Airliner Missing

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

I doubt they can be turned off. Every drunk pilot would know he could turn it off. F that.

[Gusington]

I didn't think the black boxes could ever be turned off either...

[GDS_Starfury]

black boxes are usually in the tail as thats the last part that hits and it more survivable.
I think it flew into Mirths love life.

[Staggerwing]

I think it flew into Mirths love life.

There could be some vintage TBM Avengers in there as well, along with a leaky old Martin Mariner...

[besilarius]

My understanding was the same, that the Black Boxes could not be turned off.  The interview and report on the radio made it sound like this was possible from within the cockpit.  Perhaps this report was more speculative than I thought.
However, the person interviewed asserted that for an hour, the IFF type response of the plane was not working.  There was only the radar return on the tapes.
Not knowing how the IFF is wired on civilian airliners, it used to be controlled from the cockpit (on/off function).  The individual made it sound like the IFF response goes through the Black Box.

In the US traffic control system, the huge amount of air traffic might make the air traffic controllers miss the lack of IFF response for some time, but not likely for an hour.  Once noticed, they would try to make contact with the plane and find out the problem.  It will be interesting to see how closely the Malaysian/Vietnames/Chinese controllers monitored this.  Not knowing the volume of traffice and how well manned the control system is, it would be of interest to see how it was monitored while in flight.

[Staggerwing]

The 'squawk' codes can be changed in flight by the pilots, depending on their current flight status or instructions from ATF. I don't know if they could be turned off completely. some of these speculations might be better addressed by Toonces or Yskonyn (or any other professional pilots on these boards). They would be more familiar with the gritty details of what can and cannot be done.

If the transponder was turned off deliberately then the hijack scenario certainly stays in the top of the list of possibilities.

[JasonPratt]

I imagine a fighter could Cary enough fuel in external tanks to men the trip. Does Iran have a midair refueling capability?

Of course your right, pretty wild speculation on my part. The thought just occurred to me when I heard about the Iranian passengers. I imagine an Iranian F14 is far morel likely to fall out of the sky itself than shoot anything down today  :)

They could try ramming.  ;D

[JasonPratt]

Vaporization of a whole plane with no radiation bloom clearly points to an antimatter device. Or Cybermen. Delete! Delete! Delete!

milLIONS of HU-mans die EVERY day and YOU do not care FOR THEM?

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Great smiley find.

[steve58]

debris found??

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/12/chinese-government-website-says-it-has-images-suspected-plane-debris/

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/12/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane/index.html

[besilarius]

An investigator from the NTSB said that the Black Boxes are not turned on while the plane is on the ground in an airport.  This is to keep the amount of sqauwks from becoming overwhelming to the traffic controllers.  They are supposed to be activated just prior to takeoff.
This apparently means the pilots can turn them on and off.

[Staggerwing]

The 'squawks' are part of the IFF system inside the cockpit. The seperate Black Boxes may record the activities of the pilots in turning off the 'squawk box' but the BBs themselves, esp. the Flight Data Recorder, would likely be isolated from tampering during flight.

[JasonPratt]

I hope it's debris (although in another way I hope it isn't and that the plane is somehow safe), but until they actually recover it, it's just a weird reflection from something in the water.

And I'm pretty sure the BBs are turned on and off by the maintenance crew, so as to keep the boxes from being tampered with in-flight. If the boxes weren't on at all, the crew is where I'd start looking fast.

Great smiley find.

I AM YOUR SER VANT! I AM YOUR SER VANT!... I AM YOUR SERRRR VANT!




(I'm running through the classic Whos right now; finished with the First last month, will start The Macro Terror next.)

[Dolan50]

Another interesting theory made by Chinese bloggers.

"In China, government officials sought to stanch speculation about terrorism as they expressed growing concern about Malaysia's handling of the investigation. The country's energetic bloggers were mostly restrained, but some theorized that the Malaysian military had mistakenly shot down the plane after it abruptly changed course, then covered up the action after realizing the mistake."

Theories Grow Without Facts on Lost Flight
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/world/asia/online-and-onscreen-disappeared-malaysian-flight-draws-intense-speculation.html?action=click&contentCollection=Asia%20Pacific&region=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article

[endfire79]

^ they're likely used to conspiracy theories, due to their own governments amazing accountability in all their disasters in the last few years.  I think they should check their own backyard before jumping to conclusions about other countries in the region.