Posted on 03/09/2014 12:15:25 PM PDT by maggief
EXCERPT
Discussed for many years but never implemented, the concept of automatically transmitting data would involve using satellite links to send critical safety information from an airliner to the ground during extreme emergencies or just before a plane goes down.
The information may highlight, among other things, engine and system performance, flight commands by pilots and possible problems with cockpit automation.
The direct transmissions would serve as real-time substitutes when traditional "black boxes" containing digital flight data and recordings of cockpit conversations are damaged or lost, whether temporarily or permanently.
"Such a solution is long overdue, considering the state of technology today and the overriding importance of providing timely data to investigators," said Alan Diehl, a former senior commercial-accident investigator and U.S. military safety official. "We can no longer leave it to the vagaries of finding black boxes in every crash."
As aircraft increasingly connect to satellite and ground-based systems to provide Wi-Fi access to ticket holders, such a pipeline could enable safety data to piggyback on signals intended for passenger use, industry officials say.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Have no idea what happened to this airliner - but it is always possible that it landed without exploding- in a sparsely populated area; not in the ocean.
JMHO
Perhaps on a desert with no cell towers;) Or the flight crew could have confiscated all electronics.
“but it is always possible that it landed without exploding- in a sparsely populated area; not in the ocean.”
A landing requires roughly 8,000 feet of runway. Plus there are likely five or more radios on board, not to mention cell phones if they’re in range of a tower. It’s very unlikely to have landed unless it was hijacked to, say, North Korea. If that were the case, probably the various intelligence agencies monitoring NK would know already as NK is probably under continuous surveillance by one or more countries.
Undoubtedly, most western nations have turned on their satellite cameras as they passed the area in an effort to garner clues. The automatic picture review would spot something that size if it were not there yesterday and flag it. No, most likely, it went down in the water. It could have gone down in dense jungle and also completely disappear, provided it did not burn.
I am going with the pilot going to the can and the 27 year old co-pilot turning the plane nose down and plunging it into the ocean.
Have they determined if the oil slick is fuel dumped from the Malaysia Jet? That would indicate the pilots knew they were in trouble & planning a hard landing (or a skilled Sully) - but to not report a problem is very strange. Too many abnormal circumstances to be considered a ‘routine’ accident.
I don’t know about the slick. But a simple chemical test should tell whether it’s from a plane or a ship. But, assuming they weren’t hijacked, it’s unlikely they made a leisurely water landing without notifying anybody. My guess is they went in fast and at a sharp angle. That might explain why they didn’t have time to radio their condition.
Evidently exploded in midair, with insufficient large pieces remaining to track reliably.
Guess they forgot to stir the fuel tanks.
Those who hijacked the plane and plunged it into the ocean are now spending eternity with virgin goats.
“Or the flight crew could have confiscated all electronics.”
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/hq/en/mh-experience/business-class.html
Stay connected
Communicate with loved ones or workmates via calls or text messages using your seat entertainment controller that also works as an air-to-ground phone. You can even send and receive emails mid-flight.
http://travellingidea.wordpress.com/tag/malaysia-airline/
Unlimited Entertainment
The Select-In-Flight Entertainment system offers a world of high quality, and engaging entertainment onboard. Enjoy unlimited fun by watching latest blockbusters to popular TV shows, music videos to chat shows and multi-player games. Entertainment systems available onboard include Audio/video on demand, in-seat videos, overhead screens and portable media player.
Communicate with your loved ones or collogues via calls or text messages by using your seat entertainment controller that works like an air-to-ground phone so that you can easily send or receive mails even in the sky.
Boeing 777-200
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/mh-experience/our-fleet/boeing-777-200.html
Some a/c do have onboard telematics that report in real-time. Obviously this one did not.
If that were the case, it would have been a very rough landing, which would in all likelihood have activated the one-or-more Emergency Locator Beacons onboard.
EgyptAir 990?
Either that or a bomb.
It’s like....the Bermuda Triangle...man.
****As aircraft increasingly connect to satellite and ground-based systems to provide Wi-Fi access to ticket holders, such a pipeline could enable safety data to piggyback on signals intended for passenger use, industry officials say.*****
Seems as if the infrastructure is already in place. Which does beg the question: Were the passengers aware of the crisis? - apparently they did not use their satellite phones either.
Hmm. Not sure it’s really necessary. They’re talking about live transmission of all the telemetry data. Seems like an unnecessary complication of a system that’s still working quite well. It’s not like there’s a big problem with recovery of black boxes. They are almost always found, and soon enough to be useful. Now there would have to be an additional powerful transmitter sucking amps from the plane, and somewhere somebody would have to be listening and recording all this stuff. Then there would have to be redundant systems to back that all up in case of failure.
I’m not sure investigators really gain much for all that.
OK, we’ve gotten off into rabbit holes.
I think a live black box would be an excellent idea, and I’m actually surprised that this hasn’t been proposed before.
Not that well. When Air France 441 went down off the Latin American coast, nobody had any idea of what had happened to it.
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