IAF747

I worked out why the airliner flew west south west. It was to avoid flying over land of Thailand. I suspect this hijacking/theft of a 777 was extremely well planned. I believe that calculations would have been made to ensure the pirates/terrorists had enough fuel to go where they needed to go. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/17/lawmaker-missing-airliner-may-have-landed-in-southeast-asia-for-use-as-weapon/ Malaysia doesn't have a cheap military. Well compared to NZ anyway.... They have Sukhois, MiG29s, F/A-18s..... And US radar had problems picking up the hijacked A/C on 911 too..... Didn't they?

ATC of Makaysia directing pilots to contact Vietnam ATC. Thus Goodnight. Normal as far as I am concerned. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/17/lawmaker-missing-airliner-may-have-landed-in-southeast-asia-for-use-as-weapon/ Then this: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/20/passengers-terrified-fires-lit-etihad-airways-flight-australia A fire could have been used to negotiate the pilots opening the cockpit door.

Rarely I disagree with you Matty but I'm all out here! I think NZ needs to pull its own weight. I think some people totally miss the point with having an Air Force. If you leave it to Surface Ships without an Air Defence shield it's pretty lonely unless in an US Carrier Group. I think a few dozen fighters is about what NZ needs, not 500. Honestly Australia and NZ needs to boost its defence fighters by about 200-300. Traditionally we are ANZACs and that is a close relationship. It was devastating enough to have our boys sent in to battle in Gallipoli and get mowed down. We should be clever enough to prevent that from happening again. I don't get this peace thing where people think that by disarming we will reap peace. It works the opposite. Obama has been making cuts to Defence and Putin goes on the attack. All Obama will do is speak nicely to Putin! Let him take the whole Ukraine, I am sure after a few more like that it will remind many of ancient history when Chamberlain made a "peace in our time" deal with ######! I think younger voters in the US will be getting a good education on super power politics right about now....if they ever did....

This thread is not about banning flight simulators. It is about MH370. If you desire go start a thread on banning flight simulators, but keep to the topic please in this thread.

Under a certain Goverment of NZ about 11 years ago during the Pakistani-Indian crisis NZ were offered a batch (21 I think) of F-16s from the US at a discount yet even then that particular Government refused to purchase.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-why-planes-black-box-not-able-help-1439977

Great post Greg. I'm sure the Spy Agencies of the super powers would be aware of this by now. I would have checked every possible land site by now. But saying this, hangars and camouflage may make it a somewhat difficult task. I would also wonder if a shorter runway or 'hidden runway' could have been used to totally evade S&R and the signals intelligence directorates of world Super Powers. North Korea apparently has a runway in a mountain for fighter aircraft. Iran I would say might be similar since they are mutual friends. Anything could be possible.

Great post Robert. Yes, I agree that I don't think there will be a ban either. The US can't (and shouldn't in my opinion) ban guns, so I doubt there will be a case for this unless it is in North Korea...... I doubt the pilot is responsible here. I could be wrong though as their attitude at letting ladies in the cockpit dring flight shows their disrespect for the rules and law. There are a few agendas at play here and Malaysia is highly politically charged with internal affairs over the last decade. The fact that the Malayian Government wouldn't release information last week on the flight path known is suspious in itself. Why would it do this when other countries have committed resources to finding the airliner. I think the one possibility out of all the posible expanations of where MH370 is and how it got there that hasn't been looked at yet is the Malaysian Government. It is well known that the Government of Malaysia is not truthful. To me it sounds like the Opposition Leader was deliberately put in jail. Not getting into the politics, but that is one perspective I have been seriously thinking is a possibility in all this. The Malaysian Goverment in my opinion has mislead not only the media but foreign powers who have readily offered assistance in finding the 777.

As far as I know the aircraft has disappeared. There is no disaster yet, no confirmation.

Yeah Matthew, I would say insurance companies are going to start pushing up their premiums. Like an alarm system for a car. No alarm? Higher cost!

Great to see the A10s being used effectively. When a lot of baddies are there I think it is highly effective. Now Ukraine has come on the radar screen I believe the A10 should be kept. I change my mind! I I say what a Presidential nominee said before the last US Presidential election, Russia is No.1 priority........ and I'm not getting political.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/malaysia-confirms-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-was-hijacked/story-fnizu68q-1226855485378 Well: 1. Iran has been threatening Western targets for years with their Suicide Brigades. http://www.meforum.org/1059/irans-suicide-brigades 2. At least two unauthorized Iranians were on board the flight using stolen passports. 3. The flight was headed towards Iran. To me its not far fetched that things are happening behind the scenes. If you are thinking some simmer is behind this you haven't been taking much notice of world events in the last few weeks, especially with Putin and the Crimea. Does ANYONE remember this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_8969 Little did anyone say when the 911 attacks happened after a previous _________ refused to do ______ (no swear words just removing ______s from this thread). But if you look at the above it points to a very serious problem which I shouldn't talk about here as it so easily offends people and trolls just latch on to it.

I think some people cannot fathom limits of technology today. Yes we live in high tech world, but at the very least understand that technology has been designed with the user in mind, not with hijackers or criminals. Depends if the claims of family in China that they have been able to call the phones of loved ones is true or not. Lots and lots of information surrounding this disappearance and there may be a few agendas to deal with as well. Well it's a detectives special treat. I am not too phased by the drama, just let's get bare facts on the table. But of course spy agencies and military signals intelligence services worldwide would be doing it. It's not going to be fun having a large commercial airliner rigged with explosives aimed for a capital city. Even as Iran has previously threatened nuclear strike. Lots of possibilities here and if the aircraft is in the wrong hands militaries world wide would have to be on high alert until they recover the asset.

I'm thinking like you Greg. If I was in CIA Sat intel HQ I would be checking latest sat images between Iran and Malaysia and within all countries in between. My instinct tells me if its not in the ocean it will be at an airport. But this is all based on information that may not be accurate.

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/in_all_the_commentary_about_qantas_a_number_of_persons_some_of_whom_should_/

Here: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/07/travel/best-aviation-museums/index.html?iid=article_sidebar Add your favourites or ones you know. I'll mine from Japan soon....

Yep. Sack Alan Joyce.

It is off topic. Lets not go there. As much as the A10 is wonderful, there are not many large armies today that mass tanks similar to Egypt in 1973 on the Suez Canal. And not even Israel has the A10. I can see the A10 in the same stead as the F14, a Soviet era weapon. The A10 is a beautiful weapon when used against masses of rolling tanks and troops, and vehicles. That is World War Two vintage. Today's conflicts are UAVs, precision guided weapons to avoid civilian casualties. Not even in the Balkans has the A10 been needed in the last twenty years. The battlefield has changed and technology is changing. In Afghanistan even the tunnels and caves are proving to be challenging so I doubt the A10 could be effective there.

Engine room that was a great post, but please sign your name. I thought it was required to sign your name here?

Kindly put it in context please: "After months of impasse, demands and industrial action, Mr Joyce took the extraordinary and unprecedented step of grounding the entire fleet of Qantas." AND: "His restructuring plan to make Qantas more competitive in the international market received near unanimous support from shareholders… The plans were the catalyst for two unions—the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU)—to implement rolling strikes this year. A third union, the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), made unauthorized, in-flight announcements to vent their concerns…" EDIT: You say approach, it was response to the union's militancy. Whatever side you wish to blame, there was blatant evidence that staff were campaigning against reform when Alan Joyce saw the writing on the wall with Virgin's introduction of business class on the new Airbus A330-200s. Now the losses have hit and jobs must go. Simple. Not much else to say really. Apart from the unions campaign in 2010-2011. Virgin on the other hand could employ new staff far cheaper than QANTAS was paying theirs. Joyce knew who the winners were. You may be bitter for a few days of waiting or it may be that you never liked him anyway, but the fact is critics never offer any suggestions except like you said "could have done things differently". And what exactly is 'other ways of streamlining the business'?

As far as I am aware, in the US and Asia, your possibility of getting near the cockpit, even on the ground, is 0%. If AF is 'opening the door' so to speak, US authorities, especially Homeland Security, the USAF, FBI and ATC will be very interested to know this for AF flights in and out of the continental United States. Please remember countries in Asia have the death penalty for importing drugs and they deal with terrorism quickly and punish severely. People forget how sensitive security is in Asia and it wasn't them that was hit in 911 but they know better like some countries in the a Middle East through experience. You rarely hear it in the news but if you go looking you will find plenty of information about the response of countries into security situations. France and especially AF have also similar security measures from their recent experiences. I am surprised they allow cockpit visits at all.

"Mr Abbott called on Labor to help give the airline some “legislative help” by repealing the carbon tax." http://www.perthnow.com.au/travel/travel-news/tony-abbott-against-debt-guarantee-for-qantas-after-5000-jobs-axed/story-fnjjv9zm-1226839057297 I think Alan Joyce is the only option anyway. Unless the Government really wants to slash and burn...... I doubt Alan is to blame. A few years ago he tried do something and the unions were adamant at stopping him. http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/what_qantas_needs_now_and_it_isnt_more_bloody_minded_unions/ " What Qantas needs now, and it isn’t more bloody-minded unions Andrew Bolt FEBRUARY 27 2014 (8:11am) Terry McCrann: QANTAS needs both things it is asking the Government for — a debt guarantee and the freedom to copy Virgin Australia in seeking major foreign shareholders. The results from Qantas today are also going to show with brutal clarity that even with that help, it will still face a fundamental struggle to survive… Now, there’s an important qualification to government help. The debt guarantee should operate in a strictly limited way — just to bridge the gap to the repeal of the Qantas shareholder restrictions. Once Qantas is able to get major foreign shareholders, as does Virgin, it would be completely inappropriate for that company to continue to be guaranteed by the taxpayer. Of course, all that is in the hands of the uncertain Senate after June. McCrann is right to challenge the critics of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to come up with an alternative plan that did not involve falling market share, increasing losses and fewer jobs. How stupid does that damaging 2011 industrial dispute look now? How many of the unionists today losing their jobs fought three years ago against the cost cutting the airline clearly needed?: When independent arbitrator Fair Work Australia invoked national interest in terminating all industrial action between Qantas and striking aviation unions at 2 a.m. Monday, it brought an end all industrial action in a bitter dispute that has dragged on for 14 months… Make no mistake: this was an industrial war that struck at the heart of nationalism, protectionism and old-school political divides… The long-running labor dispute at the world’s second-oldest airline reached its boiling point during the Qantas Annual General Meeting on Friday, October 28. Chief executive Alan Joyce ... accused the unions of “slowly crippling our business and trashing our brand."… His restructuring plan to make Qantas more competitive in the international market received near unanimous support from shareholders… The plans were the catalyst for two unions—the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU)—to implement rolling strikes this year. A third union, the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), made unauthorized, in-flight announcements to vent their concerns… With the ongoing dispute already costing Qantas $70 million, Joyce threatened an employee lockout, and promised to ground the airline at a cost of $20 million a day by way of forcing the government’s hand in ordering arbitration. This is exactly what happened. " Alan Joyce had that shutdown in Oct 2011, remember? Well he said QANTAS should focus on Virgin and the unions were giving Virgin a free kick. How right he was. http://www.news.com.au/finance/crunch-time-qantas-ceo-faces-shareholders-and-unions-at-agm/story-e6frfm1i-1226179319256 " Today’s hardships aren’t new for the divisive Alan Joyce. Mr Joyce dominated headlines in October 2011 when Qantas management was embroiled in a bruising battle with the unions. After months of impasse, demands and industrial action, Mr Joyce took the extraordinary and unprecedented step of grounding the entire fleet of Qantas. In all, hundreds of flights were cancelled all over the world, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded from Melbourne to Helsinki. He also locked out all striking staff members. Three days later, Qantas and the unions were hauled before Fair Work Australia which ordered all industrial action cease. The whole exercise cost Qantas $70 million. Some called Mr Joyce’s decision bold while others accused him of recklessly endangering the Australian economy. The legacy of that decision is still being debated with detractors and supporters of Mr Joyce’s strategy continuously slugging it out. " http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/the-worst-work-days-for-bosses-of-qantas-bp-jp-morgan-chase-nine-and-the-nrl/story-fn5tas5k-1226839326474

I haven't seen this decline in living standards......even Japan which suffered deflation for 6 years, they have one of the highest living standards in the world! Even their toilet seats are heated!!! Their food quality is still very high....so it is illogical to say living standards have decreased. [The cost of living has decreased except for those using green energy.......] It's called change and its about competition, not declining living standards. Products have got cheaper in line with lower wages and costs. And services. It's called competition.........

Kevin the circle of death is your catch phrase. The fact is Australia does very well and so does the USA when unions are not allowed to hold companies to ransom. SPC, Toyota, Ford, Holden, QANTAS, the building industry.....the list goes on and on. All killed by unions causing their employees to be way overpaid for the job they do and extremely generous conditions! Think about that rather than your circle of death. In fact, the circle of death is union POWER! Nothing else. When the unions were taken out of the equation in NW WA the mining industry took off. Little wonder. It is basic economics and industrial relations. And wages skyrocketed once unions were cast aside....it is market based. Demand and supply. If you go to a communist system where everything is controlled by a central agency (the state) then as well as being extremely inefficient there is no investment or development because investors are unable to operate under state owned rules.