Don't forget that the "ping" from the satellite was a snapshot in time.

i.e. at the point at which the "ping" was received, the aircraft was somewhere on that arc. It doesn't necessarily mean it was flying in the same direction as the arc - it could have been flying in any direction.

Those involved shouldn't give up - Uruguayan Air Force flight 571 was found two months after it disappeared/crashed in 1972, along with survivors.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...g-jet.html ...

Be true to yourself. That way happiness lies...

I see that bad weather cut short the search efforts today near Australia. The Aussies and the Yanks were out in planes and boats but low cloud forced their hand. Fresh start tomorrow for them and hopefully they will find something useful. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

If the plane flew for 5hrs with something 'wrong' - especially if at low altitude - why no text messages or mobile phone calls from those onboard. Surely somebody would have been able to pick up a signal from one of the countries they were flying over - given the theory the plane was flying 'under the radar'?

And no sattelite phone access on the plane either?

I know some are holding out for news the plane was hijacked and has landed somewhere - but not sure that even if possible it would be better for the passengers. If the hijackers just want the plane I shudder to think what they would have done with the passengers, either in flight or once on the ground. (Coming) 2016 RR Evoque td4 180 HSE Dynamc
(Going) 2013 TD4 GS Auto - Santorini Black with black leather. Cold Climate, UK Lighting & Armrest Packs. Privacy Glass. LR Rubber Mats. Full size spare.
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Seriously

why install vital equipment in an aircraft such as cockpit voice recording -positional aircraft automatic signals etc etc and then have switches to be able to turn them off as appears to be in this case. Seems that its a case of adding everything in excluding the kitchen sink. its asking for trouble in a hijack case. Ex 2010 Freelander2 GS-e Diesel manual Silver owner

flylr wrote:

If the plane flew for 5hrs with something 'wrong' - especially if at low altitude - why no text messages or mobile phone calls from those onboard.

Sadly, I think so, but still a glimmer of hope

Possible sighting: http://news.sky.com/story/1230750/malaysia...jects-seen LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

I thought we are into ice flow territory at that latitude from melting bergs. I do find it strange in the 1970's we could read number plates in Moscow from satellites but can't identify a 24m object in 2014. Someone was/is telling porkies, but who?  my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Looks conclusive now: http://news.sky.com/story/1231059/malaysia...dian-ocean

The analysis of the debris is key now and then the search for the black box LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Potential signal from black box: http://news.sky.com/story/1237620/missing-...l-in-ocean LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

The search area is still mind boggling large.
It is still possible that the FDR may never be found should it cease transmitting.
I'm not knowledgeable of FDR's, but I do wonder if they use hysteresis and extend the time between transmissions to preserve battery life. Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

I would think that the length of time of transmissions has nothing to do with timing on FDR , more the ship will be taking bearings of the transmission, then moving on to another course and taking more bearings. The result of that will be to further define the search area, eventually getting a multi point fix on the location as close as possible. One problem at that depth is the thermo temperature layers and density of water which distort the angle of direction vertically. Sound in water isn't straight and surface bounce can be out by many miles, pin pointing the location is more a science than a straight forward search on the surface using RADAR. There are instruments that send data back to the surface by wire as it sinks, thus enabling via a program to plot the layers and get an accurate distance and angle.Hopefully reducing the area for a visual search of the sea bed to a few hundred metres. my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.