Reuters is reporting the plane was tracked by Malaysian military flying at a lower altitude over the Malacca Straits after turning around past Kota Bharu (on the east coast). It is reported its transponders and tracking systems were turned off and thus it was only able to be tracked by military primary radar, hence why it went missing from civilian secondary trackers. It is not clear from the reporting whether it was tracked having dropped 1000m (3000ft) from its cruising altitude, or whether it was tracked at an altitude of 1000m.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/11/malaysia-airlines-idUSL2N0M725520140311
If you consider this fact then
this map will show the entire range it could have reached with its fuel load.
This certainly leaves open speculation to conspiracy. But a more straight forward turn of events
proposed by a pprune member seems possible:
-A bomb or fire crippled the comms, tracking systems and/or mechanical systems but left the plane flyable.
-At an altitude of 35000 ft the pilots turned back to land.
-The nearest east coast airports WMKN/TGG & WMKC/KBR may have been too close to safely descend and land given the fact it was night and the possible state the plane was in.
-Thus the pilots made the turn and track towards the west coast whilst descending with the intention to land at WMKP/PEN (Penang) or WMKK/KUL (Kuala Lumpur). KUL has well known procedures for making a landing in a situation of lost radio communications.
-At some point in the emergency approach things may have taken a turn for the worse and the plane ended up crashed into the water.
If you assume this then the plane could be anywhere from 25m to 100m under water. Given the Asian idea of saving face, Malaysia might have withheld this information having considered the idea of China or Vietnam discovering the wreckage a huge embarrassment and much worse than delaying the truth for a few days.
Now for some RVF related revelations. A woman has come forward to say that the copilot had invited them into the cockpit on a previous flight.
“Throughout the entire flight they were talking to us and they were actually smoking throughout the flight which I don’t think they’re allowed to do,” Ms Roos said.
“They were so engaged in conversation that he took my friends hand and he was looking at her palm and said ‘your hand is very creased. That means you’re a very creative person’ and commented on her nail polish.”
(Palm reading game recognised)
Mr Hamid identified the South African natives as they waited in the boarding queue at Phuket airport in December 2011.
As they took their seats on the aircraft, an air steward approached the women and invited them to join the pilots in the cockpit.
Massive DHV
