[tbone79]

ALERT OVER!!!

It was just me taking a bath..

[kellyhound]

TOKYO -- A Japanese rocket maker says a large piece of metal that washed up on a beach in Thailand is likely part of a rocket launched by Japan, not a missing Malaysian plane.

The discovery of the metal sparked speculation that it might be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared almost two years ago.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said Monday that the metal piece is highly likely to be part of a Japanese H-IIA or H-IIB rocket that was launched from southern Japan, based on an initial examination of photos and videos of the object.

Company spokeswoman Sayo Suwashita said officials are trying to determine which rocket and its launch date. Rocket debris falls into the ocean after every launch, and most is collected but sometimes pieces can be found some distance from the launch site, including in foreign waters, she said.

Japan has launched H-IIA and H-IIB rockets since the 2000s. The most recent H-IIA launch was in November.

Flight 370 took off from Malaysia in March 2014. It lost communications and made a sharp turn away from its Beijing destination before disappearing. It is presumed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, far away from Thailand.

The debris was found on the eastern coast of Nakkon Si Thammarat.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Sunday that the search for the missing jet, which carried 239 people, is ongoing in the Indian Ocean and that its second phase is expected to be completed by June. Australia has led a multinational search that has so far cost more than US$120 million.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau announced Monday that the search of 120 square kilometres of seabed where the Boeing 777 is thought to have crashed had been set back after a ship lost its sonar equipment.

The Fugro Discovery, one of three ships conducting the search, towed its side-scan sonar unit on Sunday into a mud volcano that rose 2,200 meters from the sea floor, the bureau said in a statement.

The ship lost the sonar unit plus 4.5 kilometres of cable. The ship is now making a six-day journey to the Australian port of Fremantle to collect new cable and will continue the search with spare sonar equipment, it said.

[BryanXavier]

At least they were smart enough not to take the barnacles off. Thanks.

Oh and Pointer alert.

[kellyhound]

Australian officials on Thursday said a large flap airplane section recovered near the Tanzanian coast belongs to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the piece of debris -- identified as Part No. 5 -- was found on June 20 on the island of Pemba off the coast of Tanzania.

A date stamp on the debris showed a manufactured date of Jan. 12, 2002, registered under 9M-MRO -- the Boeing 777 operating as MH370.

"It was confirmed that Part No. 5 was the inboard section of a Boeing 777 right, outboard flap, originating from the Malaysian Airlines aircraft registered 9M-MRO," the ATSB said in its conclusion.

MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia en route to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board.

The pilots last communicated with air traffic control 38 minutes after takeoff. Three minutes later, the plane's transponders were turned off and the plane disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar screens.

Malaysian authorities concluded the flight had ended in the Indian Ocean, but no confirmed MH370 debris was found until last year when a right wing flaperon was discovered on Reunion Island, east of Madagascar.

The ATSB expects the investigation into the disappearance of MH370 will conclude in November, unless new discoveries are made that could lead to the discovery of the downed craft and its victims.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/...r/ae-2014-054/

[lesslis2015]

That 7 hrs of flying and the 3 or so turns within that time debunk or at least throw a wrench in the few theories that do seem to make some sense. Hypoxia and hijack. Or maybe hijack then hypoxia.

[Oswald2001]

Originally Posted by lesslis2015 ↗

That 7 hrs of flying and the 3 or so turns within that time debunk or at least throw a wrench in the few theories that do seem to make some sense. Hypoxia and hijack. Or maybe hijack then hypoxia.

Some Terrorist plots utilize hypoxia as part of their plan.

If the passengers are unconscious, they cannot resist and/or possibly regain control of the aircraft from the Terrorists.

[rob666]

Originally Posted by Oswald2001 ↗

Some Terrorist plots utilize hypoxia as part of their plan.

If the passengers are unconscious, they cannot resist and/or possibly regain control of the aircraft from the Terrorists.

I'm not aware of that happening in any previous high jacking.

I'm not aware of any terrorist organization claiming responsibility for this either.

[lesslis2015]

Not that I'm aware of Rob. Just discussing ideas based on info available.

[mmeroyale]

Dunno about hypoxia but didn't the first plane that hit the twin towers report smelling gas or something in the first class cabin before hitting?

[lesslis2015]

Think flight attendant said mace or pepperspray during a call from plane.