Missing 777

[Soundguy]

so.. original report of 4hrs of flight pings fromt he engine management systems is now 7 or?

Is that engine management system soemthing that can be turned off from t he cockpit?

why go to ALL the trouble of turning off stuff.. flying for hours if your goal is to go bonkers and wet landing? why not just do it asap.. why get all secretive about it?

 

[Western]

The pilot may have killed or knocked out the passengers by flying to higher altitude or depressurized the cabin if that can be done by control. The flight is supposed to have gone over 40,000 feet which seems to be an altitude that would cause problems for the passengers. At some point, the passengers would have figured out they were not on course since so many people have smart phones and they could have tracked the flight and most likely started causing a ruckous. Depending on where this happened, they would not have had cell service. Or the passengers were already out of service because of depressurization or being taken to an altitude over 40,000 feet.

Later,
Dan

What I said in post #39:thumbsup: Makes sense on how to take care of the "passenger problem"

 

[dan ny escarpment]

"On October 25, 1999, a chartered Learjet 35 was scheduled to fly from Orlando, Florida to Dallas, Texas. Early in the flight the aircraft, which was cruising at altitude on autopilot, quickly lost cabin pressure. All on board were incapacitated due to hypoxia — a lack of oxygen. The aircraft failed to make the westward turn toward Dallas over north Florida. It continued flying over the southern and midwestern United States for almost four hours and 1,500 miles (2,400 km). The plane ran out of fuel and crashed into a field near Aberdeen, South Dakota after an uncontrolled descent.[1] The four passengers on board were golf star Payne Stewart, his agents, Van Ardan and Robert Fraley, and Bruce Borland, a highly regarded golf architect with the Jack Nicklaus golf course design company."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_South_Dakota_Learjet_crash

 

[EddieWalker]

On the Learjet, it was a very small plane and they lost pressure so slowly that they all fell asleep. On a large jet, the oxygen bags would drop down instantly and it's a five second operation to put it on and breath. It is a mystery why the plane went up to 45,000 feet, the pilots that I've heard on the news all discount the depressurization theory.

The comments that question whey nobody noticed it from the ground or anywhere else don't make any sense. Who thinks twice about seeing a large jet flying by? Or even knows the difference between them to be able to identify a 777? My guess is that if it flew over, nobody would even bother to look up, they are so common, nor would they remember it.

I've flow all the way around the world, I've been to 37 countries. The only way I know what direction we are going is either from seeing the sun and knowing what time it is, or looking on the little screen that monitors where the plane is. If that isn't on and it's dark out, there isn't any way in the world to know where you are going or how high up you are unless you are ridiculously low. Red eye flights are mostly full of people that are asleep and just wanting to get where they are supposed to be.

If I'm on a flight and my phone works, that's a HUGE bonus, but if it doesn't work, I don't think anything of it.

The southern route doesn't seem to offer the types of places bad guys would want to go. I lived in Jakarta for 16 months and while it's the most populated Muslim country in the world, it is also very friendly to the west and not a good place for terrorist. Australia is even less likely. Nowhere for them to have landed a plane and nobody know about it or keep it quite.

The Northern route has all sorts of nasty places where nobody would report a plan landing and anybody who hijacked it would be treated like a hero.

Eddie

 

[Soundguy]

i vaugely remember that happening..

 

[mjarrels]

Scarey part, I just flew back home from Manila 9 days ago aboard a B747 and B777!

mark

 

[joemd11]

I wouldn't put too much faith in the altitude reports that are being divulged. Estimating a planes altitude by just skin painting it with radar (ie no transponder altitude return) is very inaccurate especially at long range. Even the supposed route that is being reported is suspect because they can't be sure that they were tracking that airplane.

 

[Soundguy]

have heard rumors just now that malasian govt has rcvd info that makes it a hijacking.

no detals yet

 

[westcliffe01]

Eddie, if you think that you would be able to breathe from piped air at 45000ft, then I am afraid you might be in for a surprise. There is a nice article about it here When Humans Fly High: What Pilots Should Know About High-Altitude Physiology, Hypoxia, and Rapid Decompression - AVweb Features Article 25k is already past the limit.

From the article:
"25,000 feet. Forget it! Blood saturation has now dropped to lethal levels. Time of useful consciousness is three to six minutes with death following not long after that. Above this altitude, suffering a rapid decompression may also result in a condition divers know as the bends and various other pressure related maladies. Remember, this is only HALF as high as some modern civilian aircraft are certified to fly!"

FAR 135.89 requires that one pilot have the mask on and in use above 25,000 unless the airplane is equipped with quick-donning masks. In any case, above 35,000 one pilot must be on oxygen at all times.

Pilots are trained to immediately set a much lower altitude into the autopilot (which will control the decent and fly the plane even if the crew blacks out) since at that altitude one would be incapacitated within seconds if cabin pressure was lost. The pilot would not have time to put on a mask and still take needed actions to decend before he would black out if not prepared.

On the Learjet, it was a very small plane and they lost pressure so slowly that they all fell asleep. On a large jet, the oxygen bags would drop down instantly and it's a five second operation to put it on and breath. It is a mystery why the plane went up to 45,000 feet, the pilots that I've heard on the news all discount the depressurization theory.

Eddie

 

[joemd11]

Eddie, if you think that you would be able to breathe from piped air at 45000ft, then I am afraid you might be in for a surprise. There is a nice article about it here When Humans Fly High: What Pilots Should Know About High-Altitude Physiology, Hypoxia, and Rapid Decompression - AVweb Features Article 25k is already past the limit.

From the article:
"25,000 feet. Forget it! Blood saturation has now dropped to lethal levels. Time of useful consciousness is three to six minutes with death following not long after that. Above this altitude, suffering a rapid decompression may also result in a condition divers know as the bends and various other pressure related maladies. Remember, this is only HALF as high as some modern civilian aircraft are certified to fly!"

FAR 135.89 requires that one pilot have the mask on and in use above 25,000 unless the airplane is equipped with quick-donning masks. In any case, above 35,000 one pilot must be on oxygen at all times.

Pilots are trained to immediately set a much lower altitude into the autopilot (which will control the decent and fly the plane even if the crew blacks out) since at that altitude one would be incapacitated within seconds if cabin pressure was lost. The pilot would not have time to put on a mask and still take needed actions to decend before he would black out if not prepared.

Above FL250 one pilot must wear the mask if the other leaves the seat. Not sure but one pilot required to be on O2 doesn't happen till you get into the 40's.