A NEW Trace! The FULL MH370 Story...So Far.
Summary
TLDRThe transcript details the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, exploring the events leading up to its vanishing and the subsequent search efforts. It delves into the possible scenarios based on the aircraft's systems, such as the SATCOM and ACARS, and discusses the potential use of weak signal propagation data to trace the plane's final path. The narrative also highlights the importance of continuing the search for the missing Boeing 777 to provide closure for the families of the 239 people on board.
Takeaways
- đĢ MH370's disappearance remains one of the biggest aviation mysteries, with the Boeing 777 vanishing with 239 people on board.
- đ It has been 10 years since the Malaysia Airlines flight went missing, and this story aims to encourage authorities to restart the search.
- đ¨ââī¸ The flight was a training flight for the first officer, who was transitioning from the Airbus A330 to the Boeing 777.
- đ The aircraft's route took a sharp turn from its planned path, indicating deliberate interference with the flight's trajectory.
- đĢ The transponder was manually switched off, suggesting a conscious effort to avoid detection.
- đ A power failure to the SATCOM system suggests a deliberate act of disconnecting all power sources, indicating someone with knowledge of the aircraft's systems was in control.
- đ°ī¸ Inmarsat data provided a series of 'handshakes' that placed the aircraft along specific arcs, indicating it continued to fly for hours after last contact.
- đ¤ The final moments of MH370 are still speculative, but evidence suggests a series of turns and possible figure-eight pattern before the end.
- đ Debris found along Eastern African coastlines confirms the aircraft crashed into the ocean, but the exact location remains unknown.
- đ New potential evidence using radio data and expert analysis suggests different search areas that could lead to the discovery of the wreckage.
- đ The renewed search efforts are crucial for providing closure to the families of the passengers and crew of MH370.
Q & A
What was the significance of the WSPR data in the search for MH370?
-The WSPR data provided a potential new trajectory for MH370, which included a series of turns towards existing waypoints but not on the same airways, suggesting the aircraft was still being deliberately piloted to avoid detection. The WSPR data also indicated a possible final position for the aircraft and corresponded closely with the Inmarsat handshake arcs.
What are the two types of radar mentioned in the script and how do they differ?
-The two types of radar mentioned are primary radar and secondary radar. Primary radar, also known as raw radar, sends out a radio pulse and measures any waves that bounce back, providing information about the target's direction. Secondary radar relies on a transponder on the aircraft to provide more detailed information like position, altitude, speed, and flight plan data.
What was the role of the ACARS system in the story of MH370?
-The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was a digital data link system that transmitted regular information about the aircraft's status and position. It was crucial in providing the 'handshakes' with the satellite, which later helped in retracing the aircraft's path even after it disappeared from conventional radar.
What happened to the transponder signals on MH370 shortly after the aircraft flew past IGARI?
-The Mode S functionality of the transponder, which provides additional information, was switched off, and after 37 seconds, the secondary radar return also disappeared as the aircraft stopped following its planned route and made a sharp turn.
What is the significance of the 'first handshake' from MH370's SATCOM system after it had been non-responsive?
-The 'first handshake' indicated that the aircraft's SATCOM system had come back to life after a power interruption. The large frequency error in the burst frequency offset (BFO) value suggested that the system's quartz crystals had not yet reached the correct temperature, implying that the aircraft had likely been powered down until just before this point.
What was the possible reason for the captain's second call to the Lumpur Area controller reporting that the aircraft was level at flight level 350?
-The second call might have been made to ensure that Air Traffic Control (ATC) had not tried to contact the aircraft while the crew was away from the frequency, possibly due to being occupied with some issue on the aircraft.
What was the significance of the mobile phone signal detected from the first officer's phone by a Celcom mobile mast on Penang island?
-The detection of the mobile phone signal suggested that the first officer might have been trying to communicate from the aircraft. However, no call signals came through, and the signal was detected only briefly, indicating a possible attempt to reach out during the crisis.
What was the possible reason for the aircraft to fly in a figure-eight pattern towards the end of the flight?
-The figure-eight pattern, if accurate, suggests a deliberate act by the person in control of the aircraft, possibly to look out for ships in the area as a reassurance that the aircraft's final resting place would not be easily discovered.
What were the two alternate theories for new search areas provided in the video?
-The two alternate theories for new search areas were based on the expertise of two veteran 777 captains and a new application of existing radio data from the WSPR network. Both theories propose areas outside of the previously searched zones.
What were the improvements made in tracking commercial aircraft over oceans following the disappearance of MH370?
-Improvements included better tracking procedures for aircraft over oceans, extended life for emergency locator transmitters, and enhanced Air Traffic Control (ATC) procedures for tracking aircraft.
Why is finding the wreckage of MH370 considered important?
-Finding the wreckage is crucial for conclusively determining the fate of the aircraft, understanding the cause of its disappearance, and providing closure to the families of the passengers and crew. It also aids in improving aviation safety and tracking technologies to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Outlines
đ¨ Mystery of MH370: The Untraceable Flight
The script begins with an exploration of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 people on board. The video aims to persuade authorities to restart the search for the missing aircraft and provide closure to the families. It introduces new potential evidence based on enhanced technology that may reveal the plane's final location.
đ¨ââī¸ The Crew of Flight MH370
The narrative delves into the background of the pilots, their training, and personal lives. It describes the captain's extensive experience and the first officer's transition from Airbus A330 to the Boeing 777. The script also discusses the crew's pre-flight preparations and the aircraft's technical specifications, including its communication systems.
đĢ The Final Moments on the Ground
This section details the final pre-flight activities, including the cargo load, ACARS messages, and the aircraft's taxi and takeoff. It highlights the normalcy of the flight's initial phase, the communication with air traffic control, and the passengers' profiles.
đ Radar and Communication Systems
The script explains the types of radar systems used in aviation, including primary and secondary radar, and the role of transponders. It discusses the aircraft's communication with air traffic control and the significance of the ACARS system in tracking the flight.
đŠī¸ The Unraveling Flight Path
The account of the flight's trajectory after takeoff, including the captain's routine communications and the abrupt changes in the flight path detected by primary radar. It suggests a possible deliberate intervention with the flight's trajectory and the disabling of the transponder.
đ Power Loss and System Manipulation
The script hypothesizes about the deliberate disconnection of power sources, leading to a loss of communication with the aircraft. It explores the implications of the SATCOM system going silent and the potential strategies used to avoid detection by military and civilian radar.
đŦ The Search for MH370 Continues
The video discusses the efforts to track the aircraft using Inmarsat data and the challenges of interpreting the data due to multiple potential flight paths. It highlights the importance of continuing the search for MH370 and introduces new theories and potential search areas based on various analyses.
đ New Evidence and Final Theories
The script presents new evidence and theories, including the use of WSPR data and the potential final route of MH370. It discusses the possibility of the aircraft being piloted deliberately until the end and the implications of the findings on the search for the wreckage.
đ Closure for the Families
The video concludes with a call to action for renewed search efforts in new areas to find the wreckage of MH370 and provide closure for the families of the missing passengers. It emphasizes the importance of uncovering the truth behind the flight's disappearance.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄBoeing 777
đĄMH370
đĄACARS
đĄSATCOM
đĄTransponder
đĄPrimary Radar
đĄFlight Level
đĄRadar Echo
đĄInmarsat
đĄWSPR
Highlights
The mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is explored, focusing on the possibility of a deliberate act by someone with expert knowledge of the aircraft and its systems.
The story of MH370 is told with the goal of persuading authorities to restart the search for the missing Boeing 777 and provide closure to the families of the 239 people on board.
New potential evidence is presented based on enhanced and refined technology that may provide new clues to the aircraft's final location.
The flight was a training flight for the first officer transitioning from Airbus A330 to the Boeing 777.
The captain had a stable financial situation, no known illnesses, and was a solid, reliable member of his community with an 18,400-hour flight experience.
The aircraft's ACARS system sent out its last complete routine message via SATCOM before a period of silence from the aircraft.
The transponder's Mode S functionality was switched off, indicating deliberate interference with the flight's trajectory.
The aircraft made a sharp, almost 180-degree left turn, suggesting manual control and disconnection of the autopilot.
The SATCOM system's power failure suggests that all power sources were manually turned off, indicating a deliberate act by someone in control of the aircraft.
The aircraft continued to fly for several hours, with Inmarsat data providing seven handshakes that could be used to track its path.
The Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Protocol (WSPR) is introduced as a potential new method for tracking aircraft, using low power radio transmissions.
WSPR data corresponds with Inmarsat data, suggesting the aircraft made a series of turns towards waypoints, indicating continued manual piloting.
The WSPR data indicates the aircraft may have flown in a figure-eight pattern before its final logon, possibly to avoid detection.
The final Inmarsat logon suggests the aircraft might have been in a steep descent or was maximizing the use of remaining fuel.
Debris from MH370 has been found along the coastlines of Eastern Africa, indicating the aircraft crashed in or near the searched area.
The video calls for a renewed search effort in two new areas outside of the previously searched zones, based on veteran 777 captains' theories and WSPR data analysis.
The search for MH370 is important not only for the families of the missing but also for improvements in aviation safety and tracking.
Transcripts
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- How can a Boeing 777, one of the biggest
and most modern aircraft in the world,
just vanish without a trace?
It can't.
Everything lost leaves a trace.
- And a Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people on board--
- MH370. - Flight 370.
- Flight MH370... (indistinct)
- Stay back!
- There are mysteries in the world
and then there is the story of MH370.
This is a story so full of questions and theories
that it's almost impossible to tell it
without resorting to pure speculation.
This is the reason I have refrained
from covering it up until now.
But since at the time of this video's release
it's gone 10 years since 239 people
disappeared without a trace,
I've decided to make an exception.
This story is created with one goal and one goal only,
and that is to persuade the authorities
to restart the search for the missing Boeing 777.
And with that, hopefully also provide some closure
to the families, some of which I've been
in contact with before making this video.
I will, today, share with you new potential evidence
based partially on a technology
that has been enhanced and refined over the last few years,
to the point where it now possibly can provide new clues
o where this aircraft finally ended up.
This is the story of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370,
as far as we know it.
- [MH370 Captain] Good night, Malaysia 370.
On the 7th of March, 2014, a crew from Malaysian Airlines
checked in for a night duty which was to take them
from Kuala Lumpur International Airport
in Malaysia up to Beijing International in China.
Except for the late start time,
it was supposed to be a quite nice duty
with a calculated flight time
of only five hours and 34 minutes,
meaning that they would eventually
be finished in Beijing around mid-morning the following day.
The captain of the flight arrived first and signed in
at the Malaysian Airlines crew room at local time 22:50.
He was then followed by his colleague,
the first officer, around 25 minutes later.
This was planned as a training flight for the first officer,
since he was completing a transition type course
over from the Airbus A330 to the Boeing 777,
which they would be flying on this flight.
The training had gone really well up until this point,
and if everything went fine on this flight,
he would be recommended for final line check
by the captain for the following duty.
Having said that, this was the first time
that these two pilots were planned to fly together,
which might explain why the captain
had turned up a little bit earlier.
You see, it's pretty common for us instructors to do so
if we need to review someone's training file,
for example, before the flight
to check out if there's any areas
that might require special attention.
In any case, once the first officer
had also signed in, the two pilots proceeded
by going through the pre-flight briefing,
which from what they could see looked pretty straightforward.
The weather in Kuala Lumpur was generally nice and dominated
by a sub-tropical high pressure centered over Thailand,
and the weather at their destination, Beijing,
also looked quite good from what they could see.
The only potential issue was
that about two-thirds down the route,
they would be passing through a pretty strong jet stream
with high winds, which could cause a bit of turbulence,
but apart from that, it was looking pretty straightforward.
With that in mind, and no NOTAMs affecting
the flight either, the pilots then turned
their attention to the flight plan.
There were two alternates listed for Beijing,
and taking into consideration both of these,
the pilots decided on a final fuel of 49,100 kilos,
which was in line with the expected amount for this flight,
neither substantially more nor less than required.
This fuel would give the aircraft an approximate endurance
of seven hours and 31 minutes, around two hours longer
than the anticipated flight time,
and that will, of course, become very important in this story.
So who were the pilots
that were going to be in charge of this flight then?
Well, the captain was a 53-year-old
with a 33-year great track record in Malaysia Airlines.
He was married with three children,
and on his spare time, he was involved
in a local opposition party, helped deliver groceries
to elderly, and tinker with some home electronics.
He had also started a YouTube channel,
which by the way is still there,
where he showed how to mend certain home appliances,
and also, crucially, where he showed off his home simulator,
which he had built to be able to practice his trade at home.
This simulator would later be investigated thoroughly.
It had been erased weeks before the flight,
but the investigator still found
some manually-entered waypoints of interest
in a backup memory, but without it proving
to be anything conclusive.
In any case, the captain had stable finances,
no known illnesses, and was regarded as a solid,
reliable member of his community.
In terms of his aviation career,
it had started when he was accepted
into a sponsored program for Malaysian Airlines
already back in 1981.
He completed his licenses,
and then started flying for them back in 1983.
He then worked his way up the ranks, starting
on the Fokker F27, and then the 737-200,
Airbus A300, and finally,
he got his first command on the Fokker 50.
This was then followed by command on the 737 -400,
and the Airbus A330,
until actually on my birthday,line:1 the 22nd of September 1998,
he received his command on the Boeing 777,
which he then continued to operate
until the day of this flight.
His good track record and seniority eventually gave him
the opportunity to also become a type-rating instructor,
as well as an examiner on this type,
and it was in this capacity that he was going
to operate Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 on this evening.
He had a total experience of just over 18,400 hours,
and 8,659 of those had been flown on the Boeing 777.
The first officer was 27 years old and single.
He had also been accepted into the airline as a cadet pilot,
started in 2008, and he had been flying initially
on the Boeing 737-400.
He had then changed over to the Airbus A330 fleet in 2012,
and then on to the Boeing 777 in November 2013,
just a few months before this flight,
and this was obviously why he was still in training.
He had a total experience of just over 2,800 hours,
and very little, only 39 hours on the type.
There is not much more mentioned about the first officer
in the final report, except that he was known
as a nice person with stable economy
and no recent major changes in his life.
Now, given the vast difference in experience,
seniority, and the fact that this was a training flight,
it can be easily assumed that the power gradient
in the cockpit would have been quite steep,
but nothing indicated any personal issues
between these two colleagues.
Both of them had also received more than the required rest
before the flight, and their licenses
and medicals were all up to date.
When the pilots had completed
their pre-flight preparation and training briefing,
they walked over to their 10 cabin crew members
that they were scheduled to operate together with.
This was a vastly experienced crew,
with the most junior attendant having flown for 13 years,
and the most senior, over 35 years.
So the briefing would have been pretty quick and efficient.
After they were finished, they all walked together
out to the aircraft that was being prepared
for them by the ground crew outside.
It was a majestic Boeing 777-200ER,
equipped with two Rolls Royce Trent 892B turbofan engines,
and it was in perfect working condition
according to the tech log.
The only point of interest was that
the flight crew oxygen cylinder had been topped up
just prior to the flight, but this was a routine maintenance thing.
Now, there are numerous systems aboard
this aircraft that will become important for this story,
and in order to explain it, I will have to become
quite technical in some places,
but also that's kind of what we do here on the channel.
Anyway, the two pilots had decided
that the first officer was going
to be pilot flying for this flight,
meaning that he immediately started completing
the pre-flight preparation
as soon as he arrived to the cockpit.
This included inputting flight information,
like the flight number and the airline info
into the FMC CDU, which he did at time 23:56:08.
Now, you might wonder how we can know that so exactly,
and this has to do with a system
that will play an incredibly important role here,
the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System,
more commonly referred to as ACARS.
This is a digital data link system,
which connects data providers on the ground
directly to the aircraft via either VHF
or satellite communications.
It enables people on the ground
to send things like updated weather,
flight plans and even make calls
or send messages directly to the aircraft when it's airborne.
And the part of this system which is going
to be most important here
is the satellite communications or SATCOM system.
The ACARS system booted up and established a link
through the SATCOM at time 23:54.
And about one minute and 20 seconds later, it captured
the first officer's inputs as I just mentioned before.
This showed that the system worked fine
in the beginning of this flight, and it's worth noting here
that the system uses two different satellite antennas,
depending on if the aircraft's
navigation system is working or not.
Remember that.
Anyway, as the first officer was working away
in the cockpit, he soon received an ACARS message
containing something known as a NOTOC.
Frequent viewers of this channel will know that this stands
for notification to captain, and is normally sent out
if the aircraft will be carrying dangerous goods.
In this case, there were actually no dangerous goods on board,
just some special load being loaded,
consisting of several tons of mangosteens
which apparently had a tendency to leak juice and water
and therefore, had to be checked closely.
The NOTOC message confirmed that the cargo had been checked
and that it wasn't leaking, but what it didn't say
was that there were also nearly two and a half tons
of lithium ion batteries loaded on board.
But these batteries were individually packaged
and stored in such a way that they
were not considered dangerous goods,
and they have therefore been ruled out
as a possible cause for what's about to happen.
Eventually, the captain returned from his walk-around,
and together with his colleague, they completed the rest
of the preflight preparations and briefings.
At time 23:25, the first officer called up Kuala Lumpur delivery
to request their departure clearance.
The delivery controller told them that they were clear
to follow the PIBOS-1A departure
from Runway 32R and initially climbed
to 6,000 feet with transponder code 2157.
This was read back by the first officer
and less than two minutes later,
Malaysia 370 also requested push and start,
which was almost immediately approved.
After the pushback, the aircraft received its taxi clearance
and then started taxiing out
towards runway 32 Right through the dark Malaysian night.
And for anyone watching the aircraft,
everything looked completely normal,
but this was going to be the last time
anyone saw this aircraft with their own eyes.
So what about the passengers then?
Well, there were 227 passengers on board,
coming from 14 different nations.
153 were from China, making those the largest group,
followed by 50 from Malaysia and seven from Indonesia.
Two of those passengers were later found to have been flying
on stolen passports and they were identified
as Iranians, who were most likely looking
for refugee status and were not considered a threat.
None of the other passengers raised any type of suspicion,
and this means that in total, there were 239 passengers
and crew on board when the giant Boeing 777 lined up
on runway 32R and started spooling up its engines.
And I'll tell you all about what happened next,
right after this...
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At 40 minutes and 37 seconds past midnight
on the 8th of March, Kuala Lumpur tower
cleared Malaysian Airlines flight 370 for takeoff.
The first officer was at the controls
at this point and had therefore,
handed over the radio to the captain and after the engines
were stabilized, he pushed
the TO/GA buttons and the aircraft
started accelerating down the runway.
At 42 minutes past midnight,
the SATCOM system recorded that the aircraft was airborne
and it then continued to transmit
the aircraft's identification codes
together with all of the other normal data
and this just showed that everything
was completely normal at that stage.
The procedures in Kuala Lumpur was for the pilots
to automatically switch over to the departure frequency
after takeoff so that's exactly what the captain now also did.
Once he called up and identified himself
the departure controller told them
to cancel the standard instrument departure
and instead proceed direct towards a waypoint called IGARI
and continue the climb to flight level 180.
It's pretty common that controllers
give clearances like this especially at night
when there's typically less traffic
and therefore easier to give these kind of directs.
The captain just read back the clearance
and then selected IGARI as the active waypoint in the FMC.
The first officer would have then verified it,
told him to execute the routing
and then selected flight level 180 in the mode control panel
for the captain to verify just like they
would have done thousands of times before.
At this stage of the flight,
everything was still completely normal
and when you listen to the ATC tapes,
the voice level of the captain
is completely relaxed and routine.
The aircraft continued its climb
towards IGARI and they were eventually changed over
to the next frequency, Lumpur Radar on 132.6.
This was going to be the controller looking after them
until they reached IGARI
and the FIR boundary towards Vietnam.
The captain read back this handover more or less exactly
as he should by confirming the new frequency
and giving his call sign, again sounding completely normal.
When he called up the new area controller,
he was told that they could continue
their climb to flight level 250 which he also read back
and only three minutes later, they received further clearance
to climb to the requested cruise level, flight level 350.
As flight 370 progressed up towards the northeast,
they were still fully visible on radar
for all involved ATC units.
And here, it's probably a good time
to start explaining a bit about radars in general.
There are two different types of radar
to keep in mind for this episode:
primary radar, which is also referred to as raw radar
and secondary radar.
Under normal circumstances,
commercial air traffic always uses both of them
but the secondary radar is what gives
the majority of the information.
It is dependent on a small radio transmitter
known as a transponder on board the aircraft
and this transponder will be identified
by a four-letter numerical code
with numbers from zero to seven.
Remember that was the code
that the first officer received earlier
as part of the departure clearance.
Now there are two transponders on board the aircraft
and the active one will,
when it's activated by the pilots,
send air traffic control loads of information like position,
altitude, speed and even MCP selections in some cases.
The transponders also communicate
with other traffic and therefore enables TCAS maneuvering.
And it's these transponders that makes apps
like FlightRadar24 work since anyone can pick up
the ADS-B signals that they transmit.
But the key thing to remember here
is that the transponders are on board the aircraft
and without them functioning, secondary radar will not work
and neither will those websites or TCAS.
And this brings us to the primary radar
which is an invention that has been with us
for a very long time by now.
In this essence, it works on a simple idea