So anyway if this story about detecting it flying back are right, then that must have been deliberate because the transponders were turned off. Also that appears to have happened shortly after leaving radio contact, which only the pilots would have been clear on.

So change of direction, transponders off at the exact correct time, in the water indicates flaky pilot. Waited until the other one took a bathroom break, locked himself in. Didn't fly it into the ground immediately, so that guy probably thought he might land it or couldn't break the door down. Flew on for hours. Fact they're having a hard time finding debris could be because he deliberately went in full speed, which if you were trying to avoid a crash wouldn't happen. Look at Flight 93 for example, pretty small crater in a field because it went down full tilt.

If I remember correctly the oil rig witness said it was at about a right angle to the normal flight path and headed east (and on fire) at about half normal altitude, so if it made it to the Indian Ocean it could be hard to find anything since it's so much deeper.

That they've got some limited radio transmission coupled with radar indicates he was wrong but on the other hand he reported it to the authorities before it was in the press which does make me think this could go down as the biggest press cock-up in history.

I meant headed west (drinking a bit) so it's consistent with the assumed diversion. Unless I'm wrong twice over which seems illogical.

How does anybody know if the transponders were turned off? All that is known is that they were not transmitting. An on-board fire (Swissair 111), electrical failure, defective transponders, albeit unlikely both would quit at the same time, defective antennas, encoder problem, all sorts of issues could be responsible.

Fact they are having a hard time finding debris could be they are looking in the wrong place.

Cell phones working that far out is unlikely. Mine does not work at 10,000 of the Fraser Valley let alone 30k+ over the Indian ocean. Cell towers transmit and recive locally. They would only be ringing on-board the case if the aircraft had a cell transmitter/receiver fitted and working.

Or they were on the ground somewhere.

Indeed. There are still many possible reasons for this other than foul play. All we know for sure is that something very strange happened.

Transponder will still transmit unless electrical is shut down or the device is turned off, albeit at a much shorter range. Most new ones will auto switch off alt when below 100 feet though.

A hard landing or forced landing would (should) activate the ELT, which is a 406Mhz and picked up by SARSAT within seconds. They are not too robust so a significant crash could destroy the ELT. Underwater they don't work too well, marine ELTs float and transmit their signal. An ELT also transmits on 121.5, which can be picked up from miles out by a high flier.

Just out:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/malaysi...says-1.2573080

Investigators have concluded that one or more people with significant flying experience hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, switched off communication devices and steered it off-course, a Malaysian government official involved in the investigation said Saturday.

This whole situation has become most odd.

If the map on global of the radius the plane could have gone in any direction, makes you wonder if it will ever be found at this point.

I sense a Captain Phillips sequel in the making

They are now saying it could have flown for 7 hours after it changed course.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26591056
I doubt it will ever be found.

So it looks like it was pinched.

If anyone is offered a cheap 777 jet plane, at a price that is too good to be true, I would be very suspicious !!!

I read somewhere that there were 5 tonnes of gold on board - the Chinese govt has been importing a lot of gold recently. This is allegedly one of the reasons that the cargo manifest has not been released.

This could the be gold heist of the century. If the passengers aren't harmed, it would be a brilliant crime... snatch a plane, and 5 tonnes of gold worth $135m, and the authorities spend a week looking for it in completely the wrong place. If it's true, the gold could be anywhere by now.

If the a/c was snatched as it seems is now is a possibility, it was very odd that it just disappeared and nobody took credit for it, or asked for a ransom.

Nicking the cargo would seem a good reason. It is hard to hide a 777, when flying they eventually come down to earth one way or another. One tends to notice them landing, not something that can be done on the qt. They are not able to drop into your average back yard landing strip. They need at least 7000 feet and 10 if you want to get out again. Unpaved it would stop sooner, albeit a bit abruptly and likely not be reusable. The max range depending on load and fuel is just shy of 8000 miles, a pretty big radius to search, approx 201061929.83 sq miles give or take.

It is likely (pretty certain) the authorities are not releasing everything, so there is still a lot of unfounded speculation. We won't know a lot more until (or if) it is located. Even then some things governments seem to believe we are better off not knowing.

Shame one of the pax did not have a spot tracker with them. I carry mine everywhere I go, so hopefully if I get lost in the bush someone will be out to pick me up pdq.