In occasion with the mind-disturbing news that has shocked the whole of Malaysia and of course the world as well, it is indeed that one of our Malaysian flights MH370 has gone missing earlier today, at about 2:40am, 8th March, 2014. It really is nerve-wrecking waiting for the latest updates, with so many rumors around keeping us on our toes. In fact, we united as a nation, praying for their safety and well-being regardless race or creed. Well, here are some other incidents that might bring your attention to:
The worst plane crash to have ever happened in Malaysia, when 100 passengers and crew died when flight MH653 crashed into a swamp in Tanjong Kupang in Johor. The Boeing 737-200 was reported to have been hijacked while descending towards Subang airport, at around 7.54pm, when the captain informed the control tower of an unidentified hijacker.
He later informed the tower that they were en-route to Singapore, before all communications were lost at around 8.15pm. The fatalities included the-then Agriculture Minister Datuk Ali Ahmad and Cuban Ambassador to Japan Mario Garcia. The reasons behind the hijacking are not known to this day.
A haunting memory...
December 18, 1983
Flight MH 684 from Singapore crashed two kilometres short of the runway at Subang airport at 7.20pm. The captain attempted to land the Airbus 300-B4 in heavy rain, clipping some trees on its descent before and the right landing gear struck the ground. There were no fatalities, but the plane was damaged beyond repair.
September 15, 1995
Thirty-four people died when flight MH2133 overshot the runway at Tawau airport, crashing into a shantytown when it attempted to carry out a go-around. Investigations found that the Fokker 50 crash was due to pilot error.
March 15, 2000
An Airbus A330-300 servicing the MH085 route between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur was damaged during unloading of cargo at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The plane was damaged by a chemical called oxalyl chloride, which leaked out of a canister during unloading and caused five ground staff to fall ill. The plane was written-off. A Chinese company, which falsely declared the corrosive chemicals, was ordered to pay USD65 million (RM211.9 million) plus interest over the incident.
August 1, 2005
Flight MH124 was forced to perform an emergency landing at Perth Airport after the crew reported a software malfunction when the Boeing 777-2H6ER plane had attempted to gain altitude after takeoff. The plane, which was en route to Kuala Lumpur, encountered problems with its instrumentation, forcing the pilot to take manual control of the plane. The plane landed without incident.
December 17, 2013
Flight MH170, flying in from Jakarta, experienced severe turbulence as it prepared to land at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, due to an air vortex caused by an earlier landing by an Airbus A380 super jumbo. The vortex caused the Boeing 737-800 to pitch down and to the sides during its descent, but was quickly brought under control by the pilot and landed safely.
Flight MH124 was forced to perform an emergency landing at Perth Airport after the crew reported a software malfunction when the Boeing 777-2H6ER plane had attempted to gain altitude after takeoff. The plane, which was en route to Kuala Lumpur, encountered problems with its instrumentation, forcing the pilot to take manual control of the plane. The plane landed without incident.
December 17, 2013
Flight MH170, flying in from Jakarta, experienced severe turbulence as it prepared to land at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, due to an air vortex caused by an earlier landing by an Airbus A380 super jumbo. The vortex caused the Boeing 737-800 to pitch down and to the sides during its descent, but was quickly brought under control by the pilot and landed safely.
Source and credits to: Aviation Safety Network, The Star
March 8, 2014
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, registration 9M-MRO performing flight MH-370 from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Beijing (China) with 227 passengers and 12 crew, was enroute at FL350 over the Gulf of Thailand in contact with Subang Center (Malaysia) when radar and radio contact was reported lost with the aircraft at around 02:40L (18:40Z Mar 7th). The aircraft would have run out of fuel by now, there have been no reports of the aircraft turning up on any airport in the region.
The airline confirmed the aircraft is missing, a search and rescue operation has been initiated. Subang Air Traffic Control reported at 02:40 local Malaysian time, that radar and radio contact with the aircraft had been lost.
In a press conference the airline stated, the last contact with the aircraft had been about 160nm northeast of Kota Bharu (Malaysia), over the Gulf of Thailand. The aircraft was piloted by an experienced captain (53, 18,365 hours total) and a first officer (27, 2,763 hours total). The aircraft carried 153 Chinese citizens, 38 Malaysians, 12 Indonesians, 7 Australians, 3 French, 4 citizens of USA, 2 New Zealanders, 2 Ukrainians, 2 Canadians, 1 Russian, 1 Italian, 1 Taiwanese, 1 Dutch and 1 Austrian.
Search missions have been launched along the estimated flight track of the aircraft from Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos to China (South China Sea).
At about noon local time Vietnamese search personnel reported they have detected an ELT signal about 20nm south of the coast of Ca Mau. Vietnam officials subsequently stated that they have not yet detected flight MH-370.
China reported that the aircraft did not enter Chinese airspace (editorial note: which effectively discounts rumours and false reports by a Malaysian outlet of the aircraft having landed in Nanning (China)). Nanning Airport stated the aircraft did not arrive at the airport.
According to The Aviation Herald's radar data the aircraft was last regularly seen at 17:22Z (01:22L) about half way between Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) at FL350 over the Gulf of Thailand about 260nm northnortheast of Kuala Lumpur and 160nm northeast of Kota Bharu 40 minutes into the flight, followed by anomalies in the radar data of the aircraft over the next minute (the anomalies may be related to the aircraft but could also be caused by the aircraft leaving the range of the receiver).
Aviation sources in China report that radar data suggest a steep and sudden descent of the aircraft, during which the track of the aircraft changed from 024 degrees to 333 degrees. The aircraft was estimated to contact Ho Chi Minh Control Center (Vietnam) at 01:20L, but contact was never established.
Source: The Aviation Herald by Simon Hradecky created Saturday, Mar 8th 2014 01:10Z
**To be updated soon~
Let's all pray hard for them. My thoughts and feelings with the ones on board and their families. Amithaba.
Signing off:
Nickel Low CJ
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