MH 777 missing - MH370 media statement

[MEL_Traveller]

I won't make any judgments on this.

I'll call it.

I wouldn't want to fly via KUL at this point in time. Too many unanswered questions, too many conflicting reports. Doesn't really sound like they know what they're doing. And doesn't sound like security is top notch.

 

[Anna]

I generally prefer to hypothesise about incompetence rather than conspiracy. So, following on from regularly seeing pax with devices switched on after being told to turn them off, and undoing seatbelts when the sign is switched on - my hypothesis is that someone going to China stocked up their check-in luggage with household items that exploded. Not terrorism but accident. There is a long warning list of things that aren't supposed to be packed (if you fly QF anyway). But we all know that pax regularly ignore all sorts of safety warnings. And we also now know that pre departure checks at KL are not as good as we would hope they would be.

However if it is terrorism and the terrorists were Thais, possibly they may have chosen a MAS flight as a target because of the unrest on the Thai - Malaysian border. And if they were trying to turn the plane around, possibly they were trying to go back to KL to target the Petronas Towers.

Well it's just as good as anyone else's speculation.

 

[Rox]

Some pretty scary anecdotes of lax security in various airports including australia being related on ABC 774 this morning.

 

[drron]

And why would a Uighur group (if they had the ability/inclination) target an aircraft, from what is likely to be the only country in the region with even the remote possibility of a sympathetic government ear to their cause (based on religious affiliation)? I rule the Pakistan & Indonesian governments out, as they have strong ties to Beijing, which they won't want to impact by bringing up "Uighur dissatisfaction" in dialogues.

Because Malaysia has deported wanted Uyghur's back to China on at least 2 occasions-noted in my previous link re terrorist threats.

 

[Jack_OC]

And why would a Uighur group (if they had the ability/inclination) target an aircraft, from what is likely to be the only country in the region with even the remote possibility of a sympathetic government ear to their cause (based on religious affiliation)? I rule the Pakistan & Indonesian governments out, as they have strong ties to Beijing, which they won't want to impact by bringing up "Uighur dissatisfaction" in dialogues.

I'm not saying it was terrorism in general or the Uyghurs in particular - in fact my comment about striking fear into the Western world was just throwing out yet another possibility - that it could have been terrorism with no connection to China. However, the Uyghurs shouldn't be ruled out just because Malaysia is predominantly Muslim - maybe they're upset with Malaysia for not supporting them even though there is a religious connection? All just possibilities anyway, and IMHO a straightforward accident is probably just as likely.

 

[medhead]

Oh <redacted profanity>. Why the hell would they attack predominately Chinese people if they were trying to strike fear into the western world. For all their randomness and indiscriminate nature of the physical attacks, those attacks are actually targetted. So start with who is the target and work backwards. IF, big if, this was an attack they certainly have not targetted the western world, which seems to discount that as a possibility.

 

[Jack_OC]

Some pretty scary anecdotes of lax security in various airports including australia being related on ABC 774 this morning.

I have never understood why security for domestic flights in Oz is so lax. All of the 9-11 flights were domestic, so it defies logic that you should have less stringent security procedures for domestic flights. Obviously you can't insist on people showing passports when travelling domestically, but in the US and EU you still have to show a drivers licence or some other official form of photo ID. And everywhere else I've been has the same restrictions on liquids etc for Dom and Intnl. Why not here?

 

[drron]

Very interesting comment over on FT quoting a 777 captain-
FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - MH370 [772] KUL-PEK Missing ~1730 GMT 7 Mar 2014: SAR Underway [read wiki 1st]

 

[Jack_OC]

Oh <redacted profanity>. Why the hell would they attack predominately Chinese people if they were trying to strike fear into the western world.

As I've already pointed out, this incident (whatever happened) has struck fear right across the developed world. So if it was a terrorist attack with that objective, it has very much succeeded.

Btw, I grew up in a place and time where terrorist attacks were common. To suggest they are always targeted at specific groups of people is unbelievably naive. Often they just want to generate fear and unrest, and the victims are indeed just caught up in it by random chance.

Anyway, my point is that no-one here has enough info to rule anything in or out. I find it bizarre how people can get so insistent that something could not have happened, when in fact they have no idea.

 

[jlien]

Very interesting comment over on FT quoting a 777 captain-
FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - MH370 [772] KUL-PEK Missing ~1730 GMT 7 Mar 2014: SAR Underway [read wiki 1st]

Wow that's a very interesting article indeed.

 

[Robbi]

Some pretty scary anecdotes of lax security in various airports including australia being related on ABC 774 this morning.

What were the Oz examples?

 

[Happy Trails]

As I've already pointed out, this incident (whatever happened) has struck fear right across the developed world. ...

It hasn't struck any fear into me.
I'll happily fly 777s or MH via KUL.

 

[drron]

MH has a history of security breaches in NZ-
Malaysia Airlines has previous conviction for 'falsifying passport details to allow passenger on board' | South China Morning Post

 

[medhead]

As I've already pointed out, this incident (whatever happened) has struck fear right across the developed world. So if it was a terrorist attack with that objective, it has very much succeeded.

Btw, I grew up in a place and time where terrorist attacks were common. To suggest they are always targeted at specific groups of people is unbelievably naive. Often they just want to generate fear and unrest, and the victims are indeed just caught up in it by random chance.

Anyway, my point is that no-one here has enough info to rule anything in or out. I find it bizarre how people can get so insistent that something could not have happened, when in fact they have no idea.

You grew up in a place? How big was this place? You talk about fear and unrest in a place that is targetted versus causing fear in the entire world. You may actually notice that I mentioned the indiscriminate nature of the attacks in my post. But that the attacks are targetted. That means they attack indiscriminately in the place you grew up in to cause fear in that place. But did not attack other random places to cause fear in the place you grew up in. As I said, it is silly to suggest such people just blow things up randomly, for the hell of it without a plan or target.

 

[UP4014]

What were the Oz examples?

How about I boarded a QF Dash8 in Moree last Friday, nil security. Show your boarding pass to the baggage handler and find your seat.

Matt

 

[mrpooky]

I have never understood why security for domestic flights in Oz is so lax. All of the 9-11 flights were domestic, so it defies logic that you should have less stringent security procedures for domestic flights. Obviously you can't insist on people showing passports when travelling domestically, but in the US and EU you still have to show a drivers licence or some other official form of photo ID. And everywhere else I've been has the same restrictions on liquids etc for Dom and Intnl. Why not here?

In both AU and NZ it's even possible to get on some regional flights without going through a security scanning point at all.

One can go to the airport, check in -- sometimes not requiring photo ID -- wait for the boarding call and get on the plane. And not just small planes, either.

mrpooky.

 

[Warks]

Has this been posted before? Search the satellite imagery and tag what you think could be debris.
Tomnod

Crowd sourcing the search? Good if it leads to something.

 

[harvyk]

Very interesting comment over on FT quoting a 777 captain-
FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - MH370 [772] KUL-PEK Missing ~1730 GMT 7 Mar 2014: SAR Underway [read wiki 1st]

A very good post and sums up my thoughts on the current hysteria perfectly. Beyond a couple of document irregularities, so far the worlds media have criticised all other airlines in the world which fly 777's for not grounding them (despite no evidence that they are at fault, plus if it was a terrorist attack like the same newspapers have also suggested, it's hardly the fault of the 777), they have jumped on terrorists since it must be them, they have called MH and Malaysia 3rd world. There has also been news articles with very misleading headlines (I won't publish a link to the tripe, but news.com.au basically had a headline rubbishing black boxes stating how useless they where)

I personally surprised that we have yet to hear any theories about how aliens traveled from the moon to abduct everyone on board, it seems just as likely a scenario as some of the other "expert opinions" out there...

 

[prozac]

This is just an online forum where most of us do not know a lot about flying other than how to collect points and trying to use those points for premium seats. Our opinions otherwise count for little esp. in regards to this tragedy of a missing a/c and the lives it carried. We are merely engaging in some social interaction.

At the end of the day we all know cough about what's happened. Pretending otherwise, you need a reality check.

There is no need to get angry with each other or engage in personal attacks. Let's be civil and respect one another's opinion please.

 

[OATEK]

I think the MH media statements are not helping much. First the two people with "stolen" passports are Asian, then not Asian and one more like Balotelli the African/Italian footballer, and now the latest news from friends of the two seems to be that they were Iranian?

As far as speculation goes, I can't help but feel these two are going to turn out to be just a couple of victims.