Airliner Missing

[TheCommandTent]

Search and rescue crews from several countries were scrambling Saturday to locate a Malaysia Airlines plane with 239 people aboard, including three Americans, that disappeared after losing contact with air traffic control on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The airline said the Boeing 777-200 "lost contact" with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2:40 a.m., two hours into the flight. The plane, which carried passengers mostly from China but also from other Asian countries, North America and Europe, had been expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m. Saturday

China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported the plane was lost in airspace controlled by Vietnam, and never made contact with Chinese air traffic controllers. There have been no reports of a plane crashing into Chinese waters, and China is assisting the airline in its search for the plane. 

The plane is carrying 239 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members. The airline said in a statement that the passengers are of 14 different nationalities and the airline is currently notifying next-of-kin about the situation.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members," Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said.

Those aboard included 152 passengers from China, 38 from Malaysia, seven from Indonesia, six from Australia, five from India, three from the U.S., and others from Indonesia, France, New Zealand, Canada, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Austria.

"We are extremely worried,'' Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Beijing. "We are doing all we can to get details. The news is very disturbing. We hope everyone on the plane is safe."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/08/malaysia-airlines-loses-contact-with-plane-carrying-23-people/

[Staggerwing]

Considering the time-difference and whatnot I think it highly unlikely that the plane did anything but crash in a remote area. If it were ok it would have shown up somewhere by now. The only (highly unlikely) positive scenario would be that it lost comms and had to land at some disused AF somewhere in the middle of nowhere and local officials have not yet reported the plane's arrival. A crash-landing is another unlikely possibility since those usually happen at airports with good safety and fire-suppression teams and vehicles.

[Greybriar]

There has been a report that Vietnamese air force planes spotted two oil slicks in the area where the plane vanished.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

No mayday?

[KyzBP]

At least two people listed on the passenger manifest are still alive...and coincidentally had their passports stolen in Thailand.  Add that to two 5+ mile oil slicks and it's looking like this one may have been blown up in flight.  Truly sad.  Either security is more lax in Malaysia or terrorists just discovered another, not yet detectable, explosive device. 

Now the question is "Who"?  The stolen passports were Austrian and Italian.     

[steve58]

Sad news. :-\  After the recent knife attack in China, and now throw in a couple stolen passports and a missing airliner, I'm wondering if this is yet another terrorist attack.

[KyzBP]

Sad news. :-\  After the recent knife attack in China, and now throw in a couple stolen passports and a missing airliner, I'm wondering if this is yet another terrorist attack.

Given the knife attacks and that the plane was bound for China you have to think that there's some relation.  The European Passport part is throwing me.  Why an Italian and an Austrian?

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

What does your avatar mean? What is the significance of the Sphinx?

[GDS_Starfury]

Always vigilant would be my guess.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Always vigilant would be my guess.

The key and electric bolt signify cyber forces in my guesstimate. The Sphinx seems rather Islamic. What it really means of course may be very different from how people interpret it.

[KyzBP]

What does your avatar mean? What is the significance of the Sphinx?

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

You guys were pretty close.

[GDS_Starfury]

Ive rarely seen a squadron patch with a bolt that wasnt involved with electronic warfare.

[Dolan50]

So far no terrorist group has claimed any to responsibility to this accident which leads me to believe it was just that an accident.

I'm very interested in seeing what the Chinese and other countries make of this.

[Staggerwing]

The whole stolen passport thing is probably part of the very common use of fake or stolen passports to get one's self into countries with better economic opportunities. It's supposed to be a virtual industry in SE Asia much like along the US/Mexican border

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

So far no terrorist group has claimed any to responsibility to this accident which leads me to believe it was just that an accident.

I'm very interested in seeing what the Chinese and other countries make of this.

Me too. I'd rather not see them trying to put legs on the rooster the same time as Russia is being a bitch.