Related: Japan, South Korea leaders to meet
"China, Japan, Britain join search for airliner; Crisis fosters alliance amid regional tensions" by Michelle Innis and Chris Buckley | New York Times March 22, 2014
SYDNEY — The expansion of the multinational operation in the southern Indian Ocean illustrated how the bleak search for the missing jet has partly dampened regional tensions. China and Japan are locked in a dispute over islands in the East China Sea but their forces will work in coordination with the US and Australian militaries.
I suppose their is a silver lining to everything.
Almost two weeks after the plane vanished, Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister of Malaysia, which is in charge of the overall search, said it was “very, very” difficult to talk with waiting families about the possibility that the 227 passengers and 12 crew members had died.
Their most important question, “where are their loved ones?” cannot be answered, he said at a news conference Friday near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where the plane left on a flight to Beijing
After the satellite images were reported, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott kindled hope that the waters off Western Australia might hold clues to the plane’s fate, but he tried to tamp down unrealistic expectations on Friday.
‘‘It’s about the most inaccessible spot that you could imagine on the face of the earth, but if there is anything down there, we will find it,’’ Abbott said.
I'm tired of the yank-yank of hope. I can only imagine how the families feel.
UPDATE: ‘Increasing hope’ in MH370 search, Australian leader says
Not according to the families.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: A Chinese satellite spotted an object
Australian aircraft searched the remote expanse of ocean more than 9,800 feet deep on Friday. Although they did not find anything, Hishammuddin, who is also Malaysia’s acting transport minister, called the indistinct satellite images of the objects the best lead available and announced that more ships and surveillance planes would head to the area to help....
Separately, the Chinese government announced it would send three military aircraft to Australia for the search, joining a Chinese polar exploration vessel and merchant ships.
“This crisis has put a heavy burden on Asian countries to cooperate,” said Bridget Welsh, a political scientist at Singapore Management University. “But there’s still the issues of wariness and lack of trust between them and some other partners.”
She continued: “We see this affecting the questions of sharing data from satellite technology, working together, especially between China and the United States.”
Hishammuddin said he planned to call US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, to seek more “help with the search and rescue efforts, including remotely operated vehicles for deep-ocean salvage.”
But the search for signs of Flight 370 is not all high-tech. John Young, the Australian official directing the search in the southern Indian Ocean, said the Australian planes would, for now at least, abandon radar scanning and rely on human spotters. Young said that using human spotters might be slower, but that it was more promising than radar....
??
Commander William J. Marks, the spokesman for the US Navy’s 7th Fleet, said the P-8A Poseidon would continue to use radar and other electronic sensing devices for the search. The Pentagon said it has spent $2.5 million to operate ships and aircraft in the search and has budgeted another $1.5 million for the efforts.
This looking for a needle in a haystack while we are getting social service cuts here at home.
Hussein thanked the more than two dozen countries involved in the overall search that stretches from Kazakhstan in Central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean.
He called the whole process ‘‘a long haul.’’
Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanation for what happened to the jet but have said the evidence so far suggests it was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca, with its communications systems disabled.
Police are considering the possibilities of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism, or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board.
That all sounds so familiar to me.
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I don't know what kind of false flag this is; however, it is getting ridiculous.
UPDATE: Flight 370 downing was Energy weapons demo
Another possible theory:
"The front landing gear of a jetliner arriving at New York’s La Guardia Airport collapsed Monday shortly after the plane touched down on the runway, injuring several people, officials said."
Better than the tail hitting, I guess.
"Captain took command before N.Y. landing accident" by Verena Dobnik | Associated Press August 07, 2013
NEW YORK — The captain of a Southwest Airlines plane that landed on a collapsing nose gear at LaGuardia Airport took control from the first officer just 400 feet from the ground, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.
It is unusual for a copilot or captain to take over a plane that is landing when it is so close to the tarmac unless there are ‘‘profound’’ safety issues, a private aviation specialist said....
The federal agency, which investigates every US civil aviation accident and significant accidents involving other types of transportation, on Tuesday issued an update report that offers a glimpse into what happened in the cockpit of the Boeing 737 minutes before its nose hit the tarmac and the landing gear collapsed, sending it skidding before it came to a halt in a grassy area.
‘‘At this point in the investigation, no mechanical anomalies or malfunctions have been found,’’ the NTSB said. ‘‘A preliminary examination of the nose gear indicated that it failed due to stress overload.’’
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