The Butler... er, the Pilot did it. (Yes, it is my speculation.)

[cthulu2016]

I suspect that if you were going to turn off your transponders and go rogue the time to vanish would be right when you were passed off from one air traffic control authority to another. (To maximize ground confusion factor as to whether something was amiss.)

The plane signed off from Malaysian traffic control, said its polite good night, and right around that time the transponders went dead.

If (if, if, if) the plane did continue flying under control and changed course (rather than, say, coincidentally blowing up right around then and going down in flames) then it would strongly suggest something the pilot did, not something a hijacker did. An orderly disappearance.

IMO.

[Rex]

1. OR a hijacker that knows how to handle a plane like the 777.

I wonder what went on during those 4 or 5 hours...that is a long time imo.*












*speculation

[pangaia]

2. I have to start dinner..

[Renew Deal]

3. But would it have landed?

And where you can you land a plane that size without phones contacting cell towers? I imagine that the passengers phones would be detectable.

Which brings up another point, I wonder if anyone has tried "Find my iPhone" with any passenger phones

[madinmaryland]

4. The phone would have to be within cell tower range.

I would think. The gps might work on the phone, but you would need the cellular network for it to connect. I suppose if it was a satellite phone then that might work.

[JimDandy]

9. In order for the poster's scenario to work

wouldn't all the phones on board, especially satellite phones, have to be off/batteries out/disabled PRIOR to the transponder being switched off, in order for everything to sync so that it would look like the plane had been destroyed rather than hijacked. If the pilot has the ability to disable the phones plane-wide so no signal could ever leak out even when over land then perhaps he wouldn't need an accomplice.

If the Rolls Royce engine is set up to send back signals though, you'd think that would have put a dent in the hijacking plan, because wouldn't the pilot know about that function? But what if the engine signals are received in a facility in the US and because of the time difference, the pilot knew they wouldn't be looked at until long after he had enough time to stash the plane?

Speculating is interesting, but I'm sure all the people in know have a lot of info at their disposal that is not/will not be available to the rest of us (if ever) until this is concluded.

[Glassunion]

13. Not really.

The point where the plane disappeared was well out of cell range. In fact, above 8,000ft most cellphones will not have signal. They were at 35,000. Also, they were so far out to sea those cellphones would have zero coverage that far offshore. Now a satellite phone would work, however not too many folks carry those in their pocket and powered on. Also their reception could be spotty at best in the cabin of an aircraft and nonexistent in a checked bag. They can (like a cellphone) be tracked however depending on the tech being used can be accurate only to within an 80 square mile(ish) area. The most popular form of sat phone is provided by low earth orbit satellites (opposed to the geo stationary), and those are the more difficult to pinpoint location.

So in a takeover situation, you get out to sea, disable the transponder, then get folks to hand over their phones and destroy them.

[Renew Deal]

14. That's my thinking

It's feasible, but extremely unlikely. It is still more likely that this plane accidentally fell in the water somewhere. But plots with enough sophistication could do anything.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

5. I don't think it was hijacked

hijackers want to terrorize people. I can't see hijackers working totally independently and no one taking credit.

My guess is pilot. Red flags went up for me when the women came forward and reported they were in the cockpit goofing around with the pilot for an entire flight.

[countryjake]

6. So, was it Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, age 53, with 18,365 hrs of flying...

since he joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981?

Or was it the Co-Pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, age 27, with 2,763 flying hours since he joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007 as a First Officer?

Per your speculation, what exactly did one pilot do with the other during this "orderly" roguery?

[Myrina]

7. It was an Alien Abduction, I'm tellin' ya!

[Aerows]

8. Definitely a strange situation

Have they found the plane yet?

[sufrommich]

10. What I dont understand is why are pilots

even able to turn off transponders ?

[Renew Deal]

15. Great question

I was wondering the same thing.

[Skink]

12. what if

the crew was incapacitated and it actually was hurteling toward its intended target the Chinese mainland. What would the Chinese do?

[Renew Deal]

16. Much of the planet is still unoccupied

So you do the math and let it crash somewhere unpopulated, but that assumes no one can fly the plane. In your scenario, someone else should be there to help.

[CatWoman]

17. WRONG!!!

YOU have not been paying attention.

We all know OBAMA did it!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017180853