Assuming authorities are correct(the last signal being located 120 nautical miles (140 miles; 225 kilometers) southwest of Vietnam’s southernmost Ca Mau province)that’s only about 300nm from departure...early reports said contact was lost “2 hours” into the flight. Something there doesn’t jive.
One story I read stated the reporting of contact lost 2 hours after departure was wrong and that contact was actually lost 40 minutes after departure.
I’m speculating that the 2 hour number MAY have been an official number. In that ATC may have continued to try to raise a signal for 2 hours(1+ hours after contact lost), even though return contact from the plane may have ceased after 40 minutes.
It’s hard to say at this point. Depending on the actual coordinates of the wreckage, it could be anywhere from 300 to 500 miles from departure. The local officials giving updates seem to use ‘south, southwest, northeast’ loosely.
They wait a while to be sure contact has actually been lost and the pilots aren’t just having comm problems, before they officially say the plane is missing.
FR24 data indicates about 40 minutes or so in the air.
“Assuming authorities are correct(the last signal being located 120 nautical miles (140 miles; 225 kilometers) southwest of Vietnam’s southernmost Ca Mau province)that’s only about 300nm from departure...early reports said contact was lost “2 hours” into the flight. Something there doesn’t jive.”
This is bothering me a lot more after looking at a map.
There’s no way the plane made so little progress in 2 hours unless it had been circling and circling senselessly after takeoff.
Or maybe the 2 hour figure reported is wrong?