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Originally Posted by Acey
... I'm still unsure you can fly a 777 down low enough to not have anyone notice.
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I wasn't either until just reading this:
http://my.news.yahoo.com/mh370-flew-...011918423.html
MH370 flew as low as 1,500m to avoid detection, says paper
Quote:
As the search for the missing flight MH370 enters its 10th day with few clues as to its whereabouts, the New Straits Times said today the Boeing 777-200ER dropped 5,000 feet (1,500m) to evade commercial radar detection.
In an exclusive story, the government-backed paper said investigators analysing MH370’s flight data revealed that the 200-tonne, fully laden twinjet descended 1,500m or even lower to evade commercial (secondary) radar coverage after it turned back from its flight path en route to Beijing.
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Above bolded because we know how many times the government have shared accurate information.
Quote:
Investigators poring over MH370’s flight data had said the plane had flown low and used “terrain masking” as it flew over the Bay of Bengal and headed north towards land, the NST reported.
Officials, who formed the technical team, were looking into the possibility that whoever was piloting the jet at that time had taken advantage of the busy airways over the Bay of Bengal and stuck to a commercial route to avoid raising the suspicion of those manning primary (military) radars, the paper said.
“The person who had control over the aircraft has a solid knowledge of avionics and navigation and left a clean track. It passed low over Kelantan, that was true,” the NST quoted an anonymous official as saying.
“Terrain masking” refers to an ability to position an aircraft so there is natural earth hiding it from the radio waves sent from the radar system. It is a technique mostly used in aerial combat where military pilots would fly at extremely low elevations upon normally hilly or mountainous terrain to “mask” their approach.
Experts said flying a Boeing 777 in such a way would be dangerous, stressing the airframe and possibly causing those on board to be air sick and suffer from spatial disorientation.
Flight MH370 flew for an estimated eight hours and the authorities believe it would have flew over two additional countries besides Malaysia, although it's not clear which ones.
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I think it's interesting they say the plane turned north while recent news reports right now seem to be shifting the focus south toward Australia.
Also the fact that it flew over 2 additional countries?
So...which ones? India and Pakistan before reaching Iran? Bangladesh and Bhutan before China?
Why can they make that statement but not be clear as to which 2 other countries?