Malaysian airplane missing *UPDATED page 61*

[redheadbaker]

www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-plane-missing/

A passenger flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing is missing and would likely have run out of fuel, Malaysia Airlines said Saturday.

"At the moment we have no idea where this aircraft is right now," Malaysia Airlines Vice President of Operations Control Fuad Sharuji said on CNN's "AC360."

Subang Air Traffic Control lost contact with Flight MH370 at about 2:40 a.m. local time (1:40 p.m. ET Friday), Sharuji said.
"We tried to call this aircraft through various means," he said.

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.

At the time of its disappearance, the plane was carrying about 7.5 hours of fuel, Sharuji said.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," the statement said. The public can call [phone] for further information.

Efforts to contact the plane were fruitless.

The airline said in a statement that its representatives were contacting the relatives of those aboard. "Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support," 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.

There is one recent blemish: 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.

The airline's roots date back to 1937, when it operated passenger and cargo flights in Malaysia.

In April 1942, it was incorporated as Malaysia Airways Limited; it later became Malaysia Airlines.

The airline has its headquarters and registered office at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Malaysia, and its main airline hub is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, according to its website.

[tef]

[Velar Fricative]

That is nuts. If the plane is over land, WTF could it be?

[Kristinmo]

Mar 7, 2014 21:10:19 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

That is nuts. If the plane is over land, WTF could it be?

Unfortunately the only plausible explanation is that it crashed. 

[Cicero]

Mar 7, 2014 21:10:19 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

That is nuts. If the plane is over land, WTF could it be?

It's only over land most of the time.  You have to go over one of the China Seas to get to China from KL.  

ETA: And Holy Crap.

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 7, 2014 21:11:41 GMT -5 Kristinmo said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:10:19 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

That is nuts. If the plane is over land, WTF could it be?

Unfortunately the only plausible explanation is that it crashed. 

I know, but how many places in heavily-populated SE Asia could a plane crash on land and no one report it?

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 7, 2014 21:13:58 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:10:19 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

That is nuts. If the plane is over land, WTF could it be?

It's only over land most of the time.  You have to go over one of the China Seas to get to China from KL.  

ETA: And Holy Crap.

Got it. I figured two hours into the flight it would fly over land the rest of the way.

[Cicero]

Mar 7, 2014 21:15:00 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:11:41 GMT -5 Kristinmo said:

Unfortunately the only plausible explanation is that it crashed. 

I know, but how many places in heavily-populated SE Asia could a plane crash on land and no one report it?

Two hours into a flight to China would have put them over the South China Sea.  

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 7, 2014 21:17:51 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:15:00 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

I know, but how many places in heavily-populated SE Asia could a plane crash on land and no one report it?

Two hours into a flight to China would have put them over the South China Sea.  

Then i guess we know what happened.

[frlcb]

I try to be breezy about flying but this scares the hell out of me.

[Cicero]

Mar 7, 2014 21:19:47 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:17:51 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Two hours into a flight to China would have put them over the South China Sea.  

Then i guess we know what happened.

I don't know what flight path they take since I've only flown KL-Shanghai and KL-HK, but it's about two hours from KL to HCMC.  I'd imagine they would have cut over the sea shortly thereafter.

[Cicero]

Mar 7, 2014 21:21:20 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I try to be breezy about flying but this scares the hell out of me.

Me too.  H has been on that flight several times.  And some guys he worked with are supposed to be heading up to China this week.  I hope they left earlier in the week.

[penguingrrl]

That's terrifying. How does a plane just go missing?

[frlcb]

Mar 7, 2014 21:23:29 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:21:20 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I try to be breezy about flying but this scares the hell out of me.

Me too.  H has been on that flight several times.  And some guys he worked with are supposed to be heading up to China this week.  I hope they left earlier in the week.

I hope they weren't on it!

[frlcb]

I would imagine if it was blown up it would just lose contact, right? If it was going down don't you think they would have tried to contact someone?

Hell, I have no idea. This just scares me to no end.

[Cicero]

Mar 7, 2014 21:24:18 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

That's terrifying. How does a plane just go missing?

That plane that went down between Rio and Paris a few years ago just went missing.  They didn't realise there was a problem until it didn't show up in Paris as scheduled.

[caden]

Mar 7, 2014 21:21:20 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I try to be breezy about flying but this scares the hell out of me.

ummm yah. I think I need to refill my Ativan prescription before I fly there

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 7, 2014 21:27:45 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:24:18 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

That's terrifying. How does a plane just go missing?

That plane that went down between Rio and Paris a few years ago just went missing.  They didn't realise there was a problem until it didn't show up in Paris as scheduled.

That crash still terrifies me. The official cause didn't make me feel better at all.

[penguingrrl]

Mar 7, 2014 21:27:45 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:24:18 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

That's terrifying. How does a plane just go missing?

That plane that went down between Rio and Paris a few years ago just went missing.  They didn't realise there was a problem until it didn't show up in Paris as scheduled.

Wow, I always though planes were tracked more closely than that, but I guess that would be unrealistic now that I think about it. So scary and I hope by some miracle all on board are safe.

[caden]

Mar 7, 2014 21:30:05 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:27:45 GMT -5 Cicero said:

That plane that went down between Rio and Paris a few years ago just went missing.  They didn't realise there was a problem until it didn't show up in Paris as scheduled.

That crash still terrifies me. The official cause didn't make me feel better at all.

ditto. I think I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

[Velar Fricative]

Mar 7, 2014 21:30:28 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:27:45 GMT -5 Cicero said:

That plane that went down between Rio and Paris a few years ago just went missing.  They didn't realise there was a problem until it didn't show up in Paris as scheduled.

Wow, I always though planes were tracked more closely than that, but I guess that would be unrealistic now that I think about it. So scary and I hope by some miracle all on board are safe.

They are. That Air France flight happened to crash right in between two airspaces though. Over a large body of water, I would imagine there may not be as much contact (maybe).

[Cicero]

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but this plane took off 10 hours ago with 9.5 hours worth of fuel. I kind of doubt it's going to be OK.

[frlcb]

Mar 7, 2014 21:28:47 GMT -5 caden said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:21:20 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I try to be breezy about flying but this scares the hell out of me.

ummm yah. I think I need to refill my Ativan prescription before I fly there

I may need an ativan tonight. Seriously. For as much as we travel I really hate flying.

[mabillon]

Did I miss this hours ago when I was putting my kid to bed? Or did it just hit the news in the past 30 minutes?

[penguingrrl]

Mar 7, 2014 21:33:03 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:30:28 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Wow, I always though planes were tracked more closely than that, but I guess that would be unrealistic now that I think about it. So scary and I hope by some miracle all on board are safe.

They are. That Air France flight happened to crash right in between two airspaces though. Over a large body of water, I would imagine there may not be as much contact (maybe).

That makes sense. So sad and scary.

[Deleted]

Mar 7, 2014 21:34:51 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:28:47 GMT -5 caden said:

ummm yah. I think I need to refill my Ativan prescription before I fly there

I may need an ativan tonight. Seriously. For as much as we travel I really hate flying.

Ditto. I really, really hate flying. I love to travel & I accept that flying is a part of that, but I hate it.

I get especially nervous now when DH and I are flying without DS (like we are on Thursday). I know flying is very safe, but it is the lack of individual control that I hate.

[redheadbaker]

Mar 7, 2014 21:34:59 GMT -5 mabillon said:

Did I miss this hours ago when I was putting my kid to bed? Or did it just hit the news in the past 30 minutes?

I just got a new alert on my phone, just before posting here. I think it just hit the media. 

[caden]

Mar 7, 2014 21:34:51 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Mar 7, 2014 21:28:47 GMT -5 caden said:

ummm yah. I think I need to refill my Ativan prescription before I fly there

I may need an ativan tonight. Seriously. For as much as we travel I really hate flying.

yup. It continues not to get easier. Probably because I keep making things up like "once you've taken off successfully you're fine." And then stories like this come along and make me realize newp, I need to be scared the entire flight again.

[meshaliuknits]

Mar 7, 2014 21:34:29 GMT -5 Cicero said:

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but this plane took off 10 hours ago with 9.5 hours worth of fuel. I kind of doubt it's going to be OK.

Yeah. But I can still hope for a Gillians Island Lost thing, right?

Sent from my EVO

[Deleted]

Is it just me or are there more airplane incidents occuring recently? Just in the past few weeks I've heard of a few different "extreme turbulance" happenings here in the US. We had some pretty decent turbulance on a flight I took about a year ago (to the point where women were screaming, etc). I've only recently been ok with flying, I don't want to regress.