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[Lagondanet]

I sold my white Insignia a couple of weeks ago.

[05omegav6]

Regardless of local security/radar issues, the US, Russia and China should have pretty effective satellite coverage of the entire area, although, only the Chinese have the manpower/cash/local interest... that said I did find an 8200ft disused runway in central Kazakhstan

I wonder if this is a tentative prelude to a spot of land grabbing in south east Asia Definitely no way to treat either the people on board or their relatives though

[Sir Tigger KC]

Regardless of local security/radar issues, the US, Russia and China should have pretty effective satellite coverage of the entire area, although, only the Chinese have the manpower/cash/local interest... that said I did find an 8200ft disused runway in central Kazakhstan

I wonder if this is a tentative prelude to a spot of land grabbing in south east Asia Definitely no way to treat either the people on board or their relatives though

It could catch on you know. 

[05omegav6]

Regardless of local security/radar issues, the US, Russia and China should have pretty effective satellite coverage of the entire area, although, only the Chinese have the manpower/cash/local interest... that said I did find an 8200ft disused runway in central Kazakhstan

I wonder if this is a tentative prelude to a spot of land grabbing in south east Asia Definitely no way to treat either the people on board or their relatives though

It could catch on you know. 

This is true, but statistically you'll still be more more likely to be squished by a tipper lorry turning left on a day with a 'y' in it...

[Rods2]

IMHO, we are now in a phase of being carefully "managed" by the Malaysian authorities while they desperately scrabble to save face. Clearly they have known far more than they have released to the public all along, and that this hampered the search in the crucial first day or two of the saga. What is known now paints a picture of total incompetence with respect to keeping their airspace secure. It's a cruel game to play with the loved ones of those who were on board.

A friend of mine used to be a flight engineer for BA and many of his stories were about airports in the far east. What came over loud and clear that in many of the countries saving face is always the top priority. He found the quickest way to get things done when one of the ground crew had done something wrong was to say it was his mistake, which would stop the arguing and saving face blame games and get the job done! 

[Rods2]

Looks like Taxi Al has made a good call on the tactics in what has happened to the airline. I would post the Daily Fail link but the word filter breaks the link by changing d a i ly mail to reading mail, so cant be bothered to place it on piecemeal. 

[05omegav6]

This would be a likely candidate...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkalyk_Airport

Nice long runway in the middle of nowhere, if it didn't wind up in Pakistan... only needed to land long enough to swap the transponders, disconnect the ACARS antennae, pop any circuit breakers in the avionics bay, refuel and possibly ditch the passengers. Although waiting until nightfall before moving the aircraft might have been prudent, which gives time to mask the livery

Though for it to cross the Himalayas unnoticed, both Russia and China must have been napping with their pants down afterall, the Russian have form for blowing wayward commercial jets out of the sky, (as do the Americans...)

Would have been around the Indian/Nepalese/Pakistani border at around 4am local time, so as good a time as any for sneaking past people...

[plym ian]

This would be a likely candidate...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkalyk_Airport

Nice long runway in the middle of nowhere, if it didn't wind up in Pakistan... only needed to land long enough to swap the transponders, disconnect the ACARS antennae, pop any circuit breakers in the avionics bay, refuel and possibly ditch the passengers. Although waiting until nightfall before moving the aircraft might have been prudent, which gives time to mask the livery

Though for it to cross the Himalayas unnoticed, both Russia and China must have been napping with their pants down afterall, the Russian have form for blowing wayward commercial jets out of the sky, (as do the Americans...)

Would have been around the Indian/Nepalese/Pakistani border at around 4am local time, so as good a time as any for sneaking past people...

You DO know to much suspect number one  

[tunnie]

Interesting theory here: http://keithledgerwood.tumblr.com/post/79838944823/did-malaysian-airlines-370-disappear-using-sia68-sq68

[05omegav6]

That works...

Someone really wants that plane... the who and why are the real questions that noone is asking, probably because the answer is the fear that shall not be faced

[Entwood]

Interesting theory here: http://keithledgerwood.tumblr.com/post/79838944823/did-malaysian-airlines-370-disappear-using-sia68-sq68

Very interesting, and only one "hole" that I can pick in the argument ... from the moment MH370 lost radio contact, turned West and until it turned north, in this theory shadowing the SIA  ... it crossed numerous airways, and according to the plot presented, was not on any actual airway itself. Airways are like "roads in the sky", and if you depart from them Air Defence Radar will (should) query that divergence with the civilian control and if not approved should react .. and clearly that didn't happen, although military radar "appear" to have tracked it .... So I see the final part of his argument ... but not how MH370 got to that point ..... unless military radar are in on the act, or the pilot "knew"  he would not be queried .... BIG BIG questions there IMHO

[05omegav6]

That time of day is well known for being the best time to be sneaking around, as people are known for being at their least alert.

A timely delivery of pizzas, beer and go go girls to a lonely radar station in the Punjab would do the trick...
A few drinks and a bit too much hashish noone would be certain if they saw anything unusual, and being upto no good they would never report summat that they didn't know for certain

[Entwood]

Recently off the phone to an ex-RAF mate who was a UK Air Defence Radar guy .. it seems I may be wrong in my comments above ....

Apparently, due to the high number of aircraft that an Air Defence radar has to track .. ie every single plane in the sky in the region, a methodology has been developed whereby the radar signature can be annotated with one of 3 designations ..  "F" - known friendly - "H" - known hostile - "U" - unclassified. An aircraft with an "F" designation will not be tracked with any high degree of interest .. the Air Defence job is the "H's" and "U's"

So, how does an aircraft get an "F" designation ... basically either from its flight plan, or later attached by an operator. MH370 departed from Malaysian airspace on time,  on a pre-planned, approved flight planned route... it would therefore be marked as "F".

Unless, and until, an operator changes that designation it will remain, there is no automatic change. The "turn back" would not be questioned as, from a Military Air Defence viewpoint, it is still friendly, and the re-route could be for any, Civil, Air Traffic reason. ....

That's my understanding of what he told me, and may not be accurate or how the Malaysians operate ... but it does make some things more understandable... to me at least .. 

[Kevin Wood]

Recently off the phone to an ex-RAF mate who was a UK Air Defence Radar guy .. it seems I may be wrong in my comments above ....

Apparently, due to the high number of aircraft that an Air Defence radar has to track .. ie every single plane in the sky in the region, a methodology has been developed whereby the radar signature can be annotated with one of 3 designations ..  "F" - known friendly - "H" - known hostile - "U" - unclassified. An aircraft with an "F" designation will not be tracked with any high degree of interest .. the Air Defence job is the "H's" and "U's"

So, how does an aircraft get an "F" designation ... basically either from its flight plan, or later attached by an operator. MH370 departed from Malaysian airspace on time,  on a pre-planned, approved flight planned route... it would therefore be marked as "F".

Unless, and until, an operator changes that designation it will remain, there is no automatic change. The "turn back" would not be questioned as, from a Military Air Defence viewpoint, it is still friendly, and the re-route could be for any, Civil, Air Traffic reason. ....

That's my understanding of what he told me, and may not be accurate or how the Malaysians operate ... but it does make some things more understandable... to me at least .. 

The thing is, during that process, the aircraft went from a secondary RADAR contact squarking a known ICAO address and squawk code to an unknown primary contact. Would that not have been treated as a new contact?

[Marks DTM Calib]

They always say, dont trust a country beginning in 'I' or ending in 'stan'