Malaysia Airlines MH370: 10 Days After, 3 Jet Takeover Theories, 600 Possible Landing Spots
Ten days after it first went missing, at least three jet takeover theories have erupted, and 600 possible landing spots have been drawn for the still missing Malaysia Airlines MH370. Still all figures. Nothing inconclusive.
Malaysian authorities now believe the airliner was hijacked based on three pieces of evidence: that the plane's transponder was shut off an hour into the flight, the Boeing 777′s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was likewise shut off, and that its guided flight, as tracked by Malaysian military radar, showed the plane turned west.
It's being believed the MH370 Boeing 777 could have reached as far north as the Himalayas, or as far west as the Cocos Islands, ABC said. It may have also been flown to Taliban-controlled bases on the border of Afghanistan and North West Pakistan.
This prompted Malaysian officials to ask for assistance from other countries.
"We are asking countries that have satellite assets including the US, China and France amongst others, to provide further satellite data," Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general for the Department of Civil Aviation, said.
According to WNYC, a Web site of non-profit, non-commercial, public radio stations located in New York City, the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, carrying 239 passengers, could have landed in 634 runways in 26 different countries around the world.
That whoever maneuvered the plane is now being suspected to have employed a technique used by military pilots to avoid detection by commercial radar systems.
An unidentified sourced told New Straits Times the person flying MH370 flew way low to just 5000ft over mountainous terrain. The technique was called "terrain masking."
"The person who had the control over the aircraft has a solid knowledge of avionics and navigation and left a clean track," the unnamed source said. "It's possible that the aircraft had hugged the terrain in some areas which are mountainous to avoid radar detection."
The WNYC Data News team said the 634 runways spread across 26 different countries include Gan Airport in Maldives, Dalanzadgad Airport in Mongolia, Yap Airport in Micronesia, or Miyazaki Airport in Japan.