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Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Malaysia Airline Flight MH 370 --- Breaking News -- MH370: China releases satellite images of possible crash site , images allegedly taken 11am on Sunday March 11 , 2014 ? – Mysteries - Where things stood as of March 11 , 2014 , early morning updates for March 12 , 2014 -- Clear as mud after all of these days !
The wrap for the day............ More confusion !
Summary
A Chinese government agency has published satellite pictures that show “three suspected floating objects” in the South China Sea. The images were published by the Chinese State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), and dated 11am on Sunday, March 9.
The images were published on Wednesday evening local time in Beijing, some 10 hours ago, but were not picked up by international media until the past few hours. China’s official news agency, Xinhua, says the objects measure 13m by 18m (43ft by 59ft), 14m by 19m and 24m by 22m. For context, the Boeing 777 is just under 64m long.
Publication of the images has raised the already-strained tensions between the Chinese and Malaysian authorities. Two thirds of the passengers on flight MH370 were from China, and the authorities in Beijing have made it clear that they have deep concerns about how the Malaysians have conducted the search. Malaysian civil aviation director general Abdul Rahman told CNN his agency had not seen the images as of 6am local time Thursday.
The Malaysian authorities leading the investigation into the missing plane have added to the confusion about its last known whereabouts. At a hostile press conference military officials said the last possible recording of flight MH370 was at 2.15am on Saturday morning 200 miles north west of Penang. The authorities had initially said air traffic control lost contact at 1.20am on the east side of the peninsula. On Tuesday the head of the armed forces was reported as saying it was picked up by military radar at 2.40am - a statement he has since denied making. The search area has been expanded still further to two areas either side of the Malaysia peninsula. The total search area now covers 27,000 square nautical miles and involves 42 ships and 39 aircraft. The investigators said they were still not sure whether the aircraft changed course and were “baffled” by why no distress signal was sent.Malaysia military chief said raw data of the radar recordings would be released to the public once it had been corroborated.
Malaysia Airlines insisted that the missing Boeing was airworthy before taking off, but declined to reveal whether it had been inspected for a known potential problem with the fuselage. In November the Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines to look out for corrosion under the skin of the Boeing 777’s fuselage related to a satellite antenna. Boeing said in a statement that the antenna covered by the safety bulletin was not installed on MH370.
The last message from the cockpit of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight was routine. “All right, good night,” was the signoff transmitted to air traffic controllers five days ago. Then the Boeing 777 vanished.
China says its satellite pictures may show wreckage of missing Malaysia airlines flight. Screengrab: BBC News
The story about the Chinese satellite images has been amplified by China’s official Xinhua news agency, which said on Wednesday that the images, from around 11am on Sunday, appear to show “three suspected floating objects” of varying sizes.
Two-thirds of the passengers on the Malaysia airlines flight were Chinese, and the authorities in China have repeatedly indicated exasperation with the Malaysian authorities over how the search has been conducted.
The search area has has encompassed 35,800 square miles (92,600 sq km) of southeast Asia, and expanded on Wednesday towards India.
The satellite images published by the BBC and CNN are raising some concern in Malaysia. As we mentioned earlier, they were first posted by the Chinese science and national defence agency’s website some hours ago, which would have given search aircraft adequate time to approach the area where the debris was spotted.
An Indonesian air force officer in front of a map of the Strait of Malacca as the search operation for the missing plane continues. Photograph: Binsar Bakkara/AP
Finding missing aircraft can take days or months; unravelling what went wrong can take years. But accounts from Malaysian authorities and others involved in the search operation and investigation into flight MH370 have been particularly confusing and, in some cases, contradictory.
Has any trace of the plane been found?
Several sightings of debris and oil slicks have been reported but they have so far proved to be unrelated to MH370. Crews are searching a vast area of sea and are bound to spot flotsam and slicks from vessels; establishing that they are connected to the missing flight is another matter.
Where and when was the plane last detected?
This is perhaps the most confusing aspect of all. Malaysia Airlines repeatedly said that Subang air traffic control – which covers Kuala Lumpur airport – lost contact with the aircraft at 2.40am, almost two hours after takeoff, but later revised its last known contact to 1.30am.
A relative of a passenger on board the missing plane. Photograph: Imaginechina/Rex
That appeared to make more sense, since its last recorded position was 120 nautical miles off Kota Bharu on the east coast and online flight data showed it at that spot about 40 minutes into the flight, at roughly 1.20am, heading towards Vietnam across the South China Sea. The pilot of another aeroplane closer to Vietnam said that just after 1.30am he relayed a call to MH370 at the request of Vietnamese air traffic control and heard mumbling at the other end but then lost the connection.
There are also two unconfirmed sightings of a low-flying plane off the east coast at about 1.30am, though Les Westbrooks, associate professor of aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, warns: "Eyewitness accounts are notoriously bad."
Officials said the plane might have turned back and there is a report that Singaporean authorities detected a rapid descent - which could have affected whether it was picked up on radar screens. Flightradar24.comsaid its coverage was limited to 30,000 feet (9,100 metres) in that area.
But it was still unclear why search teams were combing the Malacca Strait, on the western side of the peninsula, until the air force chief told local media on Tuesday that military radar had picked up a signal showing the plane near the tiny island of Pulau Perak off the west coast – hundreds of kilometres north-west of Kuala Lumpur – at 2.40am; the time initially indicated by Malaysia Airlines.
It is possible that officials were, and remain, uncertain as to whether they really detected MH370.
Westbrooks noted that if the aeroplane was experiencing problems, its instruments might not have been able to respond to the radar. He said that given the size of a 777, the radar would be able to identify the presence of an object even without a response.
Pictures of the men believed to have used stolen passports to board flight MH370. The man on the left was identified as an Iranian, Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehdad, 19, travelling on a stolen Austrian passport, while the person on the right remains unidentified. Photo: Rex
Who were the four passengers with suspect identities?
Only two are known to have been travelling on stolen passports. Both are thought to be Iranian, probably seeking asylum in Europe, Interpol's secretary general has said.
There was confusion earlier because the Malaysian home minister had described them as appearing to be Asian but was then contradicted by the civil aviation chief, who appeared to suggest that one of the men looked like the black Italian footballer Mario Balotelli. Most journalists present took that to mean that he was black, although the Ministry of Transportation later clarified that the civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, had been trying to emphasise that ethnicity did not indicate nationality.
The Malaysian transport and defence minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said this week that authorities were looking at two more possible cases of suspicious identities, telling reporters: "All the four names are with me."
Malaysian authorities have not given any further information since then. Chinese state media said one of the passport numbers on the manifest belonged to a man from Fujian, eastern China, who was safe and well – but a different name, also Chinese, was listed alongside the number. The man told police that his passport had not been lost or stolen.
What about people who checked in but did not board the flight?
On Monday, the civil aviation chief said five people checked in but did not board and their baggage was removed accordingly. On Tuesday, the inspector general of police said that everyone who was booked on to the flight had boarded - though he then contradicted himself by saying one person had missed the flight because they got the wrong day. Malaysia Airlines says that four people were booked but never checked in.
Welcome our continuing live coverage of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared last Friday with 239 passengers on board.
As we wait for the Malaysian authorities to give another press conference, here’s a round up of the latest developments:
Malaysia’s air force chief has denied making a statementthat said the plane was tracked by military radar off course to a location near the Strait of Malacca.Rodzali Daud said the reports were untrue, but added that the navy “has not ruled out the possibility of an air turn back on a reciprocal heading.” Until Tuesday, the last known contact with the flight was thought to be at about 1.20am – 40 minutes after take-off from Kuala Lumpur – after the plane crossed Malaysia’s east coast and was flying over the South China Sea towards Vietnam. On Tuesday Daud was quoted saying the plane was detected at 2.40am near Pulau Perak, an island in the Malacca Strait, several hundred kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia has extended the search area deeper into the Andaman Sea. There has still been no confirmed sightings of the plane or any debris.
The last known position of Flight 370. Source: Flight Aware Photograph: /The Guardian
A very confusing press conference ....... after a two hour delay , the press conference creates many more questions than those answered
Tania Branigan identifies a key nugget from the press conference that adds to the confusion. She reckons there are now three last possible recordings of the Boeing’s whereabouts.
What we have learnt: totally different third possible last record of plane. & transport min appears to have had media training in last 24h
The press conference has come to end. It was an uncomfortable encounter for the increasingly defensive Malaysia officials, and short on new information.
Press conference on #MH370 ends. Search continues. No definite finds yet, say Malaysia officials
A military chief admitted they were “baffled” by the lack of a distress signal from the aircraft. He confirmed that the military was “not sure” whether the plane had changed course.
“It is a possibility ... we did not track it in real time. The data appears [to suggest it changed course] we have to respond,” the official said.
He added that the raw data would be released in due course.
Hussein rejected criticised that the information issued had been “chaotic” or lack transparency. He pointed out that the information was changing.
Asked whether they were satisfied with the safety of the Boeing 777, Rahman stressed that the plane had passed a safety inspection.
“All our planes are airworthy”, an official added. Pressed on whether the authorities were aware of a known fault with the Boeing the official said he would have to check.
An aviation chief gave the coordinates for the last known radar sighting of the missing plane.
Military: 2.15am plot was 200 miles NW of Penang - cannot guarantee was MH370 - unidentified
Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman confirmed that defence radar picked up an “indication” that the plane turned back. He said this was why the search operation had been extended to the Andaman sea.
Hussein stressed this was just a “possibility”.
Hussein insisted that the authorities have been “consistent”.
He added: “We have not found anything but we are expanding it further.”
Hussein refused to be drawn on whether the plane changed course. “The family members are the ones I feel for so much,” he said.
Asked about the lack of transparency. “China obviously feels aggrieved because so many of their nationals are involved ... it will not changes our focus.”
Hussein did confirm that last sighting of the plane was picked up by the military.
In his brief statement Hussein said: “We will spare no effort to find the missing plane.”
He revealed that 27,000 square nautical miles are now being search.
Hussein said he could not answer speculative questions until the plane’s black box has been found.
Here’s more from Transport Minister Hussein’s opening statement to the press conference:
We will not spare any effort to find the missing plane. The search has been extended to two areas and we are now searching nearly 27,000 square nautical miles – 12,425 square nautical miles in the Straits of Malacca and 14,440 square nautical miles in the South China Sea. Forty two ships and 39 aircraft have now been deployed in the search for MH370. Twelve countries have now joined the search, with India, Japan and Brunei being the latest to join the team.
The way forward is to bring more experts to analyses both the civilian and the military data, in the east or in the west, on land or in the water. This is exactly what we are doing. We are now working with many experts including from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Authority and the US National Transport Safety Board.
Malaysia's Minister of Defence and acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (centre) with Department of Civil Aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman (left) and Malaysian Airlines Group Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahyain (right) speak about the missing Malaysian Airlines plane during a press conference.
Hussein was particularly defensive in the face of often hostile questioning from the press.
He said: “Unless we get the aircraft and the black box it is unlikely that we will be able to answer a lot of speculative issues that have been raised out there.
“We are focusing both on the South China Sea and the on the Straits of Malacca.”
Challenged about the criticism of the information released by the authorities, he said: “This is unprecedented what we are going through – coordinating so many countries together is not something that is easy. We are looking at so many vessels, so many countries to coordinate and a vast area for us to search ... but we will never give up hope.”
Last contact
The most confusing and heated part of the press conference concerned the last known sighting of the aircraft. Hussein confirmed that it was last picked up by military rather than civilian radar.
The authorities initially stated that the plane lost contact with air traffic control at 1.20am, 40 minutes after take off from Kuala Lumpa.
On Tuesday air force chief Tan Sir Rodzali Daud wasd reported as saying the plane was later detected at 2.40am over the Malacca Strait. He has since denied saying this.
Today a military chief said the flight was last picked up at 2.15am local time.
Civil aviation chief Rahman said analysis of the defence radar showed an “indication of an air come back, hence that’s the reason why a search was conducted in Malacca and the Andaman Sea.”
An official gave the position of the last radar signal at 2.15am as 200 miles north west of the mainland. But he said this needed to be corroborated.
Hussein pointed out that this was not a definite contact with the missing plane. “The primary data does not tell you about the aricraft per se. It requires corroboration and detailed analysis by experts.”
Challenged on the conflicted data, he added: “It is only confusing if you want it to be seen to be confusion. We have been very consistent.”
I think I'm caught up but whew, that was a bunch of reading/skimming. Hard to believe it's been 3 years since fukushima and hard to believe we are still trying to oust Assad.
Have a great day. Warm today, very cold tonight possible snow showers even.
Morning Kev ! 3 years and it appears things just getting worse every day that goes by ( Fukushima . )
US and Saudis ginning up another super duper plan to get the moderate rebels going , should work as well as the last plan , I figure .
Malaysian plane mystery becoming more confused by the day - is Inspector Clouseau running that investigation ?
Wednesday is going to be crazy as far as weather - we will see a high almost at 70 and a low late tonight of 26 , thunderstorms from the afternoon through evening , maybe snow with very slick , icy and dangerous road conditions Thursday morning ! Strange as our every day news .......
Have a good day - enjoy the nice part of the day !
A relative of a passenger on board the missing plane. Photograph: Imaginechina/Rex
Pictures of the men believed to have used stolen passports to board flight MH370. The man on the left was identified as an Iranian, Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehdad, 19, travelling on a stolen Austrian passport, while the person on the right remains unidentified. Photo: Rex
Malaysia's Minister of Defence and acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (centre) with Department of Civil Aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman (left) and Malaysian Airlines Group Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahyain (right) speak about the missing Malaysian Airlines plane during a press conference. 
I think I'm caught up but whew, that was a bunch of reading/skimming. Hard to believe it's been 3 years since fukushima and hard to believe we are still trying to oust Assad.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day. Warm today, very cold tonight possible snow showers even.
Morning Kev ! 3 years and it appears things just getting worse every day that goes by ( Fukushima . )
DeleteUS and Saudis ginning up another super duper plan to get the moderate rebels going , should work as well as the last plan , I figure .
Malaysian plane mystery becoming more confused by the day - is Inspector Clouseau running that investigation ?
Wednesday is going to be crazy as far as weather - we will see a high almost at 70 and a low late tonight of 26 , thunderstorms from the afternoon through evening , maybe snow with very slick , icy and dangerous road conditions Thursday morning ! Strange as our every day news .......
Have a good day - enjoy the nice part of the day !