Malaysian Airline Tragedy - What could have happened?

The Boeing flight owned by Malaysian is still missing and the whole episode is turning out to be more mysterious than everyone thought. Several theories have been emerging about what could have happened to the flight. Some say it was hijacked and others say that it broke mid-way. The latest statement from one of the investigating agencies is that the aircraft might have suffered mechanical issues at 35,000 ft above the ground and all its parts must have scattered - which is why no parts of the flight were detected yet.

I'm wondering why isn't the blackbox of the plane has a GPS module that would constantly transmit the current location of the plane? The blackbox is fairly unbreakable (as I imagine) and fitting it up with a GPS should have solved this issue.

If anyone here knows about the aircraft designs - I request them to tell us whether a plane breaking up in the mid-air is a possibility?

Replies

  • Chaitanya Kukde
    Chaitanya Kukde
    Actually the fuselage of the plane can break up in mid-air
  • Ayobola
    Ayobola
    yeah planes break up in mid -air ... cracks could occur on the fuselage of the planes and then propagate to catastrophic proportions
  • Nayan Goenka
    Nayan Goenka
    Disappeared doesn't justify. Even if the plane were on the verge of mechanical breakdown or some sort of accident mid-air, the Pilot would have tried to inform/contact the ATC or someone at least. Someone must have known. But the planed disappeared in thin air which is fishy. Something Secret-Service-Stuff it breeds
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    I tell you, it's ALIENS! ๐Ÿ˜
  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Can someone tell me why aren't the black boxes fitted with GPS modules? Wouldn't that make the whole search process easy?
  • Abhishek Rawal
    Abhishek Rawal
    Interesting News : #-Link-Snipped-#
  • lal
    lal
    Wondering why didn't they track the phones if those were really ringing!
  • Satya Swaroop Dash
    Satya Swaroop Dash
    Kaustubh Katdare
    Can someone tell me why aren't the black boxes fitted with GPS modules? Wouldn't that make the whole search process easy?
    Don't planes have GPS?

    Yes, but while GPS (Global Positioning System) is a staple of modern life, the world's air traffic control network is still almost entirely radar-based.

    Aircraft use GPS to show pilots their position on a map, but this data is not usually shared with air traffic control.

    Some of the most modern aircraft are able to "uplink" GPS data to satellite tracking services, but handling large volumes of flight data is expensive and such systems are usually only used in remote areas with no radar coverage.

    However, there are plans for air traffic controllers to replace radar as their primary surveillance method over the next decade.

    The new system - ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) - will see aircraft work out their position using GPS and then relay data to the ground and other planes.

    Source: BBC
  • Satya Swaroop Dash
    Satya Swaroop Dash
    The GPS Conundrum:

    The problem with GPS is that it actually records a position but cannot transmit it. Since some theorists have said that the plane was systematically shut down along with the transponder the GPS would not have been able to function too. If the GPS actually had sent its data to a satellite for backup it would have been able to beneficial. The only hope now is scouring the entire ocean searching for the Black Box pings with the help of Sonar which will be a pain staking process.

You are reading an archived discussion.

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