Facts, myths and confusion on MH 370

I’m not a pilot so I’m not qualified to formulate a credible opinion on MH 370. The news has become contradictory and uninformative. I’d like to know the opinions of those who are qualified and are in the aviation industry. Please share anything from ridicules to likely and anything in between.

A friend suggested that the plane may have been identified as hijacked and destroyed by an air force or air defense artillery. Is this plausible?

Yes. As is taken down by EMP, hijacked and on the ground in Pakistan, explosive decompression and the list goes on.

Contradictive and uninformative is the normal byline on most aviation news.

Fixed that for you. :wink:

BL.

tanks.

The last word by pilot; “all right, good night”. The last word by Lumpur ATC; " Please contact Ho Chi Minh 120.9".
My question is how the pilot or co.pilot contacting ATC? If by tuning frequency to 120.9 MHz, it may not replied by Ho Chi Minh ATC. Wrong frequency.

By radio, by changing frequencies (obviously you don’t want nearby ATCs on the same frequency), the flight would have contacted Ho Chi Mihn ATC, the ATC wouldn’t necessarily have called the aircraft until and unless it was reported as overdue. “All right, good night” is just an indication of common courtesy between two professionals, one in the air and the other on the ground, nothing nefarious about it in the least.

I agree, nothing nefarious, pilots can and occasionally do enter the wrong frequency. Normally when we don’t get an answer it is a simple flip of a switch to recall the last frequency and ask the previous controller for the correct one. Every pilot wha has flown IFR for any length of time has lost contact with ATC. It is a fairly simple thing to look on the chart for a frequency that would at least put you in touch with somebody that knows which frequency you should be on.