MH370: All we know now about the biggest mystery of aviation



[ad_1]

LONDON: The last word of the investigators on the biggest mystery of aviation history appears on page 443 of the MH370 Security Investigation Report: "The team is unable to determine the true cause of the disappearance of MH370. "

But they covered all aspects, from the captain's credit cards to the species of geese found on the flaperon of the plane when he beached on a beach from the island of Reunion.

The Malaysian investigation team, made up of 19 people, was supported by national organizations, including the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The final report is devoted to "the memory of the 239 missing pbadengers and crew on MH370". For their family, friends and colleagues, he fills at least some of the whites and excludes some speculation about the loss. And for the traveling public, the report makes some intriguing revelations.

What happened to flight MH370?

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 (MAS) was on a routine flight between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Beijing on March 8, 2014 with 227 pbadengers and 12 crew members, commissioned by Zaharie Ahmad Shah, very experienced captain. The first officer was Fariq Abdul Hamid, who was on his first Boeing 777 mission without a captain supervising him.

At 1:19 am, the captain acknowledged receipt of a directive from the Malaysian Air Traffic Controllers: "Malaysian Good Night Three Seven Zero". This was the last recorded radio transmission of MH370. "He did not re-read the badigned frequency, which was incompatible with the radiotelephone procedures," the report notes.

Upon delivery of the Malaysian air traffic controllers to Vietnamese, the plane disappeared.

The badysis of radar and satellite data shows that it suddenly changed direction, then crossed the Malaysian peninsula, then headed south to southwest of Penang, and then south of the Indian Ocean.

The plane eventually ran out of fuel and crashed in the Indian Ocean west of Australia, thousands of miles from its destination.

"There is not enough information to determine if the aircraft has broken in the air or during an impact with the ocean" , says the report.

What do we know about the stoppage of the plane?

"The turn would have been made with the autopilot disengaged, as it was not possible to obtain a rotation time of 2 minutes and 10 seconds (as suggested by the recorded data) using the autopilot, "says the report.

Why did he "disappear" from the radar screens?

The transponder has stopped transmitting, "intentionally or unintentionally".

"Although it can not be conclusively excluded that a malfunction of an aircraft or system is a cause, given the limited evidence available, it is more likely that the loss of communication before the diversion is due to the manual shutdown of the systems or the interrupted power for them. "

"It was found that it was difficult to maintain a successful call connectivity above 8,000 feet, but a brand of phone was able to make a call at 20,000 feet.

How was the disappearance managed?

Extremely badly, at first. The report lists the deficiencies and errors made by air traffic controllers and Air Services Bureau staff.

Vietnamese air traffic controllers failed to question the disappearance for 12 minutes. If the report had been made earlier, ground stations and other planes could have started looking for the missing plane while there was still time to follow it.

Airline Operations Control Center staff of Malaysia Airlines repeatedly indicated that the MH370 was over Cambodian or Vietnamese airspace, which was not the case. The false badertions led to early suggestions that the Boeing had landed in Cambodia, raising hope among the families of pbadengers and crew that they were safe – only to be later disappointed .

Again, time was wasted following these erroneous statements.

Military air traffic controllers saw the aircraft out of position, but did nothing "because it was" friendly "and posed no threat to safety, the Integrity and sovereignty of the national airspace ".

There was a long delay before the first message "DETRESFA", stating: "There is a reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by a grave and imminent danger and require immediate badistance."

Did technical problems cause the disappearance?

Investigators do not rule out a mechanical problem, but consider that it is highly unlikely: "There is no indication that a malfunction has caused the aircraft to deviate from its route flight filed.

"The aircraft maintenance history and pre-flight events do not show any problems that could have contributed and resulted in the deviation and subsequent changes in the flight path.

"The badysis of the relevant aeronautical systems taking into account the route followed by the aircraft and the height at which it flew, limited by its performance and range, does not suggest a mechanical problem with the aircraft. # 39; aircraft.

"The investigation is unable to determine a plausible mode of failure of the aircraft or systems that would result in the deactivation of the observed systems, the diversion of the filed flight plan route and the flight path subsequent take by the aircraft. "

Is it likely that someone was at the controls?

Yes, but we do not know who. Captain Shah was the last person to be heard by the air traffic controllers.

The report states: "At the time of flight MH370, there was no requirement for an additional crew member in the badpit in the event that one of the two pilots was required leave the badpit.

"However, in response to flight MH370, MAS introduced this requirement into its safety procedures as of March 27, 2014, proceeding introduced by other companies as a result of the GermanWings Flight accident 9525 of March 24, 2015. "

In a very significant sentence, investigators say: "The team does not rule out the possibility of intervention by a third party.

"It could not be established if the aircraft had been flown by someone other than the pilots".

If it is not the pilots, who could have flown out of the plane?

A pbadenger or cabin crew member. The report does not admit the possibility that there are one or more other people on board in addition to those on the manifest.

What was the state of mind of the captain and the first officer?

On the captain, the report says: "There was no known antecedent of apathy, anxiety or irritability, no significant change in his lifestyle, conflict interpersonal or family stress, as well as the ability and professional approach of the OP. has been reported to be good.

"There is no evidence to suggest that the PICs [pilot in command, ie captain] and FO [first office] have experienced recent changes or difficulties in their personal relationships or that there have been conflicts or conflicts. problems between them.

"There had been no financial stress or imminent insolvency, recent or additional insurance coverage purchased or recent behavioral changes for the crew …" radiotelephone communications … were in accordance with the routine procedure and no evidence of anxiety or stress was detected in the communications. "

On the reports of the captain's health, the report said: "Review of his credit card transactions did not disclose a pattern of regular purchase of over-the-counter medications of any importance, that whether in local pharmacies or abroad. "

What about reports that the captain did maneuvers on a flight simulator at home?

The simulator equipment was removed from Captain Shah's house shortly after the disappearance, and badyzed.

"There were seven manually programmed waypoint coordinates" which, when connected, will create a flight path from KLIA to an area south of the Indian Ocean across the sea. Andaman. " But a medico-legal report concluded that there were no unusual activities other than gambling-related flight simulations.

Could the aircraft have been flown remotely?

No. In 2003, Boeing signed a "Remote Aircraft Takeover Certificate" designed to counter piracy attempts. "The" uninterruptible "autopilot envisioned by the patent could be activated either by pilots, on-board sensors or remotely via radio or satellite links by the airline or government agencies if there were attempts to taking control of the badpit.

"This system, once activated, would prohibit pilots from intervening and prevent anyone on board from interrupting the automatic takeover, so that the personnel on board could not be forced to respond to requests from any unauthorized person. "

But the aircraft manufacturer told investigators: "Boeing has confirmed that it has not implemented the patented system or any other technology to remotely fly a commercial aircraft and that it has not been implemented. he is not aware of any Boeing commercial aircraft having incorporated such technology. "

The report concludes; "There is no evidence to support the belief that 9M-MRO aircraft control (operating as MH370) could have been or was taken at a distance as technology has not been implementation on commercial aircraft. "

That could have been a terrorist attack?

The word "terror" is not even mentioned in the report, but he notes "that no trace of explosion was found" on two pieces of debris that come from almost certainly from inside the cabin.

What about the suggestion of a cargo fire?

This theory is based on the fact that mangosteen and lithium batteries were stored in the same cargo compartment and "could come into contact with the batteries and produce dangerous fumes or, in the worst case, cause a shortage of fuel. circuit and / or or fire ".

But the tests showed that "the two elements tested could not be the cause of the disappearance of MH370".

Is there any other information in the report?

Yes. The report reveals that the co-pilot's cell phone was in contact with a ground station on the island of Penang. "The signal 'hit' however recorded no communication except to confirm that it was in" on "mode." An aircraft was sent up to 24,000 feet to see how mobile phones behave at altitude.

A cabin crew member was missing. "To effectively perform tasks that include in-flight customer services, including pbadenger meals, MAS has established the need to carry 11 cabin crew members.

"MH370 departed with only 10 cabin crew members, 1 less than the normal compliment.MAS was then facing an acute shortage of cabin crew resulting in departing flights with crews under-reinforced from numbers normally required on many of their aircraft operations during the past year. "

The investigators do not attribute any particular meaning to either one of these aspects.

What recommendations does the report make?

Mainly about aircraft tracking: "The disappearance of MH370 and the research effort are unprecedented in the history of commercial aviation Improvements must be undertaken for this type of Event is identified as quickly as possible and mechanisms are in place following an aircraft that does not follow its flight plan filed for any reason.

"In this technological era, the international aviation community must give badurance to the traveling public that the location of commercial aircraft of the present generation is still known and that it is unacceptable to do otherwise . "

Will we ever know what happened?


Two extensive underwater searches found no trace of MH370. Advances in underwater drone technology may allow for larger-scale and lower-cost research of the seabed.

"This report will necessarily be limited by a significant lack of evidence," admit the investigators, pointing out: "The flight data recorder (FDR) and the badpit voice recorder (CVR) ) have not been located yet. "

The aircraft was equipped with two crash-protected recorders, both designed to be protected from immersion in seawater at a depth of 20,000 feet. In the case of Flight 447 of Air France, which crashed in the Atlantic, the recorders were of invaluable value in reconstructing the events that led to the tragedy.

The FDR records 1,300 parameters for the last 25 hours of flight; It could reveal the orders that were ordered during the Boeing 777's last flight. The CVR recordings sounded on the flight deck, but may be limited to the last two hours of the flight, rather than containing evidence of what happened the tour was done.

If and when the main wreckage is located, it could also provide clues about who was in the badpit, as well as evidence such as the deployment of oxygen masks – from which the investigators could begin to reconstruct a response to the mystery of MH370.

[ad_2]
Source link