I had fairly well concluded that the most likely cause was a fire disrupting the electrical and control systems, when CNN now say the sharp left turn was pre-programmed 12 minutes before sign off from Malaysian Air Traffic control, which was followed fairly quickly by that left turn.
CNN claim to have this from an US official, from data sent back before the reporting systems went off. It is hard to know what to make of it: obviously there are large economic interests that much prefer blame to lie with the pilots rather than the aircraft. But if it is true then the move was not a response to an emergency. (CNN went on to say the pilot could have programmed in the course change as a contingency in case of an emergency. That made no sense to me at all – does it to anyone else?)
I still find it extremely unlikely that the plane landed or crashed on land I cannot believe it could evade military detection as it flew over a highly militarized region. Somewhere there is debris on the ocean. There have been previous pilot suicides that took the plane with them; but the long detour first seems very strange and I do not believe is precedented. However if the CNN information on pre-programming is correct, and given it was the co-pilot who signed off to air traffic control, it is hard to look beyond the pilots as those responsible for whatever did happen. In fact, on consideration, the most improbable thing is that information CNN are reporting from the US official.
What? The pax took their luggage with them on the emergency chutes? Isn’t that what you’re told not to do in an emergency, due to potential injury?
The plane was fitted with General Electric engines.
But where are they made?
General Electric said the plane was powered by two of its GE90 engines and it would also send two of its technical experts to join the investigation.
The company said it was not aware of “any operational issues that would hazard the continued safe flight of aircraft powered by these engines,” stressing that it had an “outstanding safety and reliability record since entering service in 1995”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34200669
Quote
“A little problem with the left side of the aircraft”
somewhat understated?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Electric_GE90#Incidents
already on Wiki
“On September 8, 2015 a GE90 powering a British Airways Boeing 777-200, British Airways Flight 2276, is currently being investigated as having failed, causing the airliner to catch fire while on take-off roll from Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. NTSB and FAA investigations are in progress and will ultimately determine the cause.”
http://avherald.com/h?article=48c10434
777
http://www.geaviation.com/press/services/services_2003210.html
China Southern was the code share partner for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Back in the day, the company invested in PIP upgrade kits for its GE90 777 engines.
Were any upgrades done on Rolls-Royce Boeing 777-ER engines?
Understated is the word, MN. Did you see the photo of the big hole in the side of the plane?Passengers described an explosion before they saw flames and smoke.
http://www.planespotters.net/airframe/Boeing/777/29320/G-VIIO-British-Airways
Here it claims it is a write – off
if true, then “A little problem with the left side of the aircraft”
somewhat understated?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_2276
now got its own page on Wiki
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_38
Did the fuel line modification fail in Vegas? In MH370? Was the modification ever done to 9MMRO?
Las Vegas fire jet is the SECOND British Airways Boeing 777-200 to lose an engine on takeoff forcing an emergency evacuation
Both British Airways Boeing 777-200s were powered by GE90-85B engines
oh dear.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3228455/Las-Vegas-fire-jet-SECOND-British-Airways-Boeing-777-200-lose-engine-takeoff-forcing-emergency-evacuation.html
What is the lifespan of carbon composite engine turbine blades? GE was an early adopter of this technology. Rolls-Royce is only now moving into this field, with its carbon fibre/titanium edge turbine blades. All done in the name of greater fuel efficiency.
Was it safer when engine turbine blades were made of titanium?
http://www.geaviation.com/press/ge90/ge90_20150226.html
http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2011-04-18-Boeing-Celebrates-Opening-of-New-Factory-in-China
You don’t think the CHINA factory makes engine components for the GE engines fitted to &&& aircraft do you?
777
The most worrying aspect of this short, initial report is that it looks like the engine failure was uncontained.
If an engine breaks, the casing is designed to stop any bits of metal flying out and damaging the rest of the aircraft, including the fuel tanks and critical wiring.
Uncontained problems can be very serious.
As for the part that appears to have broken, the high-pressure compressor spool, Dr Colin Brown from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers told me that it’s “most likely” to be from a “fatigue crack”.
Dr Brown is an expert in fatigue crack growth in aircraft engines.
Inspectors will now be looking at how new the part was and when it was last checked.
If it’s relatively new, Dr Brown suggests they could ultimately ground aircraft with similar engines to check for similar problems.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34213996
so very important then?
777
British Airways Boeing 777
surrounded by fire engines on the runway after “full On Emergency” landing at Heathrow airport
The jet is the same kind involved in a major fire in Las Vegas this week,
also same as went down in Ukraine and same as went down in Indian Ocean.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3230610/British-Airways-Boeing-777-surrounded-fire-engines-runway-landing-Heathrow-airport-Washington.html
777
starting to look like an unlucky aircraft
Does anything link all these serious incidents
other than 777
http://www.ibtimes.com/missing-flight-mh370-satellite-plane-tracking-system-could-prevent-jet-disappearances-2092869
Simon Gunson is likely to stick with this story until the end.
@MN, it is quite a coincidence that the eyewitness descriptions of a plane on fire match the scene of orange flames and black smoke in the British Airways runway fire in Vegas. 777 is only lucky in slot machines.
Here’s my answer about the lifespan of composite engine fan blades: no one knows! This technology was put into use untested. That’s right: untested.
http://www.gereports.com/post/121660487455/standing-on-the-shoulders-of-a-giant-the-worlds
Yes, even the engine casing is composite. We used to hear about metal fatigue. Now are we seeing “plastic toy” fatigue in these unlucky 777s?
Did a plastic part cause the demise of MH370?
“The result was the GE90, the world’s largest and most powerful jet engine, and the bet, which took place 20 years ago, keeps paying off.”
From: http://www.gereports.com/post/121660487455/standing-on-the-shoulders-of-a-giant-the-worlds
Looks like Lady Luck didn’t pay off in Vegas this week — that is, if the composite materials played a role in the unfortunate “777” fire on the runway at McCarran International.
What an unfortunate choice of words by GE — gambling on aviation safety?
“We expect the ongoing investigation to throw light on repeated engine failures on
Boeing jets.”
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/boeing-777-200er-jet-engine-bursts-into-fire-at-takeoff-cm519302#ixzz3lTA1WJeS
that sounds fairly damming
http://news.yahoo.com/investigators-las-vegas-seek-cause-planes-engine-fire-062538445.html
Posting this as a reminder that a halon fire suppression unit washed up in the Maldives soon after Mh370 disappeared.
http://www.maldivesfinest.com/mh370-evidence
http://www.maldivesfinest.com/bomb-on-beach
“Halon breaks down the chemistry of the fire and smothers the fire,” Cox said. “When you have an open system where the casing is not intact, halon can’t do its job.”
From Yahoo link above.
There should have been an identification plate on the halon fire suppression bottle that washed up on shore on the Maldives. So was it the one formerly attached to MH370? Why did we hear nothing after it was found?
We sure heard a lot about the flaperon identification.
This looks like the bottle found in the Maldives:
http://okigihan.blogspot.ca/p/boeing-777-aircraft-fire-detection-and.html?m=1
Now we know there is a problem with 777 engine fires. We know that debris can be ejected great distances in these engine fires when plnes are on the ground. It is likely that they are ejected much further in mid-air.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33739851
Compare this image of the flaperon location to figure three in the link above. It becomes apparent that if the engine was on fire and the engine compartment was breached, the halon bottle might well have detached intact. The flaperon is just behind this area. So did the flaperon detach in a mid-air engine fire and catastrophic failure that ejected the halon bottles? Is this why we heard nothing about the halon bottle identification plate from authorities in the Maldives? How far could the fire suppression bottle have travelled in this scenario? Would the flaperon eject in a different direction, and how far?
Tianjin explosion: CHINA sets final death toll at 173, ending search for survivors
Authorities call off search for remaining eight missing in a massive chemical warehouse eXplosion last month, declaring them dead
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/tianjin-explosion-china-sets-final-death-toll-at-173-ending-search-for-survivors
So the CHINA official number of dead or accepted as dead victims is now said to be 173.
So, in human terms a tremendous impact in that part of CHINA
The economic / environmental / political impact will also be massive.
An interesting programme on the T.V. last night about the Twin Towers.
Possibly the towers were brought down by the heat of the aluminium aircraft becoming molten, then mixing with water.
Wasn’t it surmised that Tianjin miht have been caused by chemicals plus water?
I decided to look up Jonti Roos (she of the jaunty ruse in the cockpit) to see what’s become of her:
https://twitter.com/jonti_roos
The Twitter account hasn’t been updated since 2014.
There’s this update about her wedding in Hyderabad in 2016(why does that ring a bell?):
https://www.theknot.com/us/jonti-roos-and-nicholas-de-fazio-sep-2016
And other stuff:
https://instagram.com/jontiroos/
There are also a couple of Facebook profiles, one of which lists Hyderabad and the Gold Coast.