Quoting oxymorph (Reply 66): 2) The loiter time raises suspicion. It seems perhaps this (if it indeed happened) was a moment of decision/indecision. It was here where SAT was re-powered as well |
There was no loiter time. When you put the flight path together from the turnaround the plane was flying at its maximum possible speed all the way to METAR/POVUS. Even plotting it out at max possible speeds for a 777, not everything attributed to that flight path could have taken place in the time allotted. Passing south of Penang and flying at low altitudes stretches things beyond what appears possible. One of those two events probably never happened.
Download this KML file and load it with Google Earth and you can see the calculations.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kz3cm0ef778btgz/11-14%20
MH-370.kmz?dl=0
Here's a timeline:
11:56:08 As the engines were started, 9MMRO initiated an ACARS login.
0:27:27 ATC request for push back begins at 16:27:27.
0:28:00 MH370 left its gate at KLIA slightly before 16:28
UTC
0:30:00 ACARS records doors shut and brakes off
0:32:13 taxiing request
0:40:38 * Tower * 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.
0:41:43 MH370 began takeoff roll (16:41
UTC) Logged-On to Ground Earth Station (GES) 305/301, via the Indian Ocean Region (
IOR) Inmarsat I-3 satellite
0:42:48 MAS 370 --> Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero (Fariq)
0:46:51 * ATC * Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero
0:46:54 MAS370 --> Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero (Fariq)
0:50:06 * ATC * Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero
0:50:09 MAS370 --> Flight level three five zero Malaysia Three Seven Zero (Fariq)
1:01:14 MAS370 --> Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero (TOC) (Fariq)
1:01:19 * ATC * Malaysia Three Seven Zero
1:07:46 ACARS last transmission (VHF) which apparently included the notation of a
WP change having been entered since last scheduled report at 12:37. ACARS information included fuel remaining. com loss between 17:07 Z and 18:25 Z
1:07:55 MAS370 --> Malaysian...Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero (Fariq)
1:08:00 * ATC * Malaysian Three Seven Zero
1:19:24 * ATC * Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night on radio frequency 120.9 MHz.
1:19:29
MH 370 --> “good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero” (handover to Vietnamese ATC complete by Capt. Zaharie)
1:21:04 MH370 was observed on the radar screen at KLATCC as it passed over waypoint IGARI.
1:21:13 The radar label for
MH 370 disappeared from the radar screen at LUMPUR RADAR KLATCC. (Last secondary radar contact) Note: There was no ACARS message for transponder-off therefore, ACARS was off by 1:21:13.
1:22 - Thai ATC Radar reported as losing the MH370 track at this time.
1:28 - Thai military radar tracked a plane flying in the direction opposite from the MH370 plane," back toward Kuala Lumpur. This track was intermittant but they did see the plane eventually turning right, (toward Butterworth)
1:30 - (estimated) Vietnam begins "frantically" trying to contact the plane - Vietnam sees plane turn around
1:33 - (estimated) 9MMRO passes over Kota Bharu (approximatly) nine witness reports from around Kota Bharu, (The first, and most dependable, described the plane descending as fast.)
1:37 - ACARS misses scheduled transmission (every half hour)
1:38 - HCMATCC made a query to KLATCC on the whereabouts of
MH 370 and stated that they had not yet made contact. (HCMATCC =
HO CHI MINH Air Traffic Control Center)
1:46 - HCM queried about MH370 again, stating that radar contact was established over IGARI but there was no verbal contact. Ho Chi Minh advised that the observed radar blip disappeared at waypoint BITOD.
1:46 - (estimated) Plane passes southernmost point of Thai airspace; at this point it can be expected to have turned toward waypoint MEKAR (groundspeed plots indicate as direct a route as possible to MEKAR)
2:03 (1803 to 1805Z) no response from MH370 to communications attempts by the satellite (ACARS related)
2.22 – Last Malaysian military primary radar contact, exact location remains unstated, but probably a few miles past MEKAR
2:25 - (18:25-28) Log-On Request to satellite by A/C. (A spike recorded in the Burst Freq offset chart reflects this event) This logon would have been caused by the
AES being powered back up (restoring power to the left
AC bus.)
2:34 - At POVUS and turning south (estimated)
2:39 - Ground Initiated Telephony Call to 9M-
MRO: Zero Duration (Not Answered.) This reset the Inmarsat one hour timer but created no data to make a ping ring for this time.
2:40 - This is the time that Malaysia originally stated as the time radar contact was lost. Later (on 3-11) they re-stated time of lost contact as 2:22 and said the this was (actually) the time MAS was notified of the event.
3:41 - (19:40) Handshake Request, with response (INMARSAT ping)
4:41 - (20:41) Handshake Request, with response (INMARSAT ping)
5.41 - (21:41) Handshake Request, with response (INMARSAT ping)
6:41 - (22:41) Handshake Request, with response (INMARSAT ping)
7:13 - (23:13) Ground Initiated to Air Telephony Call - Zero Duration (Not Answered)
7:24 - Statement released by Malaysian Officials saying contact lost at 2:40 and SAR efforts are underway
8:10:58 - (01:10) Handshake Request, with response (INMARSAT ping) (the 40 Degree position line)
8:19:29 - (01:19) Log-On Request (reported as a Partial Handshake), initiated from the aircraft - the whole larger search zone was in daylight, with the sun just rising near 40S 85E, and about 20° above horizon near 17S 107E (sea level)
8:19:37 - An "R-Channel burst" - the last transmission received from the aircraft. At 00:19, the aircraft had been airborne for 7 hours and 38 minutes
9:15:56 - Handshake Request - No Response from Aircraft