Crash: Malaysia B772 over Gulf of Thailand on Mar 8th 2014, aircraft missing

By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, Mar 8th 2014 01:10Z, last updated Saturday, Mar 8th 2014 04:28Z
An Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration 9M-MRO performing flight MH-370 from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Beijing (China) with 227 passengers and 12 crew, was enroute at FL350 over the Gulf of Thailand in contact with Subang Center (Malaysia) when radar and radio contact was reported lost with the aircraft at around 02:40L (18:40Z Mar 7th). The aircraft would have run out of fuel by now, there have been no reports of the aircraft turning up on any airport in the region.

The airline confirmed the aircraft is missing, a search and rescue operation has been initiated. Subang Air Traffic Control reported at 02:40 local Malaysian time, that radar and radio contact with the aircraft had been lost.

In a press conference the airline stated, the last contact with the aircraft had been about 160nm northeast of Kota Bharu (Malaysia), over the Gulf of Thailand. The aircraft was piloted by an experienced captain (53, 18,365 hours total) and a first officer (27, 2,763 hours total). The aircraft carried 153 Chinese citizens, 38 Malaysians, 12 Indonesians, 7 Australians, 3 French, 4 citizens of USA, 2 New Zealanders, 2 Ukrainians, 2 Canadians, 1 Russian, 1 Italian, 1 Taiwanese, 1 Dutch and 1 Austrian.

Search missions have been launched along the estimated flight track of the aircraft from Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos to China (South China Sea).

At about noon local time Vietnamese search personnel reported they have detected an ELT signal about 20nm south of the coast of Ca Mau. Vietnam officials subsequently stated that they have not yet detected flight MH-370.

China reported that the aircraft did not enter Chinese airspace (editorial note: which effectively discounts rumours and false reports by a Malaysian outlet of the aircraft having landed in Nanning (China)).

Nanning Airport stated the aircraft did not arrive at the airport.

According to The Aviation Herald's radar data the aircraft was last regularly seen at 17:22Z (01:22L) about half way between Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) at FL350 over the Gulf of Thailand about 260nm northnortheast of Kuala Lumpur and 160nm northeast of Kota Bharu 40 minutes into the flight, followed by anomalies in the radar data of the aircraft over the next minute (the anomalies may be related to the aircraft but could also be caused by the aircraft leaving the range of the receiver).

Aviation sources in China report that radar data suggest a steep and sudden descent of the aircraft, during which the track of the aircraft changed from 024 degrees to 333 degrees. The aircraft was estimated to contact Ho Chi Minh Control Center (Vietnam) at 01:20L, but contact was never established.

Infrared VISSR Satellite Image Mar 7th 18:00Z (Graphics: AVH/Meteosat):

(CNN) -- A missing Malaysia Airliner carrying 229 people crashed off the southern coast of Vietnam, Vietnamese and Chinese state media reported Saturday, both citing Vietnam's military.
But Malaysia has no information that any wreckage has been found of the missing plane and no confirmation of a crash, acting transport minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told journalists Saturday.
The reports came hours after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft about 2:40 a.m. local time (1:40 p.m. ET Friday), Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji said on CNN's "AC360."
"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," Sharuji said.
Tuoi Tre, a leading daily in Vietnam, reported that the Vietnamese navy confirmed the plane crashed into the ocean. According to navy Adm. Ngo Van Phat, a regional commander, military radar recorded that the plane crashed into the sea south of Phu Quoc island. The People's Daily, Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, reported the same information.
China deployed two rescue ships to the South China Sea on Saturday as the search intensified, state-run broadcaster CCTV said.
Family and friends of many of the 154 Chinese nationals on board gathered at a hotel complex in the Lido district of Beijing. A large group of reporters gathered outside.
"My son was only 40 years old," one woman wailed as she was led inside. "My son, my son -- what am I going to do?"
The Ministry of Transportation in Malaysia said 80% of family members of those onboard had been contacted.
The Boeing 777-200 departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12:41 a.m. and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m., a 2,300-mile (3,700 kilometer) trip. It was carrying 227 passengers, two of them infants, and 12 crew members, the airline said. Air traffic control in Subang, in Malaysia, had last contact with the plane.
If this aircraft has crashed with a total loss, it would the deadliest aviation incident since November 2001 when an American Airlines Airbus A300 crashed in Belle Harbor, Queens, shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport. Killed were 265 people, including five people on the ground.
At the time of its disappearance, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was carrying about 7.5 hours of fuel, Sharuji said.
The passengers are of 13 nationalities, the airline said. Nationalities and the number for each of passengers on the flight were:
-- China and Taiwan,154
-- Malaysia, 38
-- Indonesia, 12
-- Australia, 7
-- United States, 4
-- France, 3
-- New Zealand, 2
-- Ukraine, 2
-- Canada, 2
-- Russia, 1
-- Italy, 1
-- Netherlands, 1
-- Austria, 1
One infant from the United States and another from China were included in the tally.
By CNN's math, that adds up to 228 passengers, one more than the total cited by the airline. There was no immediate explanation offered for the apparent discrepancy.
Malaysia Airlines said it was working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft. The airline said the public can call +603 7884 1234 for further information.
The airline's website said the flight was piloted by Cap. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, a Malaysian. He has 18,365 total flying hours and joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, the website said. The first officer is Fariq Ab.Hamid, 27, a Malaysian with a total of 2,763 flying hours. He joined Malaysia Airlines in 2007.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said the flight lost contact and its radar signal as it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ordered authorities to start emergency measures to strengthen communications with Malaysian authorities, and called for boosting search and rescue efforts as well as verifying details of the Chinese passengers aboard, China's government website reported.
China's embassy in Malaysia has formed an emergency team headed by the Chinese ambassador to deal with the incident, it said.
"We're closely monitoring reports on Malaysia flight MH370," Boeing said in a tweet. "Our thoughts are with everyone on board."
"It doesn't sound very good," retired American Airlines Capt. Jim Tilmon told CNN's "AC360." He noted that the route is mostly overland, which means that there would be plenty of antennae, radar and radios to contact the plane.
"I've been trying to come up with every scenario that I could just to explain this away, but I haven't been very successful."
He said the plane is "about as sophisticated as any commercial airplane could possibly be," with an excellent safety record.
"The lack of communications suggests to me that something most unfortunate has happened," said Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in an interview with CNN International. "But that, of course, does not mean that there are not many persons that need to be rescued and secured. There's still a very urgent need to find that plane and to render aid."
There is one recent blemish for the Boeing jet: An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 carrying 291 passengers struck a seawall at San Francisco International Airport in July 2013, killing three people and wounding dozens more.
Malaysia Airlines operates in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and on the route between Europe and Australasia.
It has 15 of the Boeing 777-200 planes in its fleet, CNN's Richard Quest reported.
Part of the company is in the private sector, but the government owns most of it.
Malayan Airways Limited began flying in 1937 as an air service between Penang and Singapore. A decade later, it began flying commercially as the national airline.
In 1963, when Malaysia was formed, the airline was renamed Malaysian Airlines Limited.
Within 20 years, it had grown from a single aircraft operator into a company with 2,400 employees and a fleet operator.

Citação de ruialves, 08 de Março 2014, 09:11:34

Primeiro voo a 14/05/2002 e sempre voou para a Malaysia.

Só espero que as especulações acerca de uma possível relação com testes de mísseis na Correia do Norte não se confirme
Há poucos dias houve um Air China que esteve proximo.

RIP às 239 almas a bordo.

A Coreia do Norte ainda fica um pouco longe dali.
Algo nestas linhas:
- Caso da LAM
- Caso da AF447 (apesar de não haver mau tempo em rota)
- Bomba a bordo visto o destino ser Beijing e a Malásia ser um país muçulmano. Como no 747 da Air India.

Citação de david1990, 08 de Março 2014, 14:17:07

e u e se essas pessoas estão mortas ... vamls rezar para que tudo esteja bem. Faz-me lembrar o Fatídico voo da air France qie se despenhou no Atlântico ...

David, sobre o resultado final não há dúvidas. Que não chegou a terra é dado adquirido. Em caso de tentar amarar, a velocidade mínima de perda de um 777 está acima dos 100 nós, e amarar de noite é para esquecer...ainda mais no mar....

Citação de david1990, 08 de Março 2014, 14:17:07

e u e se essas pessoas
Existem rumores que aterrou num aeroporto cujo nome não me recordo no momento.

O aeroporto em questão já desmentiu entretanto

Para mim, o que aconteceu realmente foi o que já aconteceu com alguns 777, vazamento de combustível pela asa, e isso justifica as manchas de petróleo no mar vietnamita. Provavelmente ficou sem combustível e despenhou-se. mas minhas condolências para quem ia a bordo e para as respetivas famílias. A Boeing deveria corrigir estes erros rapidamente. Porcaria de aviões, por isso prefiro airbus. Não há modelo que não tenha estes problemas ridículos e que nunca são reparados.

melhor ter calma, ainda não sabemos o que realmente acontece u e se essas pessoas estão mortas (...)

Para mim, o que aconteceu realmente foi o que já aconteceu com alguns 777, vazamento de combustível pela asa, e isso justifica as manchas de petróleo no mar vietnamita.

Pode ter vazado em rota de queda