full scale home simulator.

Never alluded to any madcap plan, just said it was strange that a 53 year old 777 captain had one in his home.

knucklehead6

sully2010 wrote: »

just said it was strange that a 53 year old 777 captain had one in his home.

why?

jasonb

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Coco Island. Hmmm.

Has landing strip.

Mentioned up thread. Has Intelligence base operated by China, although island belongs to Burma/Myanmar.

Near enough to the alleged flight path on the zig zag pattern shown earlier.

http://wikimapia.org/14844821/Chinese-signal-gathering-station-on-Great-Coco-Island

Looking at Google Maps and some quick calculations shows the landing strip on Coco Island isn't big enough for a 777 to land on...

J.

RoryMac

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I see this one from the link you posted.

"June 29, 2012: an attempt was made to hijack Tianjin Airlines Flight GS7554 from Hotan to Ürümqi. Six people tried to hijack the aircraft 10 minutes after take-off. There were 6 police officers on board. Four were in plain clothes, taking the plane for a business trip. The hijackers used aluminium canes with sharpened tips to attack the members of the crew. The police officers and civilians on board subdued the hijackers, all of whom were of Uyghur ethnicity. The plot was foiled and the plane returned to Hotan in 22 minutes after takeoff."

It is still hard to see though how the flight crew could not issue a warning in the event of a hijacking. Isn't there access codes needed to enter the cockpit?
I guess one member of the flight crew (ongoing to the toilet) could have a knife put to his throat and be forced to enter the code to get access to the cockpit, thus not giving time for the other flight crew member to issue a warning.
Can someone tell me if there is a secure area between the cockpit and the cabin like you would have entering a bank?

For the hijackers to enter the cockpit without a warning being sent and the timing of the transponders being switched off(straight after leaving Malaysian ATC) would require a lot of knowledge and amazing timing on the part of the hijackers.

jasonb

sully2010 wrote: »

just said it was strange that a 53 year old 777 captain had one in his home.

I don't see why it is. Maybe he loves flying and he loves practising, even in a simulator. I learned to fly (only a small 4 seater) and I use Flight Sim.

And I don't see why him being 53 has anything to do with it either...

J.

sully2010

knucklehead6 wrote: »

why?

Because a flight sim does not compare to the real thing in any way shape or form. I used to like them and play them but when I started flying lessons(im not a commercial pilot) I grew out of it. It can be handy as a training tool for students but a full scale simulator for someone of that age and experience "in my opinion" is a bit strange. Just an opinion.

knucklehead6

sully2010 wrote: »

Because a flight sim does not compare to the real thing in any way shape or form. I used to like them and play them but when I started flying lessons(im not a commercial pilot) I grew out of it. It can be handy as a training tool for students but a full scale simulator for someone of that age and experience "in my opinion" is a bit strange. Just an opinion.

Maybe he doesn't WANT it to compare to the real thing?? maybe he used it to fly loops in an A380?? Maybe he used it to unwind? maybe he used it to teach other simmers how to fly properly?

I don't find it strange. People get their kicks in their down time in a whole bunch of different ways. Some watch telly, some read books, some play with flight sims.

Spanish Eyes

jasonb wrote: »

Looking at Google Maps and some quick calculations shows the landing strip on Coco Island isn't big enough for a 777 to land on...

J.

Thanks for that. I wouldn't know the dimensions or capability of the airfield.Just a few things seemed to add up there.

Just a theory anyway.

Cheers.

Fred Swanson

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Tigerandahalf

RoryMac wrote: »

For the hijackers to enter the cockpit without a warning being sent and the timing of the transponders being switched off(straight after leaving Malaysian ATC) would require a lot of knowledge and amazing timing on the part of the hijackers.

And wouldn't the radio communication have to be turned off as well?
Can all the radios be turned off by just pressing a switch?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.