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April 7th, 2014
11:08 PM ET

Did Flight 370 intentionally skirt Indonesian airspace?

A senior Malaysian government official suggests Flight 370 may have been trying to avoid radar detection and skirted Indonesian airspace as it veered off course.  What would that say about the intentions of whoever was at the plane's controls? Anderson discusses it with Martin Savidge and pilot Mitchell Casado in the flight simulator, along with aviation analyst Miles O'Brien and aviation correspondent Richard Quest.
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Filed under: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 • Miles O'Brien • Richard Quest
soundoff (One Response)
  1. dtsalpha

    *If* the current route of MH370 currently being perpetuated is indeed true, the plane's route demonstrates an avoidance of active volcanoes, mountains, and residual ash left from recent volcanic eruptions. It *Does Not* indicate an evasion of military radar but of a pilot following standard procedures and avoiding volcanoes.

    Please read the following quote from a major U.S. aircraft manufacturer titled "Volcanic Ash Avoidance":

    *Start Quote

    Avoidance.
    Preventing flight into potential ash environments requires planning in these areas:

    Dispatch needs to provide flight crews with information about volcanic events, such as potentially eruptive volcanoes and known ash sightings, that could affect a particular route (see sidebar page).

    Dispatch also needs to identify alternate routes to help flight crews avoid airspace containing volcanic ash.

    Flight crews should stay upwind of volcanic ash and dust.

    Flight crews should note that airborne weather radar is ineffective for distinguishing ash and small dust particles.

    *End Quote

    Please Note the Following Dates of Mount Sinabung's Eruptions:

    *Start Quote

    5 March-11 March 2014

    Based on wind data, satellite images, and webcam images, the Darwin VAAC reported that during 4-7 and 9-11 March ash plumes from Sinabung rose to altitudes of 3.7-4 km (12,000-13,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted W and SW. Ash plumes drifted 35-165 km SW and W during 6 and 9-11 March.

    Source: Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)

    *End Quote

    The following is from The Jarkarta Post regarding the eruption of Mount Kelud. Please note the date the region's alert was to end; March 12:

    *Start Quote

    The latest information said the eruption had stopped, but that volcanic ash was still falling,” Malang district chief Rendra Kresna told the Jakarta Globe. “The refugees will remain in the camps until the ash-fall subsides.”

    The region will remain under alert until March 12, the local government announced.

    *End Quote

    The following quote is from The Jakarta Post regarding the "aviation graveyard", Mount Salak:

    *Start Quote

    The route traveled for the demonstration flight is also known by local experts as an “aircraft graveyard”, given the number of accidents that have occurred along the flight path. Six aviation accidents have been recorded near Mt. Salak in the past 10 years, with a death toll of more than 25 people.

    Extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, haze and mountainous terrain are often cited as the main hurdles in flying through the area.

    “Even for experienced local pilots, flying around or near the area is not a walk in the park,” senior pilot Jeffrey Adrian of Garuda Indonesia Airways said.

    *End Quote

    April 8, 2014 at 11:15 am |

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