Originally Posted by Soundy (Post 8433526)

Here's the thing: RADAR doesn't tell anyone what plane it's showing, it just shows an object. They could have picked up a different plane on a similar course and an operator mistook it for the airliner in question.

In fact, there seems to be a little confusion as to exactly how RADAR works: all it does is send out a pulse of radio waves, and IF some are reflected back, it calculates the distance the object is by the time it takes the signal to return. Speed toward or away from the array can be determined by Doppler shift; speed perpendicular to the array can be determined by position change between sweeps.

As has been already noted, civilian RADAR has an effective maximum distance of 120 miles or so - this is because radio waves disperse over distance... same as shining a flashlight on distant trees. The further the object, the weaker the signal, the less reliable it gets. You can get more range with a tighter beam, but at the expense of coverage area and only being able to scan a small area (picture a flashlight you can focus from a wide beam to a narrow spot).

The plane's own RADAR systems have nothing to do with their tracking on the ground; those are there to show the plane's crew what's around it in the sky.

Originally Posted by underscore (Post 8433533)

I know the basics of how it works, but I could've sworn someone mentioned earlier that the planes systems also send info to the ground IDing the plane and giving more accurate info.

edit: maybe radar isn't the correct term for the system I'm thinking of. Is there one that does what I described?

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty (Post 8433537)

Not 100% true there Soundy. Your explanation of Radar is spot on but there are ways for it to correctly identify which plane is which. It all depends on the type of transponder that the aircraft has, be in mode A, C, or S. Mode A; if I remember correctly just fires back a target with altitude to the radar station. Mode C you'll get speed, altitude. Mode S you get pretty much errthang concerning the aircraft.

Originally Posted by underscore (Post 8433553)

Thanks Soundy, you answered my question about the systems (despite me bungling up which is which)

So assuming those systems stopped working on the plane (seeing as the other people stopped receiving it), when the military radar picked up the plane at 02:40L I presume they would've just seen a big blip with none of the other info they should normally get from a jet. This explains why it took them a while to sort out that the blip they saw was the missing plane, but what I'm wondering is this: what action would the military take if they pick up a big, unidentified plane in their airspace?

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty (Post 8433557)

Very dependant upon the country. I mean look at that plane that the Russians shot down in the 80's? As a rule of thumb the military isn't going to shoot a plane down the moment it gets within its airspace without permission. If it enters the airspace they would most likely send up a couple fighters, who would then fly up alongside and try communicating with the jet (every pilot in the world must know their intercept orders, or have a copy with them). If they can't communicate then theoretically they would shoot it down.

Originally Posted by Hondaracer (Post 8433563)

Pilot let's terrorists into cockpit on his own accord due to them being tourists

"Tourists" take over plane turn it back towards Malaysia

Tourists make demands heading back towards major cities

Shoot down plane over water/jungle

Release info slow due to not knowing how to deal with situation
Posted via RS Mobile

Originally Posted by lowside67 (Post 8433569)

The copilot once before let two decent looking girls into the cockpit that he was flirting with on the ground before the flight. The chances he would randomly let two men from Iran into the cockpit are a lot slimmer.

Originally Posted by underscore (Post 8433553)

...what action would the military take if they pick up a big, unidentified plane in their airspace?

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty (Post 8433557)

Very dependant upon the country.

Originally Posted by Soundy (Post 8433596)

Also dependent on their capabilities... did reports not say it was the Malaysian military that tracked the blip? Do they HAVE fighter jets?

Originally Posted by underscore (Post 8433521)

It's not being "hung up from the other end", it's just not connecting. The ringing in cell phones is faked anyways, it's not like old land line to land line where the ring you heard was the other persons phone ringing, it's just there to let you know it's trying to make the call. Have you never tried calling someones cell after they misplaced it? You get ringing for a second or two before their phone starts going off. Do you really think the plane was landed somewhere within range of cell towers by people who wouldn't bother to take everyone's phones and shut them off/destroy them?

To verify that, I just tried to call my personal cell phone (which is off) from my work cell phone. I'll get ringing despite the other phone definitely not being connected.

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG (Post 8433650)

I've been reading about this from the beginning and the best theory I've seen is that the plane was shot down by the military and the Malaysian government is covering it up, hence all the confusion and misinformation.

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG (Post 8433650)

I've been reading about this from the beginning and the best theory I've seen is that the plane was shot down by the military and the Malaysian government is covering it up, hence all the confusion and misinformation.

Originally Posted by Gumby (Post 8433653)

Possibly - but what was the reason for shooting it down? Was it indeed hijacked?

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG (Post 8433666)

I believe it went along the lines of the airplane failing to communicate with fighter jets resulting in it being shot down on fear of it being hijacked.

But the only thing is that if it was indeed shot down, I'm sure it would've been noticed by someone.

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG (Post 8433650)

I've been reading about this from the beginning and the best theory I've seen is that the plane was shot down by the military and the Malaysian government is covering it up, hence all the confusion and misinformation.

Originally Posted by seakrait (Post 8433677)

Depending on where it gets shot down though. If it's over the middle of Malaysia, maybe no one.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...sity_2010b.png

For reference, Kuala Lumpur is the heavily populated purple zone on West side of the Malaysian peninsula on the left.

Posted via RS Mobile

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG (Post 8433666)

I believe it went along the lines of the airplane failing to communicate with fighter jets resulting in it being shot down on fear of it being hijacked.

But the only thing is that if it was indeed shot down, I'm sure it would've been noticed by someone.