According to the press conference, some of the objects appear to be bright, possibly indicating solid materials.

Was there any word in the news conference about the object found in Maldives? Any reporter asking about it?

Alex

Quoting boacvc10 (Reply 49):

Could be floating trash why not? There is floating trash like plastic bottles etc in the ocean that has the size of half of Europe. I wouldn't be surprised again if it is not related to MH370, like all those times before when they said they might spotted debris.

Quoting AlexA340B777 (Reply 51):

Erm..What object? didn't see any news of that.

Quoting EVAAIRBR076 (Reply 52): Could be floating trash why not?

Yes it could be trash. Those ships have to locate and investigate the debris first.

Quoting theaviator380 (Reply 53):

see post number 2 of this thread... or here:

http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/54153



some here saying it is looking very similar to an aircraft engine fire supression system.

I am just wondering if that finding is somehow being unnoticed in the ongoing investigation.


Alex


edit: typo

[Edited 2014-03-26 04:03:11]

Quoting theaviator380 (Reply 53): Quoting AlexA340B777 (Reply 51): Erm..What object? didn't see any news of that.

See MH370 Malaysia Airlines B772 Missing Enroute KUL-PEK Part 46 (by SA7700 Mar 25 2014 in Civil Aviation)

Quoting theaviator380 (Reply 53):

ah, come on dude..... There's only been 50 replies in this thread, it's not THAT much to read, lol!

head to the first ten posts.

Quoting AlexA340B777 (Reply 51):

i didn't hear anything, no. Not even in the Q&A.

interestingly enough though, the acting minister chose the words "hope against hope" if the debris is MH370.

i wonder - and he was asked - are they still thinking there could be survivors? His answer was vague- saying he too was a father, brother and understands what the families are going through.

this is a day and a half later after the PM said there was no chance of survivors.

This duality in expression troubles me.

Quoting Apprentice (Reply 39): 1. I don't think this bottle was INSTALLED on MH flight, the bottle still have the protections in places: 2 freon outputs port (red caps), the plugs are capped (black caps), and location for pressure indicating transmitter and low pressure warning switch also caped without switchs installed (blue caps). In that way bottle are delivery to install or back to a shop, placed in a protected wood container. On the other way, it looks that percursion cartridges are installed, and that is not comom.

I can't tell if there are any caps on it in the picture of it on the beach...

I can see them in the example pic certainly, but not on the actual pic.

Earlier reports suggest this is a garbage collection area, so until they find first piece from MH370 we have to keep our fingers crossed.

And dont forget there is still a lot of trash from fukushima japan, like ships, parts of houses and a lot of other stuff. 23 meters in lenght and then not be able to identify it with satellites? And they can see me having a sunbath in my back garden. And 23 meters in length? As far as i can remember i dont know crashes, except the ethiopian one that was hijacked and landed in the ocean, that gave such large pieces of debris.

[Edited 2014-03-26 04:09:37]

Both HMAS Success and Xue Long are now in the search area, they will try to locate the debris spotted on satellite.

Quoting KarelXWB (Reply 43): The Malaysian government just released another picture:

It looks a lot more 'promising' than previous debris sightings... another image:


via http://twitter.com/bevanshields85/status/448773191146561536/photo/1

I'd like to remind all of us on this forum that the only serious clue we have as to the whereabouts of Flight 370 is the
NTSB / INMARSAT sutdy, both on the *pings*'exploitation and refinements using Doppler shifts.
That clue has been deemed accurate / dependable / reasonable ... enough to cause the search to have started in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.
I gave in an earlier post a simplistic, kitchen-table explanation on how the reasoning was, of course using computers and algorythm that would solve the difficulties of wind effect and - I forgot to mention it, my apologies - the effect of a rapid magnetic variation the further south we project or re-constructed route.
This is my pencil-divider-paper strip solution :



I mentioned in that post that a study of the winds will amount to solving a vector field.
As it happens, I came across Tim Vasquez' weather maps of the area :



Tim is a meteorologist and his work on AF 447 helped debunk quite a lot of theories.
Meteorology is about, by pure coincidence, also about studying / forecasting wind fields.
This result is but one possible trajectory, based on a constant magnetic heading, canstant CAS and a constant altitude.
The resulting trajectory is an illustration of what the NTSB people could have arrived at :



He said :" we assume the aircraft flew westward and toward the Strait of Malacca as some of the Malaysian investigative reports indicate, and bypassed the 10°N waypoint shown in the image above, and that after some sort of altercation or change in plans on board a heading of 210° was selected, which would be 210°M, with heading reference in MAG ( my edit) as would be expected. This would then be engaged by putting the autopilot in heading mode in an attempt to fly out into the remote Indian Ocean. The first point in this set that would be crossed was at 5°00'N 95°22'E. Here we assume FL390 with airspeed of M.82 (TAS=468 kt).

Comment : FL 390 is a 200 hPa reference for weather charts. the difference with FL 350 / M.82, as we are above the tropopause would be minimal( constant OAT).

The above seem to match quite a few aspects of the theory : constant magnetic heading and constant speed at a constant altitude.
The theory of a great circle route is well disproved... and may I remind us that a GC route will only happen with an origin point and an arrival point, both inserted in an FMS working in LNAV mode ?
Tim's site is Here

You could also take a serious look at this page dealing with a possible contrail, and Tim's study of it... Funny enough, this also comes close to the NTSB derived-at area.



This is the text of that study :

Possible contrail study by Tim Vasquez

[Edited 2014-03-26 04:21:49]

[Edited 2014-03-26 04:24:44]

[Edited 2014-03-26 04:26:36]

Quoting flood (Reply 62): It looks a lot more 'promising' than previous debris sightings... another image:

I'll pray and light a candle. Lots of people need answers.


David

Quoting liquidair (Reply 57): This duality in expression troubles me.

It seems quite understandable to me. The head says the evidence has the aircraft coming down out reach of safety while the heart clings on to the thin hope of survivors. It's not an easy position to be in.

Quoting Pihero (Reply 63):

Thanks for that. It's not that I don't want to discuss your work on this, it's that it's outside the bounds of my knowledge. Please carry on with it.  

[Edited 2014-03-26 04:27:57]

Quoting EVAAIRBR076 (Reply 60): And they can see me having a sunbath in my back garden

The Google maps and other vendor pics of you in your back garden doing .... are taken from overflying aircraft, not from space, on an orbiting platform.

Quoting boacvc10 (Reply 66):

ok i didnt knew that, thanks for clearing that up  

Given the following assumptions:

1) The relatively large search area
2) Lack of specific starting point for the search - no known center point to start a search
3) Strong currents in the area - debris will quickly drift away from the incident site
4) Typically rough seas in the search area - will make any ship towed undersea search more difficult
5) The amount of time that has past - with each passing day, location beacon batteries are further depleted

I know this is a horrible thought, but...

What are the ODDS that MH370 is NEVER found?

Quoting David L (Reply 65): It seems quite understandable to me. The head says the evidence has the aircraft coming down out reach of safety while the heart clings on to the thin hope of survivors. It's not an easy position to be in.

Agreed. It's not easy trying to meet the realistic outcome theories of the media and public at this point while still respecting the sensitivities of still grieving family members. Really no way to please everyone.

Quoting c680 (Reply 68): What are the ODDS that MH370 is NEVER found?

If you ask me for my completely uneducated guess, the chance is 95% that MH370 will be found. You can still use side-scan sonar, even years after the crash.


And Pihero - I admire your drawing! 


David

Quoting flyingturtle (Reply 70): And Pihero - I admire your drawing!

You flatterer you !   
Actually, That's way beyond my computer skills.

Quoting flyingturtle (Reply 70): If you ask me for my completely uneducated guess, the chance is 95% that MH370 will be found. You can still use side-scan sonar, even years after the crash.

And who pays for years of searching? Australia? Boeing? Malaysia? China?

Something tells me the trial lawyers will not be contributing to that fund!   

Quoting David L (Reply 65):

Quoting davs5032 (Reply 69): 2010

meh. Maybe not start making a definitive statement before would have been the better option.

i find the acting minister's choice of words far more sensitive and wise as opposed to the absolute terminology used by the PM.

this is irregardless of pings, algorithm and politics, its simple humanity.

Quoting liquidair (Reply 73): meh. Maybe not start making a definitive statement before would have been the better option.

And that would be construed by many here and in the press as "hiding information". As someone else said, damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Quoting c680 (Reply 72): And who pays for years of searching? Australia? Boeing? Malaysia? China?

Even if the official search is called off, it doesn't prevent privateers from trying to find it.
Even if they lack the resources of the current search operations who knows what technology that
will be available in 10-20 years and onwards from now. Perhaps "tomorrow's" technology will
be advanced enough to search large areas underwater in a good way.

Maybe some sort of advanced underwater equivalent of a UAV

Quoting c680 (Reply 72): And who pays for years of searching? Australia? Boeing? Malaysia? China?

I read (on a.net, I think) that the cost of the AF447 operation was US$140 million, shared between airline, aircraft manufacturer and one other party (accident investigation authority?)

Australian authorities said on Wednesday that three more objects had been spotted by aircraft searching for a Malaysian jet missing in the southern Indian Ocean.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...es-australia-idUSBREA2P0P420140326

Quoting boacvc10 (Reply 45): Wow, look at the scale of that picture .... 76000 meters across. Any object that shows up in that frame, at that scale from a Low Earth Orbiting sensor, is significant. .... If it is not an aircraft debris field, could there really be any other explanation?

I don't think there could be, no. To see THAT sort of debris configuration THAT far out at sea? That's MH370.  

Quoting c680 (Reply 72): And who pays for years of searching? Australia? Boeing? Malaysia? China?

I thought MH insurance companies pay for most of it and rest by Malaysian Government. Once debris field is located a contract will be awarded to defense contractors/oil companies for recovery. Boeing's insurance company pays only if there is a claim against company.

"...Trust me, I work for the Government..!"

That seems to be the implied message from the talking heads on the TV news, especially from the politicians.

Has anyone seen any clear pictures of any of the floating debris, other than grainy satellite pictures?

We are told about wooden pallets, big objects more than 20 m long and whatever else; but as yet there is not a single high-quality photo that has been released to the public. Why?

With aircraft having taken footage of at least some of the debris, why don't we get to see at least a few photos from that?

Quoting YoungMans (Reply 80): why don't we get to see at least a few photos from that?

We do get to see photos. If we don't get to see more or better ones, it's maybe because keeping us here up to date is not their first concern? Just an idea.

Quoting YoungMans (Reply 80): With aircraft having taken footage of at least some of the debris, why don't we get to see at least a few photos from that?

Because, quite simply, we don't matter and we are not entitled to it.

Those concerned with SAR efforts and the investigative bodies DO 'get to see' them. As nothing more than members of the concerned online community - we don't.

Quoting David L (Reply 74):

on this occasion i disagree. I think it would have been better for the PM to confirm only that Inmarsat had narrowed the path down to the southern corridor and give an approximate position, calculated fuel load at last ping, and flight time to nearest land.

how on earth could that be construed as hiding something?

Quoting c680 (Reply 68): What are the ODDS that MH370 is NEVER found?

Not finding an 777 sized airplane is unacceptable and they will have to do whatever it takes to find it.

Quoting c680 (Reply 72): And who pays for years of searching? Australia? Boeing? Malaysia? China?

Airbus payed a lot of money for the AF447 search. As long as there are enough parties out there who want to find it, they will share those costs.

Quoting David L (Reply 65): It seems quite understandable to me. The head says the evidence has the aircraft coming down out reach of safety while the heart clings on to the thin hope of survivors.

There's a good neuroscience article here on investigations / desire for closure / tunnel vision: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...-breeds-certainty/article17666325/

Did the officials cross check the satellite photos with the currents (Indian ocean gyre) and the garbage patches within and so made sure it's not just ocean garbage floating around?

Sorry if this has been discussed already, but I can't see anything about it in the current thread

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel...quawk/story-fnizu68q-1226865138407

OFFICIALS have revealed missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 gave off an unexplained signal minutes after the plane beamed its last scheduled “ping” to satellites.
The Boeing 777 broadcast a series of hourly “hello signals” to satellites for seven hours after it vanished from the radar. The pings were used by British satellite company Inmarsat to triangulate the current search area.
But last night Malaysian officials said the plane also beamed an unusual “partial” ping just eight minutes after what was thought to be its final transmission.
“There is evidence of a partial ‘handshake’ (ping) between the aircraft and ground station at 00:19 GMT,” said acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
“This transmission is not understood and is subject to further ongoing work”
Thomas Withington, a defence electronics analyst, told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper: “It sounds like the aircraft began to squawk a message and for some reason this was curtailed.”
“It could be because the aircraft was at a catastrophic phase of flight — that something was causing it to crash — or there could be some atmospheric disturbance.”

Quoting Trin (Reply 78): Quoting boacvc10 (Reply 45): .... If it is not an aircraft debris field, could there really be any other explanation?I don't think there could be, no. To see THAT sort of debris configuration THAT far out at sea? That's MH370.

Your reasoning is persuasive. I'm inclined to agree. And if the debris field is large, searching ships should be able to find it (whereas so far aircraft have mostly not been able to spot individual anomalies shown on satellite images).

By the way, just read on a French site that the family of an American on board are starting legal action against the carrier and the manufacturer.

In French (see last paragraph):

http://www.air-journal.fr/2014-03-26...un-satellite-francais-5102631.html

[Edited 2014-03-26 05:43:12]

Quoting Starlionblue (Reply 26): On a 737, they are in the wheel well. On a 777, I don't know.

According to an FAA technical manual the two engine fire extinguisher bottles are located together some 80 feet from the engines. I would presume that places them somewhere in the fuselage.

Interesting articale. It is consistent with my speculation about the cause of MH 370 crash.

Flight MH370: Pilot in wrong state of mind to fly - friend
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/air-accide...cle.cfm?c_id=665&objectid=11226334

Quoting AirKorea (Reply 90): Interesting articale.

There's something there that doesn't make sense. The FO had 103 hours on type, but the article (and others) keep saying that this was his first flight without a check pilot. As far as I know, a pilot transitioning to a new type would not have 103 hours flight time with a check pilot - if he was that bad, it would be sim time. I assume what they're misreporting is that it was his first time in a 2 person flight crew, and that his previous time was as relief in a 3 person crew.

Quoting Trin (Reply 78): I don't think there could be, no. To see THAT sort of debris configuration THAT far out at sea? That's MH370.

Yes, it could be it, but there are locations in the oceans where flotsum just collects. I'm not sure if all of them are as well known as the ones in the Pacific and Atlantic. Crossing my fingers and hoping we soon get some answers, but I think it's dark there now.

Quoting KarelXWB (Reply 77):

I think Aus authorities should find debri first, pull it up from ocean and then declare they have found debris from MH370.

Quoting phantomx18 (Reply 2): Posting again from previous thread lock: Object washed ashore in the Maldives - Baarah Beach(not sure about this news source, never heard of them before): http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/54153 . .thought to be bomb or mine, but sure looks like this: http://quick.aero/sterling/blog/how-...658848.pagespeed.ic.Fm-5teWM9D.jpg A a fire suppression bottle. . . similar to what would be found on the missing MH370

This post needs to be 'upvoted' (to take from another website I visit), for visibility...

Can ANYONE with aircraft maintenance background confirm whether or not this item looks similar to an aircraft fire suppression bottle? The searches I've done online are eerily similar to this object.

If this was found in Maldives, should that nor warrant at least a look from the investigators!?

1011yyz

Quoting Pihero (Reply 63): This result is but one possible trajectory, based on a constant magnetic heading, canstant CAS and a constant altitude.

Please allow me to ask why was the aircraft using a "constant magnetic heading" ?
Arre you saying that the best track that matches the RTD data to within x nm is based on that assumption?

I would have thought that an FMS uses true heading internally, computed from the great circle that passes through the starting and ending coordinates. If someone wanted to use a magnetic heading, I assume the FMS would convert back and forth using an up-to-date table of magnetic declinations. But doesn't that method of flying over long distances mean that you cannot know where you will end up?

Do pilots use that? Just curious.

Quoting lnglive1011yyz (Reply 94):

That thing which has been washed to the beach looks little smaller than fire suppression ball/bottle. Also it's almost certain what approximate area aircraft ditched in the ocean and this place near Maldives is atleast 3000 miles away for SAR area? is it possible for debris to spread that far in span of 16 days? or it just some junk from some ship or even someone done it for publicity?

Quoting lnglive1011yyz (Reply 94): Quoting phantomx18 (Reply 2): Posting again from previous thread lock: Object washed ashore in the Maldives - Baarah Beach(not sure about this news source, never heard of them before): http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/54153 . .thought to be bomb or mine, but sure looks like this: http://quick.aero/sterling/blog/how-...658848.pagespeed.ic.Fm-5teWM9D.jpg A a fire suppression bottle. . . similar to what would be found on the missing MH370 This post needs to be 'upvoted' (to take from another website I visit), for visibility... Can ANYONE with aircraft maintenance background confirm whether or not this item looks similar to an aircraft fire suppression bottle? The searches I've done online are eerily similar to this object. If this was found in Maldives, should that nor warrant at least a look from the investigators!? 1011yyz

It does look similar to a fire suppression bottle, but it also looks similar to a rocket/satellite spherical fuel tank which is normally made of titanium and survives reentry quite often. There have been at least 6 satellites or rocket bodies reentering since December 2013 that had tracks that ended in the Indian ocean.

The article above has a followup link in it now which states the Maldives defence force determined it wasn't a bomb and removed it to a military base for identification.

Quoting lnglive1011yyz (Reply 94): This post needs to be 'upvoted' (to take from another website I visit), for visibility... Can ANYONE with aircraft maintenance background confirm whether or not this item looks similar to an aircraft fire suppression bottle? The searches I've done online are eerily similar to this object.

I hope you don't visit threads relating to MH370 on reddit. It is incredibly frustrating to see mountains of misinformation getting upvoted.

Anyhow, someone PPRuNe claims to be mx said that the bottle look too small to be for a 777, and someone else said that the APU bottles are the same size as the engine bottles. It's possible someone faked that picture just to cause a fuss.

[Edited 2014-03-26 06:23:54]