Posted on 03/17/2014 7:36:05 PM PDT by BeadCounter
WASHINGTON — The first turn to the west that diverted the missing Malaysia Airlines plane from its planned flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was carried out through a computer system that was most likely programmed by someone in the plane’s cockpit who was knowledgeable about airplane systems, according to senior American officials.
Instead of manually operating the plane’s controls, whoever altered Flight 370’s path typed seven or eight keystrokes into a computer on a knee-high pedestal between the captain and the first officer, according to officials. The Flight Management System, as the computer is known, directs the plane from point to point specified in the flight plan submitted before each flight. It is not clear whether the plane’s path was reprogrammed before or after it took off.
The fact that the turn away from Beijing was programmed into the computer has reinforced the belief of investigators — first voiced by Malaysian officials — that the plane was deliberately diverted and that foul play was involved. It has also increased their focus on the plane’s captain and first officer.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I'm unsure if NY Times is okay to publish here, so if this should be deleted, so be it.
Please delete, this has been published but they did not use the keyword Malaysia, I did not see it. Apologies.
This was a man with a plan not some amateur hijacker grabbing at the controls. A programmed course change is handled smoothly by the flight management system so the person in control can focus or more exigent tasks like turning off transponders and depressurizing the cabin. By the way, depressurization would pop down the oxygen masks and keep the passengers and cabin attendants occupied with the emergency and not bothering the guy in the cockpit.
Here is the proper first thread all, http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3134342/posts?page=41#41 , please feel free to contribute there.
What a pain in the a$$ it must be to live under a government like that.
Hasn’t anyone on that plane have a cellphone?
The Captain and the First Officer are Muslim as are the majority of Malaysians. However, Captain Zaharie was an active supporter of Anwar Ibrahim, who has opposed the present government of Malaysia. Maybe Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and First Officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid were working together to make a political statement with the takeover of the plane.
Why? There are no cell towers in the ocean.
If they would use the correct name it would help because people here think “computer” is some laptop.
Call it a flight director which is built into the aircraft and every commercial has one and so so high end private aircraft and is the correct name for the equipment.
What I’m saying is doesn’t any person have a cellphone on that plane? It’s possible to make a cellphone call from a jet liner, people did it on 9/11. The major airlines have phones on board for passenger use. Have any family members tried contacting their loved ones somehow?
Unfortunately those passengers aren’t going to be making any cell phone calls.
Yes, family members have tried to call their cell phones. The phones ring. Nobody answers. Any thought that those passengers are being held as hostages is just wishful thinking.
What a pain in the a$$ it must be to live under a government like that.
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Yep! Kinda like having to live under the Obama regime.
Actually, that is not correct. There are several correct terms. FMS (Flight Management System), compter, etc. Flight Director would NOT be correct. That is merely a display system. If pilots are talking in a casual way, they might call it “the box” or “the computer.”
Questions Over Absence of Cellphone Calls From Missing Flight’s Passengers
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