Malaysia Airlines Jet Vanishes

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by carnation

As the daughter of a plane crash victim, I know only too well what the families are going through. I pray that they have some answers soon.

I can't imagine. And it's awful that these people don't even know what happened to their loved ones. They're left to mourn without any answers.

[ASTalumna06]

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysian-mili...ml?.tsrc=attmp

Many experts have been working on the assumption there was a catastrophic event on the flight — such as an explosion, engine failure, terrorist attack, extreme turbulence, pilot error or even suicide. The director of the CIA said in Washington that he still would not rule out terrorism.

Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. Saturday, bound for Beijing. Authorities initially said its last contact with ground controllers was less than an hour into the flight at a height of 35,000 feet, when the plane was somewhere between the east coast of Malaysia and Vietnam.

But local newspaper Berita Harian quoted Malaysia's air force chief, Gen. Rodzali Daud, as saying that radar at a military base had tracked the jet as it changed its course, with the final signal at 2:40 a.m. showing the plane to be near Pulau Perak at the northern approach to the Strait of Malacca, a busy waterway that separates the western coast of Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island. It was flying slightly lower, at around 29,528 feet, he said.

"After that, the signal from the plane was lost," he was quoted as saying.

A high-ranking military official involved in the investigation confirmed the report. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose sensitive information.

[ASTalumna06]

Grieving the Unknown:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/mis...l-limbo-n51221

Because after a death, there are a prescribed set of rituals, according to your culture: throwing a handful of dirt on the coffin, or spreading the ashes in a favorite place of the deceased. All of these rituals have a purpose, helping the person process the grief. But with the missing — when a person is simply, mysteriously gone — the people left behind are helpless. Any ritual or burial or memorial has to be purely symbolic.

This was Sue Scott’s life for 45 years, since Dec. 30, 1969, when her brother’s plane went missing in Laos.

“Even though the flame of hope is so minute after so many years, you never quite give that up,” Scott said. “I think you’re always hoping for them to walk through the door. I don’t think that ever goes away. Some miracle will happen and they will walk through the door.”

[moe.ron]

It's interesting to watch different coverage here in Asia. Been watching the local, regional, BBC and CNN. The local and regional are obvious focusing on the search and rescue with their reporter on the planes and boats looking. BBC pretty much straight forward reporting on the latest news. CNN seems to be trying to hype up the story. Yesterday it was all about Iranian link terrorism, today seems to be about suicidal pilots. The terrorism angle was paraded by a lot of the reporters and politicians, angling it so Iran was responsible.