Malaysian Airlines MH370

[onetrack]

That report is the ultimate in covering all the ground already covered, but not offering too much by way of additional information, above the vast amount we have already been told, or what has been discussed, ad infinitum.

 

I feel for those poor buggers "on-the-job", in the sea search. On pages 127 and 128 ...

 

"on 13 July 2016 Fugro Equator recorded a combined wave and swell measurement of 24.03 m (trough to peak). This occurred in a 12 hour period where four other waves over 20 m were experienced, all on a 65 m vessel, whilst

 

operating at a latitude of 38°S" ..."

 

 

As always, what is left out of the report, is the interesting areas.

 

It's interesting to note the ATSB says the aircraft turned 40 deg to the right, then 180 deg to the left, directly after the last radio contact.

 

Surely this indicates an aircraft under a substantial degree of control, and shows that flight control systems were very largely operational.

 

Very little said about the aircraft altitudes, or variations in altitude, after disappearing from the original flight path.

 

There were wildly-varying figures produced initially, and those wild altitude numbers, figured prominently in many promulgated "scenarios".

 

The report says;

 

"The limited fidelity of the PSR tracking data allowed the aircraft’s speed, location, and altitude to be approximated from IGARI onwards."

 

Nothing is said as regards what level of variation is in that "approximation"? Surely that is a very relevant point, and that level of "approximation" would play an important part in the fuel burn calculations?

 

The report references the official Malaysian MH370 "factual flight report" at the following website ("Complete Factual Information Document") -

 

http://www.mh370.gov.my/index.php/en/media2/transcript/category/13-mh370-safety-investigation-public

 

The above report is very comprehensive - but the radar return charts are quite poor, and rather deficient. One can only surmise this was because no-one was taking much notice of a wayward flight.

 

Yet, the Malaysian report is quite factual about altitudes after MH370's disappearance from its designated initial flight path.

 

Pages 2 to 5 of the report give this "factual" information;

 

9 minutes after the military-radar-observed, 40 deg right turn, the aircraft is at 35,700 feet. Only just outside FL350 allowed buffer, but possibly still within it, due to radar inaccuracy at that distance?

 

15 minutes after initial 40 deg right turn, the aircraft is engaged in height fluctuation between 31,100 and 33,000 ft. Human input, or flight control damage? The latter seems unlikely.

 

At 18 minutes after the initial right turn, the last altitude record is mentioned - 32,800 feet.

 

MH370 was radar tracked for 61 minutes, until it disappeared "abruptly", 10NM after waypoint MEKAR, on Airways route N571. Why is there no aircraft altitude mentioned in the last 43 minutes of radar tracking?

 

Did it stay at around 33,000 feet fairly steadily after the initial 18 minutes? I would have thought this would have been important to discuss or mention.

 

A commercial aircraft followed MH370 along flight route N571, around 33NM behind it. Did the crew of that aircraft sight anything relating to MH370, or was that entire sector in heavy cloud?

 

They could have at least said the commercial crew indicated they saw nothing, if that was the case.

 

There is also not even the slightest reference to JORN, and whether it was operational?

 

It seems pretty obvious, that the Defence Dept is being pretty aggressive here, and doesn't want anyone to know that they have a major tracking asset that is only manned on occasional alternate weekdays, or when someone in the North of Australia accidentally spots an "incoming" NK "present", and reports it?

 

 

[onetrack]

Today, well over 10 years since MH370 vanished, the Malaysian Govt has agreed to fund a new search for the aircraft. The new search proposal has been put forward by Ocean Infinity, who previously searched (unsuccessfully) for the aircraft, in 2018.

 

The new search will be on a "no find, no fee" basis, and is to cover a new, recently defined, 15,000 sq km area outside the previous areas searched. The new search is proposed to commence around March/April 2025. If the aircraft is found, Ocean Infinity will be paid US$70M.

 

Flight MH370: Malaysia launches fresh search in New Oceanic zone after 10 years

ECONOMICTIMES.INDIATIMES.COM

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Malaysia has agreed to restart the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, more than a decade after the aircraft disappeared. The decision follows a proposal by exploration firm Ocean Infinity, with a $70...

 

[rgmwa]

Ocean Infinity must be fairly confident if they're prepared to roll the dice on a $70m fee. Hope they find it.

[Arron25]

13 hours ago, rgmwa said:

Ocean Infinity must be fairly confident if they're prepared to roll the dice on a $70m fee. Hope they find it.

Makes me wonder  'What are they really looking for'

Doing the 'search "no find, no fee" ' they are allowed to search without hindrance or questions... 

If it went down in the Indian Ocean the JOTA array in WA would have 'seen' it

Edited Friday at 10:47 PM by Arron25

[onetrack]

I have no idea what JOTA is, but if you mean the JORN system of over the horizon radar tracking, then there's at least a couple of qualifications as regards JORN's ability to see MH370.

The aircraft disappeared in the wee small hours of a Saturday morning on March 8, 2014. It has been calculated the aircraft would've run out of fuel by 0800HRS AWST, and may possibly have crashed earlier, as the fuel burn of MH370 cannot be calculated. 

The JORN system is a Defence system, and as such, is under a substantial level of secrecy. Despite stating the JORN operates 24hrs a day, there is a possibility it was not operational for some reason at the time MH370 went missing. Defence will never reveal whether the system was operational or not in that time period, they are not about to reveal what is likely to be classified information.

Secondly, the precise capabilities of JORN are also secret. Defence brag about how small the airborne targets are that they can reputedly see, but there are no doubt qualifications to those claims.

One qualification is that, as JORN uses the Doppler Effect to track airborne targets, the movement of targets tangential to the base station array means that they cannot be picked up. The course of MH370 is effectively tangential to the JORN station in Leonora, W.A.

 

Jindalee Operational Radar Network - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG