China may (or may not) have found that Plane (w/ pictures)

[cthulu2016]

China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense announced the find, releasing three satellite photos.

Much skepticism on CNN. Some are questioning whether the plane would have any floating segments this large. We will see how it all turns out.

In other news - Malaysian authorities searched the pilot's house today. The pilot had a flight simulator in his home and they probably wanted to see whether he had been practicing flying to anywhere unusual. (And similarities to the TV show LOST continue to mount.)

Key to the images below:

1) the 3 Chinese satellite images (three objects, sized 13x18 meters, 14x19 meters, and 24x22 meteres)
2) wreckage location vs. last know location of plane (Only 144 miles away)
3) wreckage location versus that oil rig that reported burning plane at high altitude (about 240 miles)





http://www.businessinsider.com/reported-chinese-satellite-images-2014-3

[TwilightGardener]

1. So it DIDN'T turn around to the southwest and fly back over Malaysia?

How utterly weird this whole thing is.

[wercal]

5. I found the westward turn story odd

If an unidentified plane showed up on the military radar, heading for Malaysia....wouldn't the military react to that? Make radio calls, scramble planes, etc.

Instead its 'oh yeah, we saw a plane on radar'.

[okaawhatever]

10. I read the BBC story and they were saying that the last communication they had was when the

Malaysian air traffic controller was handing the plane off to Vietnam's air traffic controllers. Right about where the plane went down is the edge of the control area for Malayasia and Vietnam. If the pilot chose to do a horizontal move, it could be that he was suicidal and stayed right there in "no man's land" so no one would notice. That may also be why they think he turned around because he may have never been picked up on Vietnam's ATC radar.

There was also a question of the closest airport to the last sighting and I read there was one closer than Vietnam that they may have headed for. That also makes sense for this particular flight path.

If they're searching his home, they probably are thinking suicide, IMO.

[alsame]

2. And that's consistent with

what the worker on the oil rig saw.

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. I doubt someone on a drilling rig could see a burning airplane 240 miles away. nt

[cthulu2016]

7. Agree (but we don't know about currents, or how high it was)

[randome]

4. Too far away from land for potential survivors to have found safety, I guess.

Unless there are some atolls or rocks not noted on the map.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[Hamilton Felix]

9. Any crash into the ocean by an airliner that breaks it up into pieces is almost certain not to have

any survivors regardless of the distance from land.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. kick.

[jtuck004]

11. Thank you for the maps. Very helpful for understanding. n/t