[TheBulldozer]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/mala...d=22827892

A Malaysia Airlines flight with 227 passengers on board has gone missing - and a search and rescue team has been deployed to locate the aircraft, a spokeswoman has confirmed to ABC News.

The Beijing-bound flight departed Kuala Lumpur at 12:55 a.m., and was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6:30 a.m., the airline said. It went missing two hours into the flight.

The State Department says that it cannot confirm whether there are Americans on board.

The airline said there are 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew members on board the Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

"We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370," the airline's chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said statement on Facebook.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," Yahya said. "Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew."

[Professor Fox]

My condolences.

Triple 7 currently has no fatalities attributed to the design (that BS with Asiana at SFO was the dumbass flight crew's fault). Looks like that's coming to an end.

[big poppa]

I was just reading about this. Terrible.

This would go down as the 19th greatest air disaster in terms of fatalities and the worst crash since 2003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_air...ies#Deaths


My palms always sweat and I get nervous as shit during plane trips (usually only at take off). For some reason though i'm always wanting to watch videos of planes crashing.

[BoneDaddy]

Prayers for all on board and their loved ones. I saw this earlier and my heart sank.

Make every day count - you just never know.

[TheBulldozer]

Having been to both of those places, I could picture myself or someone on the forum on a flight like that. Cruising Asia, living the good life. Wiped away in a second.

Perspective.

[MidniteSpecial]

Do they know why it happened?

[Professor Fox]

(03-07-2014 10:18 PM)MidniteSpecial Wrote:  

Do they know why it happened?

Anything this early is mostly speculation. With that said, ATC lost both radio contact and the radar return at cruising altitude (around 30k feet). Assuming they're equipped with functioning primary radar, losing the radar return more or less guarantees a total loss since about the only thing that could cause such a sudden loss from the radar scope is an in flight breakup like one from a explosive decompression.

[speakeasy]

Given how densely populated Vietnam is you'd think there'd be some witness reports that saw or heard a crash. Strange.

Even though more people die a day from car crashes than die in a year from plane crashes, there's something about a plane crash that is particularly gut-wrenching.

[Professor Fox]

(03-07-2014 10:26 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

Given how densely populated Vietnam is you'd think there'd be some witness reports that saw or heard a crash. Strange.

It may have happened over the water.

I have to amend my prior statement since there's more info coming from avherald.

"According to The Aviation Herald's radar data the aircraft was last regularly seen at 17:22Z (01:22L) about half way between Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) at FL350 over the Gulf of Thailand about 260nm northnortheast of Kuala Lumpur 40 minutes into the flight, followed by anomalies in the radar data of the aircraft over the next minute (the anomalies may be related to the aircraft but could also be caused by the aircraft leaving the range of the receiver).

Aviation sources in China report that radar data suggest a steep and sudden descent of the aircraft, during which the track of the aircraft changed from 024 degrees to 333 degrees. The aircraft was estimated to contact Ho Chi Minh Control Center (Vietnam) at 01:20L, but contact was never established."

[Vacancier Permanent]

My heart goes to everyone on board and their families.

[Professor Fox]

Vietnamese news is reporting that the plane's signal (black boxes) has been detected 120nm southwest of Ca Mau, which would be in the waters of the Gulf of Thailand.

[draguer]

(03-07-2014 10:17 PM)MaleDefined Wrote:  

Having been to both of those places, I could picture myself or someone on the forum on a flight like that. Cruising Asia, living the good life. Wiped away in a second.

Perspective.

Agreed. I've done many similar flights in the region as will have many others on here. Its hitting harder than other accidents in contexts I don't identify with.


RIP

[Cr33pin]

I hate to hear about this. I'm not sure of the odds but it would be great news to hear about them finding survivors. That one pilot put a plane down in the Hudson river not to long ago. A lot of people may be lost and a lot of families may be losing loved ones.

I have a fear of flying its pretty much one of my biggest fears. I maned up and flew to Asia tho a few years ago and may be doing it again in a few months..... Its still a very safe form of travel but when something like this happens it really shakes things up.

Very sad times for everyone involved..

[lavidaloca]

I'm more scared of driving my car than flying.

Hopefully they will find some survivors.

[buja]

Vietnamese Navy Says Plane Went Down in Sea...

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/mas-aircraft-go...20132.html

[Avarence]

Looks like this guy was supposed to be on the flight and missed it ---> https://twitter.com/KaidenDL

Terrifying stuff.

[HeyPete]

It reminds of the airliner traveling from Brazil to Paris? I think --- a few years ago that crashed into the Atlantic.

I remember the cause of that was the pitot tubes, which measure air speed, froze. They are not supposed to even though they are tiny.

[berserk]

Hate reading this stuff. No matter how you slice it, flying isn't entirely safe compared to taking the train or a boat. I'm sure you can dig up statistics that say otherwise in cumulative, but the problem with flying is that when something goes wrong, it goes horribly wrong and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Over 200 people dead, just like that. When I try to imagine the fear and panicked screams once the plane began diving, I seriously get filled with horror.

[TheBMan]

So apparently there were a couple on board who were flying w/passports that were stolen w/in the last year - terrorist attack?

[Teutatis]

(03-08-2014 04:03 AM)berserk Wrote:  

Hate reading this stuff. No matter how you slice it, flying isn't entirely safe compared to taking the train or a boat. I'm sure you can dig up statistics that say otherwise in cumulative, but the problem with flying is that when something goes wrong, it goes horribly wrong and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Over 200 people dead, just like that. When I try to imagine the fear and panicked screams once the plane began diving, I seriously get filled with horror.

Agreed with all your points. I hate flying, when I get into a plane I have to tell myself that it's safe and nothing will happen, but any slight movement, as normal as it is, scares me. I hate it and news like this don't help. I can only imagine how terrified those people must have been.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

It is very unlikely that there will be any survivors. When aircraft disasters happen, they wipe out the entire plane. Really sad.

[Teutatis]

(03-08-2014 01:18 AM)HeyPete Wrote:  

It reminds of the airliner traveling from Brazil to Paris? I think --- a few years ago that crashed into the Atlantic.

I remember the cause of that was the pitot tubes, which measure air speed, froze. They are not supposed to even though they are tiny.

Yes, I remember that, the cause was the complete and utter stupidity of one of the pilots who did absolutely everything wrong despite the plane warnings for 15 minutes. It's like his brain shut off and went into retarded mode where if you have a right turn you decide to turn left and crash.

[speakeasy]

This is a strange one, all they are finding is oil slicks in the water but no debris. The fact that there was no mayday from the pilot suggest that whatever happened must've happened really quick, like maybe a breakup or explosion. But if there was a breakup or explosion you should expect debris all floating all over the water. But so far they aren't seeing it.

[TheBulldozer]

Yeah, just a hunch that this one will have an interesting conclusion.

I've flown through KUL and thought their security and customs was pretty tight.

[berserk]

Malaysia being muslim and the plane being on its way to China does open some possibilities, considering that very recently some Chinese muslim terrorists (Urgur?) stabbed and killed 23 people in a chinese airport. Separatist muslim terrorism is unfortunately also rising in China.

Though that is pure speculation.