This is not concerning 415 Media but like many out there it has captivated me like no other. I've been glued to the cablers, CNN in particular, and BBC when the others cut.
By the way the coverage has been exceptional even though too many theories have been explored based mostly on conjecture --even from the experts.
Malaysia Airlines. A Boeing 777. Big plane. Missing. Now it appears pretty certain that sabotage, in some sort of variety has taken place although we still have no airplane and very little facts, a million conspiracy theories though. No surprise there.
Let's hear from some of you out there, and in particular, commercial airline pilots. What's your take?
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It's riveting in so many ways. Take the little factoid a few days back about the pilot having "built" a flight simulator in his home. Did they mean some game style computer flight simulation? or an actual, gyro mounted capsule with instrumentation matching this plane? One would be pretty normal, say pilot friends. The other would be hinky.
ReplyDeleteThe depth of the waters in the China Sea as compared to the Indian Ocean is fascinating. The politics and terrorist history in Kuala Lumpur is also. The statements of family members that they are "praying" for answers, apparently any answers, even when there is still a scintilla of a chance they may still be alive. The people who just want answers aren't praying for their loved ones. They are praying to be relieved of their own angst.
Now we hear it flew for seven hours after last radio contact, and could be in one of those "stan" countries. Yikes!
This is entering the DB Cooper category. Absolutely mind blowing with conspiracy theories that are worthy of a Hollywopd script.
ReplyDeleteDon't know who DB Cooper is? Use the Google kids.
If it were hijacked, then why haven't the hijackers made any demands and where would they be able to hide such a plane? There is speculation that it is on some remote airfield in Vietnam, off the beaten path.
ReplyDeleteAnother theory: a meteorite struck the plane and blew it to pieces.
Still another theory: Terrorists blew it up.
And finally: It was taken off the planet earth in an 'alien abduction.'
Or, the Bermuda Triangle has been outsourced to Southeast Asia to reduce costs.
DeleteNot a pilot or any sort of airline expert, but I am still waiting for someone to ask: 1) Was there a relief pilot/copilot as is the case on many long-haul flights, 2) Not a word about looking into backgrounds of cabin crew (FAs), 3) Why isn't Malaysia Air shutdown pending outcome of this investigation, 4) Boeing, Rolls Royce mysteriously (or intentionally) silent up until now - bother anyone else? But after all the wild theories I still think this will ultimately end up being a systems failure that left the crew & passengers incapacitated... sad.
ReplyDelete#2- Per news reports Friday, investigators were looking into backgrounds EVERYONE on board, which I would take to include all crew as well as passengers.
DeleteMalaysia Air isn't shut down because they know what happened and they're holding back information for political reasons. Last I saw, there was an article in The Guardian about the two pilots' homes in Kuala Lumpur being raided and the plane supposedly being tracked to Pakistan.
DeleteTwo words; George Soros.
ReplyDeleteThe same person who helped precipitate the 'shocking' recession of 2008 when it looked like Obama and Biden were going to lose that first election. Why is it people like Soros and Mugabe live as long as a Galapagos Tortoise, or a cockroach?
George Soros?
DeleteI hope you're joking.
Demo's are shady
Delete10:01, you live a sad, sad existence. 10 sleeping pills and a bottle of vodka should do it. Seriously, do yourself, family and all who come into contact with you a favor.
Delete12;35 depicts Exhibit A; A stinking example of typical Liberal sentiment when your point of view is at variance with theirs. Don't worry about an open discussion with someone who does not chant the same tired mantras as you robotically do. no, simply advise them to die, and die quickly please, least they see the holes in the fabric of their illogic. Thank you 12;35, for once again squatting down to the homeplate of Liberal Standards.
DeleteTom Sullivan has been talking a lot about the 20 employees of the Freescale Company who were on board. Freescale specializes in technology that, among other things, produces systems that block aircraft from being seen on radar. Freescale is an American company based in Texas, but all of the employees on that plane were either Malaysian or Chinese. This, to me, is an intriguing twist as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Alex Jones say happened? I'll withhold an opinion until I hear from mr. 1776!!!
ReplyDeleteCumulus must be responsible, right Rich?
ReplyDeleteCumulus doesn't deal with crashed aircraft.
DeleteOnly sinking ships.
Never heard anything like this. Eight days and no trace of the plane. Unbelivable.
ReplyDeleteWhy hasn't anyone reported seeing the plane.
You touched on the part that bothers me most about any kind of news story: speculation rather tha fact. I am not a reporter, but if I were, I would state the possibilities according to flight experts and update on the status. The constant speculation does not explain the event and doesn't serve anyone.
ReplyDeleteAt least the local news people seem to be getting it right. I usually cringe when the network cuts back to local coverage and wait for the errors to start rolling.
ReplyDeleteGood news for Stan, neither the pilot or co-pilot were white males! Always glad to see diversity in hiring.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, has KTVU released the names of the crew? Any guesses?
ReplyDeleteNoah Landing?
Any of the crew member related to Amelia Earhart?
DeleteThe coverage on CNN and Fox is meandering, too long and has sucked the air out of the room with repitition and Don Lemon's faux emotion at the next "Breaking News" sounder. Nothing has changed and every experit is not an expert, apparently. Even Capt. Sullenberger has had enough speculation and is not a part now.
ReplyDeleteInteresting factoid to keep in mind. CNN and Fox are now driving viewers away from wall-to-wall coverage. It was reported this morning on CNN that "despite criticism," - CNN has "doubled it's ratings" with the coverage. That, to me, wouldn't make Jeff Zucker very happy -- meaning that today, only 600,000 people are watching CNN, over it's average of 300,000 - according to "TV Newser" and CNN's own media show this morning.
I thought that Martin Savidges coverage from the 777 simulator in Toronto was most comprehensive and revealing. However, playing it over and over and over has taken its toll.
I think, now, that CNN is looking to hype the story more with speculation than fact -- preparing to set up it's "Death Row Stories" tonight. A shame.
One more thing, why in the hell bother any relatives or family members? What did we expect them to say, react or be emotional about? Stupid unneeded coverage. Leave these people alone. I wish one of them would look into the camera and say, "How the fuck do you think I feel, asswipe?"
A riveting story getting more confusing with all the experts and every pilot on the planet opining with no conclusive evidence. And Mary Schiavo needs to come clean as an attorney - she was beleaugered with her job at the Transportation Dept. and about forced out. She then went on to sue for survivor's benefits for families and made a lot of money doing so..
Anon@10:23 seems like quite an expert about what's wrong with media coverage of this story.
DeleteTOO REPETITIVE? They report all day to new viewers who are just tuning in. You want them to keep changing what they report even though little has changed?
TOO MUCH SPECULATION? There are very few hard facts but lots of speculation. If the news organizations limited themselves to reporting only hard facts, the coverage would be even more repetitive than it already has been; something that also makes you unhappy.
TOO CONFUSING? Yes, it is confusing. If you, Anon@10:23, can explain what happened, please do so.
Are you a lawyer?
Delete"And Mary Schiavo needs to come clean as an attorney - she was beleaugered with her job at the Transportation Dept. and about forced out. She then went on to sue for survivor's benefits for families and made a lot of money doing so.. "
DeleteSo true. She has no credentials as an aviation expert. I wonder why CNN can't do better.
Now, now, now Anonymous at 12:37, no need to be screeching or angry. The facts: Radio coverage on the entire story with updates on ABC, CBS, Fox, SRN, AP, NBC, etc. lasts :40 seconds to 2 minutes an hour, every hour. Want to hear the latest? Tune in. Your smartphone can "explain" it on demand anytime. Next, just like people here on the blog complain about how KCBS repeats stories way to often to be effective, the television medium == be it for the "poop cruise" on Carnival or this tragedy with the airliner is too repetitive and leads to mere speculation and confusion. Period. Reporting hard facts is different than substantiated "updates" with different angles. This story is, so far, beyond different angles for a 24/7 news cycle.
ReplyDeleteIt is too confusing because on TV, just like in sports, you don't need to be a Joe Buck or Tim McCarver to "tell the story" that everyone can see. Look at the beauty of using word pictures like Jack Buck, Pat Summerall, Ray Scott and others/ People can interpret the pictures without the confusion of speculation for the sake of long coverage until facts are known. That's what people want to know -- has the plane been found? How'd it get where it is? Who lived or who died? People don't have the attention span of you. Maybe you have all day to watch. Most don't.
No, the networks don't need to keep changing what they report with little change. That was my point. They need to repport the story as it develops, not out of ratings to be first when the plane and the people are finally found. To that ... you report in 22 minutes not continual coverage unless warranted, the latest on the story. That's how we do it in radio and why television is the visual medium but trying to over detail a story that isn't to fruition in many many ways.
I do thank you, however, for agreeing with each of the points above, but then breakng away to express your opinion, though we don't see it the same way. That's ok.
Final point - there aren't enough "hard facts" for 24 hours of speculation only. The repetition has become a blur that doesn't inform, but rather, confuses. .
My apologies anon@10:23/3:27. Your explanation makes perfect sense and I agree with what you are saying.
Deletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/world/asia/pilot-and-first-officer-newly-scrutinized-in-planes-disappearance.html
ReplyDeleteLess is publicly known about co-pilot Mr. Fariq, who was also in the cockpit when the flight took off on March 8. According to Malaysia Airlines, he joined the company in 2007 and has logged more than 2,700 hours of flight time. A tribute page set up for Flight 370’s crew quotes his grandmother calling him “a good son, obedient, respect the elders and a pious man.” Neighbors said that he liked to play futsal, a sport similar to soccer and popular in Southeast Asia, and that he was engaged to be married, according to The Associated Press.
But Mr. Fariq’s track record has come under scrutiny in recent days after a woman, Jonti Roos, claimed that he and another captain had brought her and a friend to ride in the cockpit on a flight from Phuket, Thailand, to Kuala Lumpur in 2011. Ms. Roos provided the Australian television program “A Current Affair” with photos of her and a man she identified as Mr. Fariq.
The two women were in the cockpit from takeoff to landing, Ms. Roos said. “Throughout the whole flight they were talking to us,” she said on the program.
In his comments to reporters on Saturday, the prime minister explained how the aircraft’s communications systems were systematically disabled, perhaps by someone with intimate knowledge of the plane. He said that one system was disabled as the plane flew over the northeast coast of Malaysia, and that a second, a transponder, was disabled a few minutes later. The aircraft then altered course and flew over the Malaysian mainland before turning to the northwest and heading out to the open sea.
In addition, military radar data provided by a person familiar with the investigation suggest someone may have piloted the aircraft to as high as 45,000 feet, above the 43,100-foot ceiling for the Boeing 777.
A current Boeing 777-200 pilot for an Asian-based airline said the move could have been intended to depressurize the cabin and render the passengers and crew unconscious, preventing them from alerting people on the ground with their cellphones.
“Incapacitate them so as to carry on your plan uninterrupted,” the pilot said.
The presumption that cell phones work everywhere, even high above vast, sparsely populated areas of the world, is faulty.
Delete