Bahtatboy

To answer my own question, the Wikipedia entry on the AF crash is interesting and informative.

Ditzy

News emerging now that it has been known since 2 days after the disappearance that it flew for 7 hours after last contact. If true, it's shocking that they have been searching in the wrong places etc. Awful.

Dorothy

Well, duh!

Boomhauer

So news now saying there were Li Ion batteries in the cargo that could have started a fire disabling various eletronic systems including ACARS. Plane countinued to fly for 6 or 7 hours after ACARS disabled. So me thinks pilot turns around to make emergency landing but toxic smoke disables/kills all and plane stays on autopilot course.

Ditzy

I don't buy the fire on board scenario.

Like someone just said elsewhere, the Chinese are desperately after something on board that plane.

is there any truth in Diego Garcia having 72 hours of no-operations from March 8th. And is that unusual?

the plot thickens!

At this stage, if anything is found in any sea, I will say it has been planted there.

Bahtatboy

If that is discovered as what happened, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the supply chain of the batteries.

Boomhauer

Yeah you got to figure the owner and logistics company responsible for the batteries is sweating bullets.

Bahtatboy

There are international treaties limiting airlines' liabilities in the event of personal injury and death, but I don't think they touch upon the liabilities of those responsible for cargo. The insurers of the companies in the supply chain won't be sleeping easy, either.

ADteacher

I think it's now pretty much certain to have gone done in the South Indian Ocean- many debris reports and 'sighting' and relatives been told to assume this is the case- and are now being flown to Australia.

britexpat76

Breaking news everywhere now.........

http://news.sky.com/story/1231059/mi...e-indian-ocean

OriginalSunshine

At least there is some form of closure rather than wondering where they went. It may be years before the black box is recovered though, as there is a tropical storm on the way.

Bahtatboy

"some form" is right--I would imagine all the relatives will want to know why it happened, and that may never be discovered.

As an aside, I do find it ironic that the Chinese relatives and government are berating the Malaysian government of neither handling the situation well nor releasing information--just imagine if it had been a Chinese plane which fell off the radar when exiting China...

OleJanx

I image that if it had been a Chinese plane then relatives would have been facing the well known Chinese Great Wall of Silence....

Boomhauer

The Chinese contempt and berating is justifiable to some extent but as you say what if the shoe was on the other foot, because we all know how non transparent the Chinese government is. I suspect a lot of the anger is due to the fact the Malaysians are South East Asians, thus seen as inferior to North East Asians like Han Chinese, Koreans, Taiwanese and Japanese.

Ditzy

Will be interesting to see what is 'recovered'. I don't believe it is there! Far too many suspicious cover-ups on this since day 1.

And no, man didn't land on the moon either.