***
We're on the road, as the previous post shows. This morning, as I sat at my laptop in the motel breakfast room, a stranger came over and asked, "Have they found the plane yet?" He proceeded to offer his theory, which involved UFOs and aliens.
It seems like everyone is talking about the plane, that this mystery has overshadowed all other subjects. It makes me wonder what we're not talking about as the national imagination is fully immersed in this singular puzzle. One could construct a conspiracy theory on the foundation that this is a deliberate distraction from something else that they don't want you to notice.
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71 comments:
One of the possible destinations is Kazakhstan.
Is this a distraction from the Ukraine? Or launched to take advantage of the distraction created by events in the Ukraine?
Plenty more places the plane could land. It just couldn't take off again.
Isn't this how Lost goes from the POV of people not on the plane?
"The plane! The plane!"
It's the Republicans trying to distract us from the success of the Affordable Care Act.
In that part of the world there are people who flat do not like Chinese people. Any Chinese people.
It is possible that either one of the pilots, who was already there, or a passenger, hijacked the plane, shut off the cabin air and took it up to 45,000 feet, which would kill everybody in the cabin, and then just set the plane on autopilot in a southwesterly direction out over the Indian Ocean.
The highjacker may have bailed out while the plane was still over Malaya, or it mayt have been a murder-suicide mission all along. Who knows.
Speaking of Ukraine, I take it that when the good professor spoke in defense of the electoral process she was not thinking of a vote like the one taking place on Sunday in the Crimean. Of course that is the Putinesque model Yanukovich was preparing for 2015. I ask only because the good professor has been distracted since those young days when she berated the Ukrainian protesters.
In that part of the world there are people who flat do not like Chinese people. Any Chinese people.
It is possible that either one of the pilots, who was already there, or a passenger, hijacked the plane, shut off the cabin air and took it up to 45,000 feet, which would kill everybody in the cabin, and then just set the plane on autopilot in a southwesterly direction out over the Indian Ocean.
The highjacker may have bailed out while the plane was still over Malaya, or it mayt have been a murder-suicide mission all along. Who knows.
I'm fascinated with the arcs from the last ping to the satellite, but what about the arcs from the previous pings? Let's see them also.
My current theory is a flight through Burma and west along the Himalayas.
In other (?) news, Kremlin gets DDoS’d by Anonymous Caucasus, via Instapundit. If MH370 is prelude to a terrorist attack, my guess is that it will be aimed at Russia.
Speaking of the Ukraine; how come we tell the Puerto Ricans we will go along with whatever they chose to vote for themselves, but no way can the people of Crimea have that pivilege?
That guy beat me to it.
But I was thinking aliens from the future, who are either trying to save us from catastrophe or plotting our doom.
There's a lot of evidence, but the tin-foil crowd doesn't want the truth to come out.
given that theory, I assume you are going west?
Is it Thunderball, Millennium, or something else?
The Daily Mail's take: There's a big-ass radar in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
And Malaysian security guards wear big-ass hats.
I think it was an inside job, literally. From the beginning, the most likely and most obvious scenario involved one, or possibly both, pilots. Who knows what the ultimate objective is but infidels killed, world on edge, is enough to get the 72 virgins.
How was there no text no message no call for 7 hours?
As long as you're driving, some tips.
One could construct a conspiracy theory on the foundation that this is a deliberate distraction from something else that they don't want you to notice.
#BENGHAZI?
The interesting part has been watching the CNN Newsbabes so seriously stuck in a real investigative news puzzel with many complex angles and dealing with actually intelligent guests.
It is so new to them that they flub around and act extra serious and profound while revealing this is a totally unfamiliar activity.
What if they get a taste for real analysis and start leveling it on the usual Dems storylines? Watch out Roger Ailes.
Directionality in the the 3D grid relative to the Earth's axis at typical jetliner speeds doesn't matter so much once you are in a gravity well. Directionality can matter in the well however.
The aliens tried to impart this along with a vague, pan-galactic speciesism, which was quickly discarded by me and the other captives as rhetoric to disguise their true intentions.
Tune in next week for more.
Plane taken by pilots who have been paid to deliver in central asia. Plane quickly ascends to high altitude, pilots turn off oxygen in rear of plane and wait for the death of passengers and crew. Plane descends to lower altitude and bodies of passengers and crew are heaved out allowing the lighter plane to travel further. Plane lands in central asia where pilots are not paid but rather killed. Plane now in hands of terrorists who will pack plane w/ explosives and fly it to Beijing where they will blow the shit out of somebody.
Or maybe it's all a distraction from the O̶b̶a̶m̶a̶ ̶B̶u̶d̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶S̶e̶e̶s̶ ̶D̶e̶f̶i̶c̶i̶t̶ ̶R̶e̶d̶u̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶F̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶H̶e̶a̶l̶t̶h̶ ̶L̶a̶w̶ real ObamaCare distraction.
Garage is having a meltdown. Maybe over WV-3.
The plane can land at a smaller runway but could not take off.
Nelson DeMille has a couple of novels on similar scenarios.
I have no ideas, suggestions or theories but I feel terrible for the families. They must have been on an emotional roller coaster this week. My heart aches for them.
It is unbelievable they don't have a tracking system on these planes that cannot be turned off.
garage mahal said...
It's almost like it's impossible for you not to be stupid.
garage mahal said...
It's almost like it's impossible for you not to be stupid.
I think we will see more proof of what happened to the plane before we will know if any of this ever happens.
From the article:
President Obama told Congress Tuesday the nation could inch closer to a balanced budget in a decade, thanks (in part) to billions of dollars in savings made possible through provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
The president may see the proof he seeks before leaving office in 2017, but experts say it is still too soon to calculate how the embattled 2010 law will impact the overall budget in 2024.
But the Congressional Budget Office, which serves as the scorekeeper for the legislative branch, believes it will take several more years before the government can accurately gauge the enduring fiscal impacts of the president’s signature legislative achievement.
Obama’s annual budget, which includes $3.9 trillion in spending, predicts the ACA will trim deficits over the next decade
For the time being, Obama’s calculations are intended to help Democrats during their election-year storytelling as they woo voters to turn out in November.
Been seeing a lot of "could", "may", "believes", "predicts", and "storytelling" whenever I read about what happened to the missing plane.
"Have they found the plane yet?"
I would have said yes, and then run away. The guy is probably a little nutty, and comments at Althouse.
If you needed a plane for a terrorist act why do this?
This plan would have huge risk of failure at multiple points, start a massive search effort, create an international media storm, and cause anti-terrorism organizations world wide to put their guard up.
Why not just lease a plane?
A mobster might send mice to steal a taxicab if they could do it.
Bob Boyd please stop talking sense. Takes all the fun out of for so many people.
Anyway if the people on the plane are not dead, they are in grave danger of being so soon.
China is not going to take this kindly. Or quietly.
Well I'd say the possibility that it went into orbit is quite small.
Diego Garcia is on that map
As I said before, we'll find the plane or it will find us.
One thought overrides all the others. If the plane was still airborne 7 hours after going dark, it was trying to go some place. If the object was to crash the plane where it would never be found, it could have done that in far less time.
I am still not convinced the two Iranians with the stolen passports are innocent victims. Their reservations were made by an Iranian in Thailand, and the money (cash) paid to a travel agent by another Iranian. Why didn't the travelers pay with their own funds? Something smells here.
There appeared to be a concerted effort by Malaysian officials and western governments to discount terrorism in the initial phases of the crisis. They should revisit that possibility with a more open mind.
Sorun said...
The Daily Mail's take: There's a big-ass radar in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
The Daily Mail's ability to screw up basic scientific and technical issues knows no bounds. It bothers me that in the past Althouse has linked to the 'scientific reporting' of the Mail. On the other hand, if you want to see the surgically enhanced breasts of celebrities there is no finer publication.
"It seems like everyone is talking about the plane, that this mystery has overshadowed all other subjects."
I'm not.
Bob Boyd. Leasing a 777 is not like going into Avis. It takes credit, a lot of credit, and initial payments and lawyers and....well, hopefully you get it.
@ David
Sorry. You're right. How's this?
Obama did it. He's going to load it with hyper-liberal, super-bossy, fire-proof robots and crash it into Texas so he can declare martial law and grab our guns and something about FEMA Camps I think.
Betamax3000 is in on it.
Why is Althouse inviting trolling on her own blog? To distract from the fact she is in Ogallalla en route to Colorado, where she no doubt wants to test the new products that were the subject of her previous post. Spring break indeed!
There is a lack of imagination. That lack is often a problem, like on 9/11 and in Benghazi.
Sorun said...
The Daily Mail's take: There's a big-ass radar in the middle of the Indian Ocean."
Another paper identified that point as the zenith position of the Inmarsat satellite. I believe it was the Guardian which has had the best coverage so far. The limits (improperly identified as the corridor) appears to be the coverage horizon of that satellite.
I have run across too much reporting, even among so called newspapers of record by those who have no knowledge of technical issues. I mean zero knowledge of the physics or the terminology of aviation or space systems.
I'm just saying there's got to be an easier way to get an airplane.
If you're going to land it somewhere to arm it and take off again then you'd probably need the cooperation of a government somewhere. If you had that, couldn't the same government provide a plane to begin with?
I had a sock puppet once. He was my friend. He had another friend who was also a sock.
The Hunt for Red October scenario.
Just one story said once that the plane was carrying twenty of China's cyber warriors. So instantly I see twenty kidnapped cyber warriors being debriefed somewhere. Or twenty defecting cyber warriors being debriefed somewhere. The plane disappeared from snooping systems that we think are everywhere - that is a kind of event almost says "cyber warriors at work".
Don't worry, Bob Boyd. Obama will give the Interwebs to France soon. All will be well.
@Bob Ellison
That's right. Because the French did such an amazing job innovating wheel skirts for the Citroen.
The good news is blog commenters will only have to comment 3 days a week and will get paid vacations.
"Airport 1977" (from IMDB): "Art thieves hijack a 747, hit fog and crash into the ocean, trapping them and the passengers under 100 feet of water."
Add sharks in the water. Not my real theory.
Ann,
Yes they could have even landed on a ROAD, as long as it's a few thousand yards of strait road and no telephone polls or such.
But also Ann, many times in WW2 in the Pacific B-24s and B-17s, flying in fog or night, ran into jungle mountain sides and crashed. Thing was, the jungle would SWALLOW UP the plane and rescue aircraft would fly right over and never see them.
Now and then they find one in the jungle. I've even got a book, "Lost in Shangri La' about a WW2 DC-3 that did crash in New Guinea and three survived. Rescue planes flew right over that DC-3 and never saw it.
I dunno where that plane is. Maybe in a few days they will find wreckage in the Indian Ocean. Maybe find it on some old runway. Who knows.
But I do know it has been speculated to death.
ARM: "The Daily Mail's ability to screw up basic scientific and technical issues knows no bounds."
"..knows no bounds."
Tell me ARM, has the Daily Mail ever told it's readers that hey, we've got all the facts and the facts are in line with what we've claimed but gosh darn it we lost all our data?
Like CRU-East Anglia?
Yet, somehow, I'm betting you don't have much of a problem with something like that.
But please, do go on and regale us with your dedication to basic science and not screwing things up.
Comedy Stage Open Mic Night Comic says:
So: I'm in the basement, reading the internet about this giant passenger plane that goes missing over the ocean, and -- well -- I can't masturbate to that (nervous laughter). Sad, sad. One thing for certain: the difference in price between first-class seats and coach seems a bit moot at this point (laughter). Still, who knows? The extra leg-room in First Class might come in handy when you're kissing your ass goodbye (groans). I know, I know, poor taste: that joke is terribly insensitive to any paraplegic passengers (laughter). "Excuse me, I can't move below the waist: can you kiss my ass good-bye for me?" (more groans) Tough to be a stewardess in these conditions, very tough (laughter). By God, I would hope at this point that all the alcoholic beverages in the tiny little bottles would be free-of-charge; (laughter) no time for a slice of lime, thanks, just give it to me straight (laughter). Although a packet of crackers might be nice...
Some people have even been suggesting UFOs: who knows? maybe for first-class passengers the aliens warm the anal probes first (laughter). Of all the planes traveling through the skies, though, why this particular one? A cargo crate of mad Malaysian monkeys, maybe, for the Space Kids? (laughter) Space Kids love monkeys, love them (laughter). Again: who knows? Although if I were the Captain of an interstellar UFO looking for a plane to take I would believe that I would think big: a plane with Scarlett Johansson on it, perhaps (laughter): yes, yes -- even space aliens think Scarlett Johansson is hot (laughter). Could turn out that "Mars Needs Women," after all (laughter).
Hell, maybe I'd go bigger: Air Force One would be quite the catch (laughter), I'm sure a lot of Republicans wouldn't mind (laughter): make that "Mars Needs Mom-Jeans." (laughter) Maybe Obama was really just a space alien masquerading as an earthling all along, it might explain some things (laughter) -- although you would think that -- with all their high technology -- they could forge a better birth certificate (groans). And maybe Universal Health Care was just a ruse to keep a clean feeding supply for our alien enemies (laughter): aliens certainly don't want the human equivalent of Mad Cow disease with their Human Escargot (laughter): yes, the aliens like French food -- they ARE aliens. Duh. (laughter) Thank you, it's been wonderful to see you all...
As is normal for me, I was going to ignore Garage. But this quote from his linked Real Clear Politics article stuck in my craw.
"The president may see the proof he seeks before leaving office in 2017, but experts say it is still too soon to calculate how the embattled 2010 law will impact the overall budget in 2024."
Really? I mean really!?! Do you really need "experts" to tell you that its too soon to tell how the ACA "will impact the budget in 2024." On top of all the other changes to the ACA that will happen between now and 2024, will there even be a budget in 2024.
Having seen it work up close for a year and a half, I can tell you: The Malaysian government is an efficient, well-run criminal enterprise. I am certain they know exactly who did it, and why; and are being obtuse because it serves their best interests to play dumb.
Is the 777 owned by MAS or is it leased? The owner is going to get a big fat check.
"I am still not convinced the two Iranians with the stolen passports are innocent victims."
Now, boy, wouldn't that suck? Your friends spend months concocting a way for you and your buddy to get to your destination without drawing attention and the frickin' plane gets hijacked by aliens from Alpha Centauri. Bummer.
To distract from the fact she is in Ogallalla en route to Colorado
I told you marijuana, kissing, and no television was a theme.
And now it's aliens and conspiracy theories.
Do I have to connect the dots?
How was there no text no message no call for 7 hours?
That's the first thought I had at the beginning. Perhaps they were all dead. I think one of the pilots may have taken them to a high altitude and depressurized the aircraft. In 3 minutes anyone without an oxygen mask is unconscious. I can imagine stewards and the other pilot pounding on the outside of the locked cockpit door until they slide to the floor.
If it was pilot suicide the Malaysian government would probably try to cover that up. Bad for the tourism bucks if the pilots on Malaysian airlines are prone to murder-suicide.
If the airplane is in the ocean we may never know what happened. A needle in a haystack would be easier.
http://www.hark.com/clips/wywpnnrjkp-the-plane-arrives
Best two seconds of my day right there.
From Garage's link:
"For the time being, Obama’s calculations are intended to help Democrats during their election-year storytelling as they woo voters to turn out in November."
Keyword: Storytelling
I'm convinced!
Wait.,.. there's more!
But the Congressional Budget Office, which serves as the scorekeeper for the legislative branch, believes it will take several more years before the government can accurately gauge the enduring fiscal impacts of the president’s signature legislative achievement.
No way.
Yes, the Health Care Law Worsens the Deficit.
Sadly, there are real people on that aircraft. If they are alive, I hope they can be rescued.
So, I'm starting to subscribe to the extra fuel, and they landed in central asia theory.
The really scary part is that we will never recover the flight recorders. We will never fully understand how this take-over was accomplished.
Unfortunately, April, Grackle probably has it right. The passengers are easier to deal with when their dead. that's why ,I thin, the pilot took the plane up over 40,000 feet. Just to make sure. And the did a rapid descent to below 20,000 feet.
If it was stolen, then for what purpose...to fly into what structure....A dam? Nuclear power plant? Tiananmen Square? Red Square? Tel Aviv? New Delhi?
Rusty - I agree. Dead passengers are easier to deal with.
anyway...
If they wanted a 777 aircraft (whoever "they" are) - why? I shudder to think of the available options for terror.
"I can imagine stewards and the other pilot pounding on the outside of the locked cockpit door until they slide to the floor."
I'm not sure a pilot can do that. He might disable the warning system, but the O2 system in the cabin is independent of the cockpit. One can reach up and pull the mask down, starting O2 flow. Plus, there are "walk around" O2 bottles in various places in the cabin.
Anybody remember the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball?
Michael,
So? And the Saudi funders of AlQ are suddenly short of money?
Paul,
The DC-3 was 65' long, had a 95' wingspan, and a gross takeoff weight of 25,000 lbs.
The 777 ranges between 200' and 250', depending on the model, with a wingpan of 200' or more, and the smallest variant has a gross takeoff weight of 545,000 lbs.
More than double the size in each dimension, and an entire order of magnitude greater in weight. Not strictly impossible but much, much harder for the jungle to hide.
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