Sunrise this morning in Malaysia is at 0722am local time today. With the sun rise comes a bewildering lack of answers as to how one of the world’s safest aeroplanes flown by a five star airline suddenly vanished off radar screens on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.The weather was clear with no warnings. The signs point to a catastrophic event for Malaysia Airlines MH 370. If there had been a mechanical failure, the pilot should have been able to radio for help. Did the plane suddenly break up and/or went into a very steep dive, similar to…
Two MH 370 Passengers on STOLEN passports
Two of the passengers on the Malaysia Airlines passenger list were not on the plane. The passenger list includes Luigi Maraldi, 37, an Italian citizen. The Italian Foreign ministry is saying no Italian was on board. In an interview with Corriere Della Sera, the Italian newspaper, Maraldi’s father said he has spoken to his son who is currently living in Phuket, Thailand. Maraldi’s passport was reportedly stolen last August in Thailand. His father said: “He deposited it with rental car agency, and when he returned the car it was gone,” The Italian government has not confirmed this…
MH 370 Full passenger List
Malaysia Airlines released the full passenger list. Nationality breakdown: Australians – 6 Austrians – 1 Canadians – 2 Chinese – 152 plus 1 infant Dutch -1 French – 4 Indians – 5 Indonesians – 7 Italians -1 Ukranians – 2 USA -3 plus 1 infant Malaysians – 38 New Zealanders -2 Russian -1 Taiwanese – 1 (I notice MH on one list placed the Taiwanese passengers separately to the Chinese and then placed them together on another list) Update: Malaysia’s civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, told a press conference this afternoon in Kuala Lumpur that…
Oil slicks indicate possible crash site
Vietnamese search planes have spotted two oil slicks in the crash site area, 140 kilometres (90miles) south of Tho Chu island off Southern Vietnam. The two oil slicks were each 10-15 kilometers long (six to ten miles) and about 500 meters apart. These could be from the jet engines. Ships have been sent to the site and we will wait for further information as soon as it comes to hand. Malaysia Airlines had said the air search would be called off until Sunday morning local time. Relatives of MH370 victims are still waiting for the…
No sign of MAS370 [updated]
Malaysian naval vessels have found no immediate signs of wreckage in the maritime area off the country’s northeast coast where the missing Malaysia Airlines MAS 370 last made contact. “Our aircraft spotted an orange speck in the sea where the last signal came from. We sent a vessel to search the area and it was confirmed that it was nothing,” an official was reported. Admiral Ngo Van Phat from Vietnam has denied earlier reports in Vietnamese state media quoting him as saying the plane had actually crashed. His recent statement suggested the plane “could have”…
What a day: Now Nepal!
Not a brilliant day for flying in Asia. Yesterday, state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation only domestic aircraft, a Twin Otter, was grounded following a right engine failure. The fault was detected soon after takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The Captain shut down the right engine and used the left one to land the aircraft back at TIA. All 15 passengers, including two infants and one child, and three crew members were safe. This morning (local time) a Malaysian 777 vanished en route from Kuala Lumut to Beijing. This afternoon, an Air Indigo Airbus 320 flying Flight 6E 031 from New…
Family support & grief over MH370 [updated]
Malaysia Airlines has reportedly spoken with family members of 80 per cent of the passengers who were on board MAS 370. Malaysian Airways CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya announced at a press conference that the carrier has also arranged to ferry a team to Beijing “to provide support and assistance to families there”. The passenger manifest will not be released until all families of the passengers have been informed but some names are listed here. In China at the Lido Hotel near Beijing Airport, security staff are apparently having a hard time holding back a large group of reporters who are making it…
Vietnamese Navy says MH370 HAS crashed into ocean
Tuoi Tre (“Youth News), a main daily Vietnamese newspaper has reported that the Vietnamese Navy has confirmed that the missing Malaysian Airways 777 crashed into the ocean. Navy Admiral Ngo Van Phat, Commander of the Region 5, military radar recorded that the plane crashed into the sea at a location 251kilometers (153 nautical miles) South of Phu Quoc island in Malaysian territorial waters. If there are any survivors, then they need to be rescued now as every hour in the ocean reduces their chances. The Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has not been able to confirm…
The search for MH370 [updated]
The Search and Rescue effort for Malaysian MH370 involves: Malasyia Airlines Malasyian Department of Civil Aviation Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Navy Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Butterworth-based Intergrated Area Defence System Headquarters the Hawaii-based United States Pacific Command. two Chinese maritime rescue ships are being sent to aid rescuers searching work for missing Malaysia Airlines 777. agencies from Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines The mission involves maritime patrol aircraft, fighter jets, frigates, submarines and fishing vessels. “The plane lost contact near Ca Mau province airspace as it was preparing to transfer to Ho Chi Minh City air traffic…
MH370 Passenger & Crew information [updated]
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew – comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants) and 12 crew members. The passengers were of 15 (originally reported as 14) different nationalities: 1. China – 152 plus 1 infant (Chinese media report that the passengers included 24 Chinese artists on their way back from an art exhibition in Malaysia) 2. Malaysia – 38 3. Indonesia – 7 (originally reported as 12) 4. Australia – 7 (four were on a trade mission to China) 5. India – 5 6. France – 3 7.…
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