[CFrance]

Hope this isn't too long to go through. It is very interesting info about the 777 by an American pilot who flies them:

Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 11:53:23 -0400
Subject: Fwd: This From An AA 777 Pilot
From: bwgriffith2@gmail.com

Interesting facts about the operation of the B-777. More clues to
the loss of the Malaysia 777.

Subject: Malaysia 777

From a retired AF colonel, now a pilot for AA, flying the Boeing 777.
All,
Just a quick update with what I know about the Malaysia 777
disappearance. The Boeing 777 is the airplane that I fly. It is a
great, safe airplane to fly. It has, for the most part, triple
redundancy in most of its systems, so if one complete system breaks
(not just parts of a system), there are usually 2 more to carry the
load. It's also designed to be easy to employ so 3rd world pilots can
successfully fly it. Sometimes, even that doesn't work...as the Asiana
guys in San Fran showed us. A perfectly good airplane on a beautiful,
sunny day...and they were able to crash it. It took some doing, but
they were able to defeat a bunch of safety systems and get it to where
the airplane would not help them and the pilots were too
stupid/scared/unskilled/tired to save themselves
There's many ways to fly the 777 and there are safety layers and
redundancies built into the airplane. It is tough to screw up and the
airplane will alert you in many ways (noises, alarms, bells and
whistles, plus feed back thru the control yoke and rudder pedals and
throttles. In some cases the airplane's throttles 'come alive' if you
are going to slow for a sustained period of time) All designed to
help. But, it's also non-intrusive. If you fly the airplane in the
parameters it was designed for, you will never know these other things
exist. The computers actually 'help' you and the designers made it
for the way pilots think and react. Very Nice.
Now to Malaysia. There are so many communication systems on the
airplane. 3 VHF radios. 2 SatCom systems. 2 HF radio systems. Plus
Transpoders and active, 'real time' monitoring through CPDLC
(Controller to Pilot Data Link Clearance) and ADS B(Air Data Service)
through the SatCom systems and ACARS (Aircraft Communications
Addressing and Reporting System) thru the VHF, HF and SatCom systems.
The air traffic controllers can tell where we are, speed, altitude,
etc as well as what our computers and flight guidance system has set
into our control panels. Big Brother for sure! However, most of
these things can be turned off.
But, there are a few systems that can't be turned off and one, as
reported by the WSJ, is the engine monitoring systems (not sure what
the acronym for that is, but I'm sure there is one....it's
aviation...there has to be an acronym!). The Malaysia airplane, like
our 777-200's, use Rolls Royce Trent Engines (as a piece of
trivia....Rolls Royce names their motors after rivers....because they
always keep on running!) Rolls Royce leases these motors to us and
they monitor them all the time they are running. In fact, a few years
back, one of our 777's developed a slow oil leak due and partial
equipment failure. It wasn't bad enough to set off the airplane's
alerting system, but RR was looking at it on their computers. They
are in England, they contact our dispatch in Texas, Dispatch sends a
message to the crew via SatCom in the North Pacific, telling them that
RR wants them to closely monitor oil pressure and temp on the left
engine. Also, during the descent, don't retard the throttle to
idle...keep it at or above a certain rpm. Additionally, they wanted the
crew to turn on the engine 'anti ice' system as the heats some of the
engine components.
The crew did all of that and landed uneventfully, but after landing
and during the taxi in, the left engine shut itself down using it's
redundant, computerized operating system that has a logic tree that
will not allow it to be shut down if the airplane is in the air...only
on the ground. Pretty good tech. Anyway, the point was, that RR
monitors those engines 100% of the time they are operating. The WSJ
reported that RR indicated the engines on the Malaysia 777 were
running normally for 4 to 5 hours after the reported disappearance.
Malaysia denies this. We shall see.
Parting shot. If you travel by air, avoid the 3rd world airlines.
Their operators and maintenance are substandard. Substandard when
traveling by Bus or Boat isn't so bad when the engines quit. You just
stop on the water or by the side of the road. Not so in airplanes.
My piece of advice....if traveling by air use 1st world airlines. So,
that leaves USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe, Japan
and just a few others. Avoid the rest....just my opinion. If you get
a real deal on air fare from 'Air Jabooti'...skip it. Oh, there are a
lot of the 'developing' countries that use expatriate pilots from the
1st world. Emirates and Air Jordan come to mind and are very safe.
As is Cathay Pacific. Air Pakistan and Egypt Air...not so much. Do the
research or just drop me a note. I'll give you my opinion.
And don't EVER get in an Airbus!!
That is all!

George Martin
Pacifica CA
George Martin Homepage

[2BNTV]

WOW - It doesn't leave much hope, for this plane landing safely, wherever it is.

It's nice to know, to fly the major airlines. It's no bargain, if you don't get to your destination.

It seems like an awfully long time not to find this plane, and I am somewhat hopeful, everyone is alright.

[ttown]

Excellent! Thank you.

[Ron1Z]

I think it landed on Gilligan's Island?

[CFrance]

The Chinese are getting a bit ticked off at all the foot-shuffling by the Malaysians. It is customary to allow the country of the plane's origin to commandeer the search and rescue operations, but they are seemingly so inept at this, and/or not being truthful, that I'm surprised the Chinese, who had the most citizens on board, just don't strong-arm them and take over the investigation.

[caseycasebeer]

Very interesting article from George Martin. He certainly knows the aircraft!

It will be interesting to see what turns up ... if anything.

My 'guess it that the Captain did this as the desperation act of someone who felt he didn't have much to lose. He was angry at the System:

(1) The day before his departure he was at the sentencing (five years in prison...) of the former Malasian prime minister, whom he supported. (Various reports called the Captain a zealot or political extremist in support of the PM. There also seems to be an assumption that the PM was the victim of a political witch-hunt.)

(2) That same day (or the day before), his wife moved out and took their three children with her. Unconfirmed reports were that they were "estranged," but still living together. It was unknown if they were actually divorced.

Clearly, the Captain had a lot on his mind, and saw his World quickly unraveling.

My hunch is that his act was very impulsive, and he may very well have been acting alone. There could be some terrorist oriented planning involved, but so far I haven't seen it. This guy may have decided to commit suicide ... but he chose to take 238 other's with him, and do it in a very complex manner.

The item about the plane going up to 45,000MSL (well above the service ceiling...) is perplexing. The only reason I can think-of might be to disable/kill the crew and passengers via hypoxia. (Strategy: a) tell the copilot "get some rest ... I'll take this leg of the trip") b) Captain put's on supplemental oxygen mask c) reduce/decompress cabin pressure while in a steady climb to the final flight level d) keep aircraft at 45,000 long enough that he's sure everyone aboard is asleep or dead. e) abruptly dive aircraft back to 5000MSL (as has been reported) f) fly the aircraft to a hastily predetermined ditching point g) Splash.

It will be interesting to learn, if we ever do..., what happened to the aircraft. I believe there may well be some systems that could help in the location/recovery effort, but since the expectation is that all aboard are now deceased - it is felt there is no rush. In the coming weeks/months/years information may be leaked about where the aircraft was located ... but we will probably never know the details of 'how it was located. (Years ago we had the Glomar Explorer locate/retrieve a Russian submarine ... I expect there are "systems" out there now that make the Glomar Explorer look ancient; and governments don't want to tip their hands prematurely.)

...but it's Fascinating to follow the story and the investigation.

Best,
Casey

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by caseycasebeer

Very interesting article from George Martin. He certainly knows the aircraft!

It will be interesting to see what turns up ... if anything.

My 'guess it that the Captain did this as the desperation act of someone who felt he didn't have much to lose. He was angry at the System:

(1) The day before his departure he was at the sentencing (five years in prison...) of the former Malasian prime minister, whom he supported. (Various reports called the Captain a zealot or political extremist in support of the PM. There also seems to be an assumption that the PM was the victim of a political witch-hunt.)

(2) That same day (or the day before), his wife moved out and took their three children with her. Unconfirmed reports were that they were "estranged," but still living together. It was unknown if they were actually divorced.

Clearly, the Captain had a lot on his mind, and saw his World quickly unraveling.

My hunch is that his act was very impulsive, and he may very well have been acting alone. There could be some terrorist oriented planning involved, but so far I haven't seen it. This guy may have decided to commit suicide ... but he chose to take 238 other's with him, and do it in a very complex manner.

The item about the plane going up to 45,000MSL (well above the service ceiling...) is perplexing. The only reason I can think-of might be to disable/kill the crew and passengers via hypoxia. (Strategy: a) tell the copilot "get some rest ... I'll take this leg of the trip") b) Captain put's on supplemental oxygen mask c) reduce/decompress cabin pressure while in a steady climb to the final flight level d) keep aircraft at 45,000 long enough that he's sure everyone aboard is asleep or dead. e) abruptly dive aircraft back to 5000MSL (as has been reported) f) fly the aircraft to a hastily predetermined ditching point g) Splash.

It will be interesting to learn, if we ever do..., what happened to the aircraft. I believe there may well be some systems that could help in the location/recovery effort, but since the expectation is that all aboard are now deceased - it is felt there is no rush. In the coming weeks/months/years information may be leaked about where the aircraft was located ... but we will probably never know the details of 'how it was located. (Years ago we had the Glomar Explorer locate/retrieve a Russian submarine ... I expect there are "systems" out there now that make the Glomar Explorer look ancient; and governments don't want to tip their hands prematurely.)

...but it's Fascinating to follow the story and the investigation.

Best,
Casey

That's very interesting information about the pilot, especially when you look back over early reports about him--upstanding citizen, longtime pilot with thousands of hours of flight, extremely interested in his craft, etc.

I agree we may never know. But from what the AA pilot reports, I think it would be easy to fool a hijacker into thinking all transponder systems were disabled when they weren't--making it more likely that it was the pilot who did it.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by caseycasebeer

Very interesting article from George Martin. He certainly knows the aircraft!

It will be interesting to see what turns up ... if anything.

My 'guess it that the Captain did this as the desperation act of someone who felt he didn't have much to lose. He was angry at the System:

(1) The day before his departure he was at the sentencing (five years in prison...) of the former Malasian prime minister, whom he supported. (Various reports called the Captain a zealot or political extremist in support of the PM. There also seems to be an assumption that the PM was the victim of a political witch-hunt.)

(2) That same day (or the day before), his wife moved out and took their three children with her. Unconfirmed reports were that they were "estranged," but still living together. It was unknown if they were actually divorced.

Clearly, the Captain had a lot on his mind, and saw his World quickly unraveling.

My hunch is that his act was very impulsive, and he may very well have been acting alone. There could be some terrorist oriented planning involved, but so far I haven't seen it. This guy may have decided to commit suicide ... but he chose to take 238 other's with him, and do it in a very complex manner.

The item about the plane going up to 45,000MSL (well above the service ceiling...) is perplexing. The only reason I can think-of might be to disable/kill the crew and passengers via hypoxia. (Strategy: a) tell the copilot "get some rest ... I'll take this leg of the trip") b) Captain put's on supplemental oxygen mask c) reduce/decompress cabin pressure while in a steady climb to the final flight level d) keep aircraft at 45,000 long enough that he's sure everyone aboard is asleep or dead. e) abruptly dive aircraft back to 5000MSL (as has been reported) f) fly the aircraft to a hastily predetermined ditching point g) Splash.

It will be interesting to learn, if we ever do..., what happened to the aircraft. I believe there may well be some systems that could help in the location/recovery effort, but since the expectation is that all aboard are now deceased - it is felt there is no rush. In the coming weeks/months/years information may be leaked about where the aircraft was located ... but we will probably never know the details of 'how it was located. (Years ago we had the Glomar Explorer locate/retrieve a Russian submarine ... I expect there are "systems" out there now that make the Glomar Explorer look ancient; and governments don't want to tip their hands prematurely.)

...but it's Fascinating to follow the story and the investigation.

Best,
Casey

Casey.


That was an excellent assessment and summary and you added things I didn't know but kind of wondered about, as to why the captain's family left the home the day before.


The U.S. seems to be pulling back on their help and that may be for a number of reasons, one being they know where the plane is and can't say how.


I too am drawn to the news and the ins and outs of reporting conflicting information. It is amazing how talented anchors and television producers can pose the same questions with different wording over and over and not get too far into speculation or name calling or bad journalism. I have given all the big networks equal opportunity to inform me and only one isn't doing too good a job.


It is the news and it is what people are interested in seeing and I have to admire those on the spot having to talk about it for a long time with no new information.


I wonder what happened to the co-pilot if he wasn't for it? I wonder if the Maylasian airline will recover from the huge financial losses and loss of respect? Is it a free enterprise thing or is it owned by the government?


I have a lot of questions about the area and the culture and the history and how confused I was about the geography of that area. My geography teacher would be pleased that I am interested in learning about the world more now than I was then.


And of course like everyone, my heart aches for all of those families whose grief and stress is overwhelming.

[Don H]

Great post. I never knew that the engines could be leased. Now, if I could only lease the engine in my 03 Camry…but that's another story. I think the acronym you're looking for may have been ACARS. Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System. Anyway, thanks for the in depth look behind the scenes.

[nitehawk]

How much money do you think China would spend if an americann plane went down in the middle of the Atlantic with 240 American citizens.. Belive me i do feel for the poor souls. But 24/7 or two weeks is a little too much.... I have stopped watching CNN

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by nitehawk

How much money do you think China would spend if an americann plane went down in the middle of the Atlantic with 240 American citizens.. Belive me i do feel for the poor souls. But 24/7 or two weeks is a little too much.... I have stopped watching CNN

That's why we're us and they're the Chinese government. The US has a high regard for humanity.