PEOPLE WITH EXTENSIVE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE SWITCHED OFF CONTROLS AND DIVERTED PLANE, ANONYMOUS OFFICIAL SAYS, AS HUNT GOES ON.. Investigators believe that one or more people switched off communications devices and steered the plane off course. Both military radar readings and the plane’s automatic attempts to establish contact with satellites have offered key clues to its whereabouts, suggesting it flew for four to five hours and was last seen heading north-west towards the Andaman Islands. Experts say that while changes in altitude could be caused by fuel burning off, they would not account for the changes in direction. The changes appear to have taken the plane both above and below usual cruising levels for a Boeing-777 at various points in its journey, with it climbing to 45,000 feet before turning west and descending to 23,000 feet as it approached Penang. Investigators are examining the possibility of “human intervention” in the plane’s disappearance, adding it may have been “an act of piracy.” The official suggested a key piece of evidence suggesting intentional interference with communications was that that contact with the Boeing 777’s transponder stopped about a dozen minutes before a messaging system on the jet quit - making it less likely a sudden catastrophic failure was to blame. Some experts have said sequential failures due to technical problems were not impossible - for example if there was a fire - though they would be unusual. It also appeared to be steered to avoid radar detection. Manually dismantling communications systems – such as the transponder, which communicates the aircraft’s position, speed and call sign to air traffic control radar – would have required detailed knowledge of the workings of the Boeing-777. It said investigators are also trying to determine why the plane stopped pinging satellites after five hours while apparently cruising over the Indian Ocean. That could be caused by disconnecting the system – an extremely complex task – or by something catastrophic happening to the flight, an expert told them. ✈ ✈Stay connected with us and Invite your friends to our page Blue Sky Crew Information Centre and Stay Tuned with the latest Airlines News Straight Off The Runway ✈ ✈©© ©© facebook/BlueSkyCrew
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 08:35:31 +0000